The latest statistics for the migration program in Australia has been announced by Chris Bowen, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. He mentioned that the program is still catering to the requirements for a healthy economy. According to the Minister, the approach taken by the Government is to help the foreign migrants cater to the requirements of the critical skills which the nation is in short of. These include niche areas such as IT, engineering, health care and nursing and financial services. The figures were brought out in a report on Migration Program 2009-10.
The report projected over sixty percent of the total pool of skilled workers composed of applicants under specified categories. These also include workers who have been sponsored by Australian employers or by the governments of the state/territory. There has been a rise by 12 percent when compared to the previous year.
If looked at the outcome for 2009-10 migration program, it was 168,623 places which is just 0.05 percent below what was planned. The skill stream outcome was 107,868 places which catered to 64 percent of the entire Australian program for immigration.
The planning level for the skilled program was cut down in the budget for 2009-10. It was reduced to 108,100 which was done in response to the economic slowdown. However, despite recession, there was a constant rise in the number of employer sponsored visas. This number catered to 38 percent of the entire skill stream for 2009-10. The same in 2008-09 was 33 percent and for 2007-08, it was only 22 percent.
It was seen in the migration program that among all the visa categories for permanent skilled visas, the most sought after occupations wee computing professionals, accountants and registered nurses. When it comes to citizenship, the top three nations are UK, India and China.
The budget for 2010-11 announced by the government also included the total level of skilled migration and that there would be a rise by 5750 places. This would further cater to the country’s requirement with the improving conditions of the economy.
