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The Working Holiday Maker (WHM) Program is a vital migration program for Australia, playing a critical role in filling skills shortages across Australia, particularly in the horticultural and agricultural industries, which continue to face the challenge of attracting Australians to fill these jobs. WHMs are uniquely suited to the seasonal nature of these jobs because they are a flexible, short term workforce with a desire to travel and experience work in farming regions which often struggle with labour shortages. In 2020, with the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic prevented the global movement of people, resulting in a drastic effect on the WHM Program. In September, the Joint Standing Committee on Migration produced an interim report [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 141.1224] dealing with some of the challenges that have arisen from the pandemic induced border closures.

This report builds on the findings of the interim report and calls for more to be done to promote the opportunities available right now in regional and remote Australia. The report also looks to the future. While the interim report dealt with changes to the program to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic this report focuses on longer term changes to the visa program and other technical matters such as the need to implement the Report of the Migrant Worker Taskforce [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 135.1039] and to incentivise a broader range of visa holders to undertake agricultural and horticultural work at this critical time.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

Member States affected by the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic have often resorted to shelter in place orders to stop the virus from spreading widely. These orders have affected many economic activities, but are designed to prevent a shutdown of those essential activities that are meant to keep the population safe and fed. Agriculture is one of those sectors that needs to be kept functional, but mobility restrictions have kept seasonal temporary workers, which this sector has grown reliant on, from reaching their workplace curbing the productivity of this essential sector. This report analyses the potential for the agriculture sector to replace the seasonal workers who are prevented by shelter in place orders from reaching their usual place of work with EU native born workforce. Looking at labour market flows into agriculture in the past decade, this report finds that the probabilities of flows in agriculture are low. Movers into agriculture are mostly migrant men older than 19 living in a rural area and with low qualification. After analysing recent labour market trends, the report concludes that native workers can only partially fill potential vacancies in the sector.

Published abstract. Show less

As organisations look to recover in the [COVID-19] pandemic's aftermath, digital transformation is expanding opportunities for companies to make changes to their operating models. In turn, this process is allowing them to leverage the benefits of an external workforce through remote and hybrid work structures. Growing dependence on the external workforce is among the most important drivers for digital transformation in companies, according to an Economist Impact survey - picked as a top-three driver by 24.5 per cent of respondents.

Organisational operating models are faced with a pivotal moment catalysed by the disruptions of the past two years, from [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 and supply chain upheavals to a range of geopolitical developments. Company leaders are no longer waiting for these problems to simply vanish; instead, they are proactively taking steps to mitigate risk and create value. Many organisations are expanding their external workforce as a way of navigating this changing business environment.

What does this mean for procurement strategically? And how do these changes shape the relationship between procurement and the rest of the organisation? This report is the culmination of surveying 430 C-level executives on the changing trends in procurement during January and February 2022 and the accompanying research and interview programme of practitioners and subject-matter experts. [The survey] found that 50 per cent of the surveyed organisations globally plan to increase their use of external workers. In comparison, only a fifth (19.7 per cent) of companies said they planned a reduction, underscoring how rapidly organisational models and set-ups can be expected to change.

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As Western Australia (WA) emerges from international and State border restrictions, access to workers continues to be a challenge. The removal of border restrictions will not resolve the problem quickly, as this research reveals. To fuel WA's future growth, a WA workforce strategy is needed. This report focuses on four areas: (1) the role of education and skills transferability for the future workforce; (2) access, equality and challenges for the latent workforce; (3) a framework for industry engagement with education providers to train the future generation; and (4) the role of migration for WA.

The challenges identified and discussed in the report are wide-ranging, arising from increased demand, occupational bias, skills mismatch, a handbrake on skilled migration and a lack of long-term planning. To address the critical skilled labour shortages and prepare the WA workforce for the future, the report makes 14 recommendations for implementation between now and 2024. The recommendations focus on three key outcomes: (1) removing the barriers to labour supply; (2) attracting workers to WA; and (3) implementing an integrated approach to workforce planning.

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Virtual-reality headsets show blueprints to workers as they walk through a construction site. A carpenter plots precise cuts down to the millimeter with the aid of computer-assisted design. A welder performs her job remotely with the help of a robot. Technological change, accelerated by the pandemic, has transformed not only the tools available to tradespeople, but the skills needed to operate them. Today's industrial mechanics, electricians and automotive service technicians must have the digital savvy to operate the electronic-testing equipment, [three-dimensional] 3D technology, and digital diagnostic tools becoming commonplace in the manufacturing and construction sectors. They will also have to brace for frequent retraining on evolving technologies.

Meanwhile, soft skills - critical thinking, curiosity, creativity, problem solving and communication - are more important than ever in an economy that demands collaboration across sectors. These skills will increase in importance as the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds. But they won't replace traditional technical ability. A foundational understanding of metallurgy, for instance, will remain crucial to a welder programming a robotic arm. Canada's skilled tradespeople - the welders, machinists, electricians and plumbers that have long been the backbone of our economy - are more critical than ever. In this report, we identify the main challenges facing the sector - the under-representation of women and immigrants, the need to double down on digital training, and the ongoing stigmas surrounding trades careers - and how best to tackle them.

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Advanced manufacturing is growing and thriving in the United States. Companies are in great need of reliable employees who can communicate well, effectively make decisions, and are interested in long-term careers with opportunity for advancement. Employers have identified a need for a more robust talent pipeline to narrow America's skills gap - a mismatch between the job-market needs in business and industry and the education and preparedness levels of the workforce. To address this important issue, Jobs for the Future, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and the Manufacturing Institute convened higher education and business leaders with state labor officials and other experts for a summit called Minding the Gap: Investing in a Skilled Manufacturing Workforce. This brief highlights major policy and program solutions explored during that summit to address the manufacturing skills gap.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

In August 2000, the Premier of New South Wales (NSW), Bob Carr, hosted an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Forum in Wollongong. This forum was convened in response to the rapid growth of the ICT industry worldwide and the projections from within the industry in Australia that identified a significant gap between the supply and demand for specialist ICT skills. An ICT Consultative Group was set up to advise on the development of an ICT skills action plan which is discussed in this article. Show less

This article examines skill and labour shortages within rural agriculture industries in Western Australia. It draws on primary and secondary data, including 600 survey respondents in the sector. It is determined that there may be a shortage of farm workers during the busy seasons, while they are unemployed during the low seasons. Consequently, it is proposed that a human capability framework is utilised to encourage farm owners and (or) workers to consider the potential for labour harmonisation (LH) strategies which would allow workers to transit between working on the land during the busy seasons and in mining during the low seasons. The outcomes of the study are considered in relation to indicators of precarious work illustrating that LH could enable an easing of labour shortages for both the farming and mining sectors while providing benefits for the respective workers, employers, and the region in general.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

South Africa is currently experiencing a shortage of an estimated 70,000 plus information and communication technology (ICT) professionals, which is compounded by the fact that the number of ICT graduates is now showing a decline. At an organisational level, the effective use of ICT for organisational information management is difficult without having appropriately ICT-skilled (e-skilled) employees. The shortage of e-skills in South Africa and much of Africa forces companies to work at retaining their existing e-skilled professionals, but this task is becoming increasingly difficult. Thus, this study established the objective to explore the factors that contribute to the retention of skilled ICT professionals in one international consulting organisation in South Africa, which also might bear relevance to other similar organisations operating in many other African countries.

Excerpt from published abstract. Show less

Every year a great share in German school graduates does not succeed in obtaining a place in the so called 'dual system' of vocational education. Recent and future demographic data indicate a huge decline in labour force potential within the next decades. Adolescents with a weak school performance will need to be integrated into the labour market more successfully than today. Thus, prevocational literacy becomes an indicator for the quality of an education system. In 2006 the Federal Agency of Employment presented a catalogue of criteria that allows an assessment of prevocational literacy of the individual. The diagnosis, however, is to be challenged for its measurement methodology. The diagnostic instrument will need to be refined. However, strategies of ecologically integrated teaching and learning will have to be at the core of the solution.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this paper is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 100.484. Show less