Skilled migration as a workforce development strategy for the Australian rail industry

Skill shortages in mission-critical skill sets are greatly affecting the Australian rail industry's ability to perform in the current economic recovery period marked by significant infrastructure expansion. Certain engineering, technical and trade skill shortages remain critical for rail and the Australian economy in general. The rail industry faces a complex environment where not only is there a dwindling supply of skilled labour in these key areas, but the rail industry is also in competition domestically with other industries (mining, electricity, water, gas and construction) for these groups of highly sought after skill sets. The increasing global competition for highly skilled labour adds another dimension of complexity to this situation. This paper reports the preliminary findings from a research project that has been funded by the Australian CRC for Rail Innovation to explore the use of skilled migration as a workforce development strategy for the rail industry. The project has brought together multiple stakeholders for a Skilled Migration Forum and proposed research within a Skilled Migration Creativity Hub.