Some Australian graduates are migrating to the UK for work.
As the UK government predicts a peak in unemployment this year, the Daily Telegraph is reporting on how overseas job hunters are being recruited by agencies to fill workgaps in the UK.
Recruitment firm Poolia have announced an increase of more than 45% of job-seekers from Australia and South Africa visiting their sites to search for jobs in the UK. This matches with a 35% increase in UK businesses targeting overseas migrants.
Despite high numbers of graduates leaving UK universities without a job, there is apparently a skilled worker shortage in the UK that is being filled with highly qualified Australian and South African workers.
So whilst UK migrants are desperate to emigrate to Australia to find skilled work and a new life, it seems that our Australian counterparts are doing exactly the same thing! Although why anyone would want to migrate to the recession hit UK is beyond me! One clue could be the rising property market in Australia that is making it hard for first-time buyers to get onto the ladder; and the looming elections that predict a loss for current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Some young Aussies could decide to ride out the storm and return to Australia in more stable times.
However Australia’s unemployment rate currently stands at 5.2%, according to government statistics released in May of this year, whilst UK unemployment stands at 7.9% and is steadily rising; government economists predict a peak of around 8.1% this year. So what jobs are these migrant Australians looking for? According to Poolia managing director Shaun Greenfield, they are university educated and are looking for professional jobs – some of them also have professional qualifications to boot.
It seems an irony that our young university leavers are seeking their fortunes in places like Australia whilst their young people are doing exactly the same over here. The UK government has pledged to cap the number of migrants allowed into the country to work, with a strict regime that mirrors the Australian immigration policy of allowing only skilled migrants into the country.
What you do think about this story? Are you a British migrant looking for work? What brings to you to UK and what sort of work are you looking for? We’d love to hear your story, get in touch via the comments box below.
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