Joo-Cheong Tham of the Drum Opinion at ABC discusses the introduction of Enterprise Migration Agreements (EMAs) to assist with skills shortages in many industries, including mining.
If enthusiastically taken up by mining companies, EMAs will have a significant impact on the resources industry’s labour market. They also potentially shift the profile of 457 workers towards the lesser-skilled occupations. Will EMAs, however, meet its main purpose? Will they assist in addressing the skill shortages in the resources sector? These apparently simple questions raise the complex issue as to the nature of these shortages: Are they due to a shortage of workers with the required skills? Or are they due to skilled workers being unwilling to work the jobs on offer? Or are they due to poor recruitment efforts?