Kevin Foley, the Deputy Premier and Minister for Industry and Trade of South Australia informed that their construction, mining, and manufacturing industry are in need of an estimated 30,000 laborers.
With the aim to create a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Philippines and South Australia, the minister recently had a successful meeting with the labor secretary, Marianito Roque and other trade officials. According to Roque, South Australia wants to pattern the proposed MOU to the existing labor agreements of the Philippines with Canadian Provinces (Manitoba, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan).
Kevin Foley said, "I have discussed our interest to Secretary Roque, which will act as a precursor to [an MoU] between our two governments. We want to send a clear signal that there are a lot of available jobs in South Australia with no population growth or ability to fill these positions."
Presently, the mining industry of South Australia is booming and they need additional workers to operate 28 mines. Foley also said that projects amounting to USD45-billion were recently approved by Australian government. Some of the in-demand job positions in South Australia are for mining engineers, computer scientists, and electronics technicians.
The minister from South Australia expects the creation of a firm agreement to be completed this year. He said, "The South Australian mission will be assessing local skills, particularly in the building and motor or metal trades. It will also "look into whether Australia's strict immigration requirements can be met through cooperative arrangements around appropriate skills training and mutual recognition of accreditation."
Foley and a trade delegation of almost 20 companies will go back to the Philippine next February to look at the potential prospects here.
Foley added, “This is a two-way deal. We recognize that if we want to invite a skilled work force from the Philippines, we also need to re-invest in the Philippines, in education and business investments. We are also asking your business people to put South Australia on the map, in your radar."
