Give immigrants loans to train for work, Australian govt dept argues

Newly arrived immigrants in Australia should get loans for bridging courses to help them get work in the profession of their speciality, the Australian Department of Immigration has argued.

The cost of investment would be outweighed by the benefits of getting overseas qualified professionals and tradespersons into productive jobs, the department argued.

In a submission on a Productivity Commission report into the economic impact of migration and population growth, the department said its proposed scheme could be similar to the loan scheme for tertiary education students.

"The cost of bridging courses and training for those who were deemed to need it could be paid for by recipients either up front, for those who are able to pay or on a deferred loan basis, to be recovered with interest once they start gainful employment."

The department also called for a campaign to help employers overcome their bias against employing immigrants. It argued that such workers could help open up new markets for companies.

Migrants were generally younger and better qualified than the broader Australian population but work experience, language barriers and employers' bias were employment barriers, the submission said.

Educated migrants had difficulties turning that education into good jobs.

An example of how that could be overcome was the 10-year-old migrants work experience programme that provided job opportunities with the New South Wales government for people with overseas skills and qualifications.

About 50 percent of Australia's population growth in recent years had come from immigration.

Most Australian research suggested migration had little effect on unemployment figures and that most migrants provided a fiscal surplus to the country.

There was also some research that immigration had opened up new labour market opportunities for current residents.

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs submission is at this web page.