The Australasian Railway Association and Roads Australia say the federal government’s decision to include several engineering roles on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List will help industry deliver significant works.
NEW occupations added to the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) this week are set to help in the delivery of major road and rail construction projects across the country.
The Australasian Railway Association and Roads Australia said the federal government’s decision to include several engineering roles on the list would enable industry to more effectively deliver the significant pipeline of work underway or planned across Australia.
ARA chief executive Caroline Wilkie said the federal government’s confirmation of 22 new occupations on the list followed extensive industry consultation.
“This is welcome recognition of the critical role infrastructure construction will play in driving the nation’s economic growth,” Wilkie said.
“We expect to see increasing demand for skilled workers as new road and rail projects get underway and the addition of these key occupations will help ensure the industry can meet this need.
“This week’s announcement confirms the valuable contribution of the transport sector and reflects strong consultation with industry throughout the review process.”
RA chief executive Michael Kilgariff said the addition of the new occupations reflected industry views put forward in a joint submission by RA and the ARA to federal parliament’s inquiry to skilled migration in March.
“The fact that so many of the new occupations are relevant to the transport sector is an appropriate recognition of the significant work the sector is undertaking to deliver critical new road and rail projects across the country,” Kilgariff said.
“Our joint submission had called for greater consideration of the skilled workers required to deliver the massive pipeline of nation-building transport infrastructure projects currently underway.
“We are pleased to see industry feedback reflected in the additions to the list. The new inclusions will help the transport sector deliver the project outcomes that our economy and our communities need.”
A total of 22 new occupations were added to the PMSOL, including electrical engineer, structural engineer, geotechnical engineer and transport engineer.