Irish opt for Western Australia
Experts say a skills shortage, largely as a result of the mining boom in western Australia, is encouraging thousands of Irish jobseekers to locate there.
Migration agent with visafirst.com, Declan Clune, said Australia is vast and has so much to offer that it can be difficult for those leaving Ireland to know where to move to.
“Our answer would be to go where the work is — which is where seven in 10 Irish people who leave Ireland for Australia are going. In our experience the growing demand for labour in certain industries has led to an employment drive in Western Australia for skilled foreign workers — particularly from Ireland,” he said.
Mr Clune said the drive to fill the skills’ shortage gap is reaffirmed by the number of employers and recruiters who are in contact with them to fill vacancies with Irish workers.
“There are two primary visas that Irish families travelling to Western Australia are going on — the 457 sponsorship visa and a permanent residency visa,” he said.
The 457 sponsorship visa entitles people to work for an Australian employer and a job offer is required to apply.
“Currently for construction trades and engineering professions, which is where much of the employment opportunities lie in Western Australia, the sponsorship visa is being processed in some cases as fast as five working days.”
In order to get your permanent residency, there are different requirements that need to be met depending on the visa type. The State Skilled Visa requires you to attain a minimum amount of points, while the Employer Nomination Scheme and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visas require you to have a job offer.
“Each state in Australia publishes a list of occupations that are required for that state. The state of Western Australia (WA) has almost every occupation imaginable on their demand list — from construction trades to engineers to nurses to IT professionals.”
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