Migrant engineers drive Uber amid “worst ever” skills shortage

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Look no further than engineering for a textbook example of why Australia’s’skilled’ visa system is broken.

Skilled migrants account for 58% of the engineering workforce, and just over half of engineers graduating from Australian institutions come from overseas.

Despite this, Engineers Australia (EA) continuously complains about skills shortages and pushes for additional immigration, despite the fact that around half of migrant engineers are unemployed or working menial jobs like driving Ubers.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.