If your name’s not down...

AP&P asked Skills Australia why paint and panel tradespeople were removed from the skilled occupations list (SOL) in July.

This was its response.

‘Skills Australia is an independent statutory body, providing advice to the government on Australia’s current, emerging and future workforce skills needs and workforce development needs.

‘The purpose of the SOL is to identify occupations which will assist in meeting the medium and long term skill needs of the Australian economy. The SOL is therefore concerned with occupations where there is likely to be demand in the future, rather than addressing immediate skills shortages. Occupations are assessed against a number of criteria to determine whether they qualify for inclusion on the SOL. 
 
‘Decisions about which occupations are included or omitted from the SOL are evidence-based and tested against a number of criteria. Even if an occupation meets certain criteria for inclusion, other labour market factors such as potential oversupply of an occupation in the medium to long term, are also taken into consideration.

‘The evidence available during the development of the 2011 SOL, drawn from a number of data sources, indicated that employment in the occupations of panelbeater and vehicle painter would fall over the four years to 2015. Moreover, unemployment levels for panelbeaters were above the national average, indicating adequate supply nationally despite shortages in certain locations.

The median age for vehicle painters is also below the national average for all occupations, indicating this occupation will not be subject to the same levels of wastage due to retirement occurring in other occupations in the medium term.

‘Migration data also indicates that very few employees are currently working at the relevant skill level in these occupations under the general skilled migration program. For these reasons, neither occupation was included on the 2011 SOL.’

It is still possible to sponsor migrant workers, find out how on page 20.