Skill and labour shortages

Labour shortages exist when employers are unable to fill vacancies. Skills shortages occur when the demand for employees in specific occupations is greater than the supply of those who are qualified, available and willing to work under existing industry conditions. Skilled migration is one strategy used by governments to address workforce shortages. The recent Australian Government's Inquiry into Australia's Skilled Migration Program sought to examine how the current skilled migration settings serve Australia's current and post-COVID skill needs. Chapter two of the final report of the inquiry outlines the key role of skilled migration in meeting labour market shortages, particularly in terms of producing timely results in filling immediate skill shortages.

One approach to using skilled migrants to redress skill shortages adopted by many countries, including Australia, is to retain international graduates. A recent study, reported in The going gets rougher: exploring the labour market outcomes of international graduates in Australia, shows that between 1998 and 2015, the percentage of international graduates who remained in Australia with the intention to work more than doubled. However, the study also reveals a clear trend of poor labour market outcomes for the international graduates who remained in Australia over the years. The findings point to a need to review and strengthen existing policies and interventions to help international graduates transition to the Australian labour market if Australia is to fully utilise and benefit from their skills and knowledge. Another approach is the 'two-step immigration selection process', in which economic immigrants are selected from among temporary foreign workers. A series of papers by Statistics Canada provides insights from the Canadian perspective.

There are many other schemes and categories of work visas for individuals with qualifications, or attested work experience 'in demand' occupations, to enter or remain in host countries as skilled migrants to fill the labour market shortages. Within just its member countries, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) identified 152 different skilled visas without any systematised information about these visas. Its Compendium on current practices for skilled work visa programs in the APEC region sought to redress this by providing a point of reference for specialized visa programs in the Asia-Pacific region. The compendium also identifies trends in the skilled work visa information provided by member economies and offers a set of recommendations to enhance regional cooperation and skilled labour mobility in the APEC region.

ILO's Future of Work in ICT project conducted a seven-country (Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand ) in-depth research on anticipated needs for skilled information and communication technology (ICT) workers and approaches to address shortages by scaling up investments in ICT education and training as well as better governed international labour migration. It found fierce competition for ICT specialists has led to an increase in migration. While skilled migrants help fill skill gaps and labour shortages in destination countries, large-scale emigration also leads to concerns about potential 'brain drain' in countries supplying the human capital. Interestingly, however, the project found growing evidence of what has been dubbed 'brain circulation', in which significant return migration has positive effects for both origin and destination countries.

More on this...

• Employer decision-making around skill shortages, employee shortages and migration: literature review [UK]
• Exploring the potential for skills partnerships on migration in West Africa and Sahel
• How migration, human capital and the labour market interact in Montenegro
• Literature review labour migration: an exploratory study into the shortages of qualified personnel at the upper secondary vocational level and the possibilities and limitations of employing migrants [Netherlands]
• Post-Brexit labour supply and workforce planning: key questions for policymakers [UK]

Recognition of credentials

Integration of skilled migrants and refugees into destination labour markets can be facilitated by effective policies and processes that recognise and validate qualifications and credentials gained overseas. In Canada, a contributions-based program provides funding to provincial governments, regulatory bodies and organisations to support the improvement of processes of credential recognition for internationally trained individuals. The Evaluation of the Foreign Credential Recognition Program  focused on the contribution of the supports provided in the improvement of foreign credential recognition processes, including direct individual support components.

In most cases the core purpose of a regional qualifications framework (RQF) is to act as a translation device so that qualifications of workers can be compared across several countries of origin, thereby facilitating the international mobility of workers. The Feasibility study on the establishment of a regional qualifications framework in South Asian countries was commissioned by the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for South Asia. Such a framework would enable destination employers to implement evidence-based selection procedures and contribute to more equitable selection based on worker competency rather than their ability to pay high recruitment fees.

The number of refugees worldwide has grown considerably in recent years and labour market integration has been identified as a crucial starting point for refugees to integrate into their host society. Formal skills recognition is particularly significant for those refugees who only possess non-formally and informally acquired vocational skills (NFIVOS). Recognising refugees' non-formally and informally acquired vocational skills for use in Germany's labour market defines the need for skills recognition arrangements suitable for refugee users and explores the barriers and facilitators to the recognition of refugees' NFIVOS for use in the highly regulated German labour market.

Formal recognition of qualifications acquired overseas is one of the main barriers to making the best use of the skills of migrants and refugees. Seizing the opportunity: making the most of the skills and experience of migrants and refugees draws attention to the number of skilled migrants and refugees in Queensland, Australia with qualifications aligning with skill shortages but unable to get jobs in these areas, and proposes several ways to overcome this issue.

More on this...

• 2019 report on the Recognition Act [Germany]
• Assessing the qualifications of refugees: best practices and guidelines: final report [Canada]
• Digital credentialing: implications for the recognition of learning across borders [international]
• Expressions of value in education: credit, money and the case of foreign qualification recognition in Australia's skilled migration program
• The potential of skills development and recognition for regulated labour mobility in the IGAD Region: a scoping study covering Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda
• Validation of non-formal and informal learning for migrants and refugees [Europe]

Impact of COVID-19

The Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on skilled migration around the world as travel restrictions and border closures have prevented people movement. Countries now have to reassess their approaches to migration through the pandemic and beyond. According to Rethinking permanent skilled migration after the pandemic, COVID-19 has brought migration to Australia to a standstill, and now is the time to reassess migration policy. Looking forward to when borders will finally reopen, this report discusses improvements to Australia's migration program to ensure skilled migrants are prioritised, targeting younger migrants with skills that deliver benefits to the overall Australian community.

Similarly, across Asia, COVID-19 has seen both origin and destination countries implement strict entry rules, driving down migration. Labor migration in Asia impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and the post-pandemic future analyses labour migration and remittances trends in Asia and identifies some of the main concerns that have emerged during the pandemic relating to the employment conditions and health protections of migrant workers. The use of technology to transform skilled migration (migtech) - for example, through increased access to information and process efficiency and transparency - is also highlighted, with numerous examples of the use of migtech detailed.

Canada heavily relies on migrants and international students to maintain its ageing workforce. With the reduction of foreign arrivals, Canada's labour supply, and thus economic prosperity, is at risk. Immigration and the success of Canada's post-pandemic economy looks at how the limitations of travel may impact on Canada's labour force and assesses policy options to address these challenges. These include skills training for immigrants, credential recognition, and supporting immigrant workers disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The report recommends establishing strategies to enhance labour market inclusion and mitigating negative views towards migrant groups.

The impact of COVID-19 is also evident in the use of skilled migration to bolster a country's essential health and medical workforce. On a positive front, Contribution of migrant doctors and nurses to tackling COVID-19 crisis in OECD countries discusses how OECD countries have used skilled migrants to help meet the demand for health care during the pandemic. The brief outlines actions and policy responses that have been implemented to make the best use of skilled migrants, including providing travel exemptions for health professionals and expediting applications for recognition of foreign credentials. From a different point of view, Brain waste among US immigrants with health degrees: a multi-state profile looks at the underutilisation of skilled migrants with qualifications in medicine or healthcare. Analysing US census and labour data, the factsheet shows that some 263,000 highly skilled migrants are unemployed or underemployed due to credential-recognition issues, language proficiency, and other challenges, preventing the use of these valuable assets across the country.

More on this...

• COVID-19 and key workers: what role do migrants play in your region? [Europe]
• COVID-19 and the demand for labour and skills in Europe: early evidence and implications for migration policy
• COVID-19 migration policy measures for international students and graduate job searchers: a lost round in the battle for brains [international]
• Immigration and COVID-19 [Australia]
• Potential responses to the COVID-19 outbreak in support of migrant workers [international]
• Skilled immigrant women's career trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

News items and opinion pieces

• Australia needs more Pacific mid-skill migration: here's how to facilitate it
  (Source: Devpolicy Blog, Australian National University, October 2021)
• Expanded shortage occupation list can solve UK's skills shortages
  (Source: politics.co.uk, October 2021)
• Increase skilled migration to 200,000 per year, says leading business group [Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry]
  (Source: SBS News, October 2021)
• 'No time to waste': business wants answers on skilled migrants' return [Australia]
  (Source: Sydney Morning Herald, October 2021)
• Public infrastructure projects at risk of COVID-induced skilled labour shortage, report finds [Australia]
  (Source: ABC News, October 2021)
• Tech industry association and global non-profit eye refugees for ICT jobs in Canada
  (Source: Canada Immigration News, October 2021)
• Top jobs for skilled migrants who received permanent residency visas in Australia in 2020-21
  (Source: SBS Punjabi, October 2021)
• Why are skilled migrant engineers over-represented in the ranks of the under-employed? [Australia]
  (Source: create, Engineers Australia, October 2021)
• Covid-19 Delta outbreak: NZ at risk of losing skilled migrants we need post-pandemic, expert says
  (Source: NZ Herald, September 2021)
• EU Blue Card: more flexible rules for skilled migrants in Europe
  (Source: InfoMigrants, September 2021)
• In shadow of pandemic, a chance to end exploitation of migrant workers [Australia]
  (Source: Brisbane Times, September 2021)
• Our experiment with a 'closed economy' saw unemployment drop rapidly, but what did it mean? [Australia]
  (Source: ABC News, September 2021)
• The government has allowed a 'two-tier' workforce to develop in Australia, unions say, as a new report calls for an overhaul of temporary migration
  (Source: Business Insider, September 2021)
• UK labour shortages and immigration: looking at the evidence
  (Source: London School of Economics, September 2021)
• Overhaul skilled migration and ANZSCO: inquiry
  (Source: InformationAge, August 2021)
• Parliamentary committee calls for changes to make it easier for skilled migrants to stay in Australia
  (Source: The Guardian, August 2021)
• More skilled workers now eligible to have visas to Australia fast-tracked [Australia]
  (Source: SBS News, June 2021)
• Australian visas should go to younger skilled migrants and we should pay them more, Grattan Institute says
  (Source: ABC News, May 2021)
• Migration is a quick fix for skills shortages. Building on Australians' skills is better
  (Source: The Conversation, April 2021)

Published: October 2021