Research Industry Council set to challenge 457 visa decision, arguing it will ‘hit’ industry hard
The Research Industry Council of Australia is set to challenge the Turnbull government’s decision to abolish 457 visas with the body arguing the removal of market research analyst and research and development manager from the eligible skilled occupation list will “hit” the research industry hard.
The RICA is urging the government to reverse its decision to cut the two positions, arguing market and social research is an important service that benefits all Australians.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the axing of the 457 visa which will be replaced by two new temporary visas.
A number of jobs, including public relations manager, will be removed from the eligible occupations for the new visas.
Sarah Campbell, executive director for Association of Market and Social Research Organisations, said the removal of market research analyst and research and development manager from the eligible skilled occupation list will make the current talent shortage worse.
“There is a talent shortage for particular research positions in our country, with member company CEOs reporting that some jobs, requiring a very particular skill set, can be advertised in Australia for over 12 months before being filled by a 457 visa employee,” she said.
“The removal of these two research positions from the eligible skilled occupation list is likely to hit our industry hard and RICA will be heading to Canberra to request that they be reinstated.”
Lee Naylor: “We simply can’t afford to lose the highly skilled talent we currently recruit from overseas”
Lee Naylor, the managing director of strategic research consultancy The Leading Edge, said people employed in these roles through a 457 visa are not taking jobs from Australians.
“RICA represents approximately 80% of market and social research organisations in Australia and over 4,000 full-time employees. With the industry undergoing technological change and the opportunity for unparalleled growth, we simply can’t afford to lose the highly skilled talent we currently recruit from overseas,” he said.
“These people are not taking jobs from Australians but rather complementing the talent we already employ here. As an industry, we have invested in local talent and training, but we need overseas talent to ensure our local companies can compete on the global stage.”
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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How about the industry stands up and takes responsibility for training good young people into future leaders?
Continuing to hiring execs from England isn’t the answer.
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Tend to agree with Ad critic on this one. There is plenty of good talent here if it’s nurtured properly. Maybe we’ll be forced to do this now…
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There is no shortage of talent in Australia. Just a shortage of companies willing to develop their junior researchers.
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So who’s going to do the training? Like it or not, there’s a reason why there’s a market for senior-level, experienced OS workers. One day our young Australians will stand on their own but that day is not today. If we want the Brits to stop coming over, training up future leaders and growing businesses (read: creating jobs) – then let’s send them all back and continue to lag behind the other global economies.
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Hi Ad Critic,
My old agency set up a internship scheme to try and find new talent here in Australia. It worked well but the fact is, training good people into future leaders takes time and they need to be trained by good people to ensure they have the skills to make it in the industry. If the main source of current talent is taken away then the whole industry will suffer which could lead to less jobs for Australians.
Agencies want to hire Australians, it costs less money and it takes a lot less time than going through the VISA process (I have been turned down for jobs before where I had the same skills as the other applicants but they didn’t need a visa) but they simply can’t get the talent they need here in Australia so they have to look to the UK to help the industry build and to ultimately entice Australians to train for these jobs.
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Yep agree with the above – that old adage “I run the risk of training people, and then they leave” versus “yeah, but when you don’t train them, you run the risk they stay”…
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Same as ad agencies really. They don’t have the budgets for real training anymore, which means that without staff from other big markets there is a gap in knowledge and experience.
Besides. Our industries are multi-country in both directions. Part of the reason why Australia punches above it’s weight for it’s size/population.
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“We can’t afford to train young people now”.
What a joke. Turnbull’s got this right.
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Why are we talking about training and bringing in overseas talent like they are mutually exclusive???? We need both and most research companies do both.
The key point is that research is a global industry and the evidence (I know not something politicians really like to look at) is that open migration policies for knowledge workers is the best way to create advantage not just for an economy but for staff here. The traffic is two-way: as a skilled migrant researcher I came here when the company I came to run had tried for 12 months to find the right skill set and failed. I’ve gone on to mentor many young Australians to take their place on the world stage – many of them heading overseas (usually to my native land) in return. Most have then returned to Australia with enriched skill sets and a truly global perspective. That exchange is vital to new ideas and this is what threatens research in Australia.
So please, don’t remove skilled migrant researchers – they’ll be valuable mentors to young Australians!
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Wow, so many ignorant people in Australia too? How arrogant and naive do you need to be to think Australians could replace international talent alone and stay competitive.
That’s like promoting incest in a small village.
How will you ever learn something new if the old stuff is trained among the same people over and over again?
Australia needs to wake up – if the 457 visas regulations stay as they are then we are all screwed.
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Congratulations to RICA for moving so quickly on this issue.
I remember a past marketing conference where, when asked by a speaker for a show of hands, a significant proportion of the audience indicated they’d worked internationally before living in Australia. Some had emigrated, some had just spent time working in the UK / US / Asia, but it was hardly uncommon to have an inter-country working life.
Which is why this sudden visa change is so short-sighted. We want our employees to have a wide range of experiences. We want international experience with clients who may not have an Australian presence, doing things that Australian clients are conservative about. Now that door is being shut – in Australia and in other countries – it’s going to weaken our ability to learn and grow.
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We are a small industry and there is a lack of local talent capable of fulfilling the number of roles on offer.
Suffice to say thus will impede business growth.
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