It now seems that some Australian states are warning of labor shortages due to the changes that have been made to skilled migration policies. Due to these changes, the system seems to be failing to bring in a sufficient number of skilled workers.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland said that the shortage of skilled migrants would be harmful for the state’s economy. Right now Queensland has a number of large scale projects underway, and the state urgently needs truck drivers, plumbers and engineers. Some of these occupations in demand in Queensland are not currently on the Australian Department of Emigration’s critical skills list.

Western Australia also needs migrant workers to help plug the gaps in their workforce. It was reported just recently that Western Australia is going through a mining boom, and it needs workers, such as Production Managers. This is another occupation that is not currently on the CSL.

Also, as most of these industries export to China, a slowdown in production could spell disaster. Australia’s strong trading relationship with China is what managed to keep the nation out of the recession that hit the rest of the world so hard.

The President of the Chamber of Commerce, David Goodwin, warned that if they do not attract the new labor to the country, then they will have to hold back the current projects that Australia is working on. He went on to say that their position is that if they bring the right sort of emigrants to Australia, it really does help the economy and helps keep things moving.