the future..., page-5

FORTY per cent of skilled migrants remain unemployed or underemployed six months after arrival, a State Government study shows.

The results come as the Federal Government faces increasing pressure to cut back on migration for fear it will accelerate unemployment as the economy slows next year.

The Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology in 2006-07 surveyed 400 skilled migrants six months after they arrived and found 170 were unemployed or not employed full-time. One third said the main reason for unemployment was "lack of local work experience" – impossible because the migrants were from overseas.

That was followed by the lack of English language skills, lack of jobs, lack of permanent residency, problems with resume or interview and lack of qualifications.

Opposition employment spokesman David Pisoni attacked the State Government for taking one year to get recruitment job providers involved in a promised Employment Linkages Service to match skilled migrants with jobs.

A letter two weeks ago from the department to national migrant job provider Patrick Comerford, shows the service still was not active this month.

Mr Comerford, who is chief executive of Catapult People, said: "The Government promised a support service last year and haven't provided any funding yet."

A spokesman for acting Treasurer Paul Holloway said the system would be running by the middle of this month.

Business SA chief executive Peter Vaughan disagrees with calls to cut migrant intake but wants more matching migrants with work opportunities. "There is some inappropriate targeting which adds pressure to the position that Business SA has taken which is that more should come to SA instead of flooding to Sydney and Melbourne," he said.