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It is clear that Australia is currently experiencing a renewed period of strong economic growth and many employers are again unable to meet their current staffing demands or expand further without employing more skilled workers.
And whilst the Australian Government has significantly increased education and training programmes, there are still large pockets of skill shortages.
Australia’s unemployment level is nearing it’s pre-GFC level at 5.1%. That’s much better than:
- Canada 8.7%
- Germany 7.1%
- UK 7.9%
- USA 9.5%
- Ireland 13.2%
- New Zealand 6.0%
- Spain 20.5%
- Turkey 13.7%
- Philippines 8.0%
- South Africa 25.2%.
Only South Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia have lower unemployment rates.
It soon becomes clear that other countries’ worker surpluses are Australia’s future employees.
The benefits of hiring a migrant are many. Foreign languages and knowledge of other countries and cultures can become a major asset for some employers who struggle to penetrate new markets.
Regional employers will benefit from sponsoring overseas workers to offset the regional skills shortages that are aggravated by local residents moving to the cities for “better opportunities” and supposedly better lifestyles.
“Different skills” does not mean worse skills, and it often means better. Migrants have been assessed by accredited Australian assessors who have determined their abilities are at least equivalent to Australian skills. Migrants also tend to be the more able and successful people who are better educated by local standards, and have an ambition to do even better.
The excuse of “Lack of local knowledge” backfires on those who use it, as it also means a lack of local shortcuts and bad habits, it does not mean lack of skills and abilities. “New blood” has its advantages.
Different cultures can stimulate ideas within a business and help generate innovative ideas. Intelligence is evenly distributed across people, and this plus experience in different ways of doing things can create new opportunities for a business owner.
Different people can make a work place more interesting, helping reduce absenteeism and staff turnover. Making a business into a more interesting place to work solves many problems...
Most migrants are in it for keeps and are not wanting to let their employer down, they have more to lose than a local citizen who can rely on welfare payments if they walk away. And some visas allow more robust employment contracts to be created between willing parties.
An employer’s uncertainty is heightened through their lack of cultural awareness, minimal knowledge of visa and sponsorship issues and a fear of things that are different or may require changes to established work practices.
Hire A Migrant can educate employers about how to capitalise on these differences and turn them into advantages.
For employers, this dilemma will only get worse as the population ages and work force matures and becomes more expensive to retain. So employment prospects for migrants have never been stronger:
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The hardest part of migration is finding work.
For those who are moving to a new country where business names, industry structure and employment customs are new, the slowest way to get a job is to rely on newspaper and online job advertisements. By all means use these methods, but we do not suggest that you only rely on these public sources.
Media advertisements are in fact the least effective way for anyone to find work, including for Australian citizens and residents.
If this method is being used, the best way forward is with a properly prepared and highly professional CV, to cut through the clutter of a few hundred other applications. It also pays to limit these applications to 20% of job search time, as 80% of jobs are not found in these places.
The richer employment prospects are in the “hidden” job market where vacancies are never advertised publicly. This is where Hire A Migrant has a particular strength.
The key is to build a network amongst the employers, sponsors and facilitators within the employer groups and State or local government sponsoring agencies, and reach out through this network to find vacancies that exist - before later advertisements attract 200 applicants who send in CVs that show local experience and the ability to “start Monday”.
Considering that it takes around three months to move and settle into a new location and then start to try to find work, these three months of inactivity will cost anywhere from $14,000 to $27,000 (more if the spouse has lost a salary too).
Work out your own costs by selecting items in the table below, multiply by 3 months, and add up the numbers.
For example, taking the airfare, motel, bus/tram, internet cafe and broadband costs to add to food, phone and entertainment, the cost of finding your own work for a UK person would be around A$13,590 for a 3 month search - before allowing for wages lost in the home country!
That might add another $14,000 for 13 weeks lost income with an average UK wage, giving a total of $27,590 to come to Australia and hunt for employment. When an Australian or employer looks at it like this, they will get an appreciation of the real commitment and investment that a migrant is prepared to make to obtain a better life in Australia.
This does not include removal costs of around $12,000, furniture and car replacement costs plus household establishment costs such as a full grocery cupboard, utility bonds, school uniforms etc.
NB. This table does not includes costs for family if they all arrived together. That would add around $500 to $800 per month in extra food and living costs, without schooling, health, dental etc. In this table, all costs are monthly expenses except for airfares
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Cost Benefit Worksheet
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Airfare, return, pick one
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UK, London
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$ 2,400
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or
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India, Mumbai
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$ 1,975
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or
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China, Shanghai
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$ 1,975
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or
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UAE, Dubai
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$ 1,634
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or
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South Africa, Johannesburg
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$ 2,320
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or
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Singapore
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$ 1,200
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or
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Korea, Seoul
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$ 2,150
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Accommodation, pick one
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Homestay
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$ 220
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or
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Cheap hostel
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$ 400
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or
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Motel, cheap single
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$ 600
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or
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Motel, family
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$ 800
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Transport, pick one
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Bus, train, tram, taxi
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$ 300
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or
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Car $3000
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$ 3,000
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including
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Car operating cost
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$ 200
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Telephone, prepay
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$ 160
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Food
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$ 500
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Entertainment
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$ 120
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Computer & printer, pick one
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Internet café
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$ 120
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or
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Home PC/printer
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$ 1,200
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Internet access, pick one
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Internet café
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$ 30
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or
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Dial up
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$ 10
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or
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Broadband
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$ 30
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Lost wages per week?
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These costs are real, and are derived from:
- living expenses in cheap accommodation, not comfortable family homes
- an older but reliable car, 200,000 kms wear and tear, lowest insurance
- lost earnings, using professional salary for skilled job in a city
- travel costs, return airfare for one person to do job search
In comparison, Hire A Migrant’s fee is usually less than one month’s typical wage cost in Australia. Click here to see the fee and our cost comparison.
And remember - if we can find a job sponsor one month quicker than you can by yourself, then it is cheaper to use Hire A Migrant!
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