Skill shortage solutions

Good point – I think there is already a ‘skills shortage’ in plumbing – it is almost impossible ikmpossible to get one. And minor building jobs (replacing a window etc) cost a fortune, once you can get someone to actually come and quote.

Didn’t mean to insult any Queenslanders out there, but I suppose it was inevitable. I won’t apologise for making broad generalisations but I will say there are certainly exceptions to every rule. My trips to Queensland have done very little to promote the area as cosmopolitan, sophisticated and friendly. Granted I’ve only been there half a dozen times, strictly as a tourist so maybe I shouldn’t be shocked.

Fair call Al, there are plenty of rednecks here as well. I won’t dispute that.

As far as a skills shortage goes, you only have to look at our health care professionals to see an awful lot of ex-pats working in the field.

You can also check out the difficulties finding apprentices in the trades. In ten years time we will have a turn around when your desk wielding IT guru is on minimum wage and folks prepared to get their hands dirty fixing cars, drains, electricals and builders, landscapers etc will be on better money.

IMHO this trend is probably Australia wide and the blame for it should fall squarely on every government who has supported the apprentice wage scheme which does little to ensure kids can live on first, second, third and even fourth year wages.

lol, dont go starting the farewell party yet, kids are currently a twinkle in dads eye.

I think i’ll make myself known from wherever I end up, this site needs somebody to calm down Areaman *g*

On that note however, a good deal of nepotism has gone into a potential move to Victoria, might be relocating for a few years to ensure the financial stability of my childrens children.

I’ll keep ya’s posted.

Ah dear – “redneck state”?
As a born Queenslander, I have to point out that I am part of an endangered species. Queenslanders are getting very hard to find in Queensland – Southeast Qld anyway… The southerners flocking to smother that area rarely venture further north as the humidity knocks them for a six first summer they see. But insults aside, bulldog is right – the State has infrastructure problems, and they go right back to the Joh era, and will take many more years to fix, regardless of the government of the day.
But having lived much of my life there, I can say bulldog: there are just as many rednecks down thisaway.
I am also qualified to say that I’m happy to leave it to all the southerners trying to squish themselves in up there. 1,200 people per week (yes – that is per week!) migrate north to SE Qld alone!
I think Canberra has a hell of a lot going for it, and am happy to move here. The secret to the climate is to just get a good (read: expensive) set of wool thermals for winter, and if you think summer is hot, then you’ll just luuuv Qld – not!
But my point for kicking off this thread was to see if people really thought there was any as claimed ‘skills shortage’ out there, in what areas, and is there really a need to go looking overseas for people?
I can’t help but think from the above discussions, that to some extent, Canberra’s main problem in selling Canberra to the rest of the country – is Canberrans!

Your call Mael, I’ll miss the well articulated (and exceptionally punctuated) ranting.

But IMHO I certainly won’t be joining the grey army and migrating north with the rest of the cashed up baby boomers.

If you think the ACT’s overpriced now, wait until Queensland’s population swells with well off retirees vainly scratching around the sun for a place to die.

Becasue of this you can expect them to overburden the state’s ailing health system.

With all that capital tied up in pure consumerism you can promise a successful career in Retail or Hospitality for your kids.

Although I shoud say thanks because by taking yourslef and well educated kids (assuming they are not educated in a Super School) out of Canberra you are ensuring that the skills shortage and ageing population grants me heaps more money in my back pocket.

But if shitty public transport and a lack of some children’s imagination is the impetus to expose yourslef and loved ones to “the redneck state” than so be it, I wish you luck.

There are a number of shitty things about Canberra, I won’t disagree with that, but the town is not terminally ill. The only thing we can’t fix is the climate.

Canberra isn’t a bad place. No, can’t bring myself to saying that. It’s freezing in winter, overheated in summer. The best description I can come up with for the surrounding countryside is desolate wasteland.

Everything is overpriced due to our overabundance of diplomatic staff who can pay those prices, housing is astronomical, infrastructure is poor, and planning nonexistant.

Young adults of the city’s idea of having a good time is hanging out at the mall. Enough said.

You can’t even catch a bus to the airport.

Canberra isn’t a nice place at all. I’m here for several reasons;

1. Money – I can sit in a public servant job and get paid, no brainer.
2. Children – Because of the threat of diplomatic hostility the hospitals in Canberra (believe it or not) are that little bit better than the rest of the country.
3. Children – Inlaws live here, and they will be babysitting our children when we have them whether they like it or not because I’m not paying childcare.

As soon as the children are of an age, we’re going with the rest of Australia and moving to Queensland.

Fair call annie, makes me think that for a ‘planned city’ there have certainly been a lot of thoughtless decisions made…

But it can be fixed; it’s a matter of identifying these pitfalls and voting in a government who will attend to them.

Mael, Canberra is not a bad place. You are reasonably well travelled so you know that for all the bitching we do about the place, that it rates pretty highly when held up against the cess pits of the third world, the industrial filth of the second world and the increasing crime rates of the any other first world capital (maybe other than Ottawa).

Here’s my take on the ACT skills shortage.

Basically, a lot of it is code for “Damn, I can’t just hire an experienced person for crap pay; I’m going to have to hire someone keen and train them up.” Ie: there are a lot of employers who don’t WANT or can’t handle the task of training new people, and they just want experience, which you can’t get without being given a go somewhere.

Secondly, it’s to do with basic logistics and aesthetics. Canberra is the nation’s capital, yet it doesn’t have an international capacity airport, OR a decent train/bus service within the ACT or outlying regions like Goulburn (or Yass for that matter). Let’s be honest, you have to drive everywhere really, and that’s always an interesting experience, given the high levels of patience and politeness exhibited by ACT drivers.

So in my opinion, there’s no point being clever and thinking of ways to sell the city to tourists and potential employees if it’s too much bloody trouble to get there in the first place, then get around.

It’s not an image problem; it’s a poor use of resources problem.

Maelinar, sounds like your canberra loathing would drop right off if you quit the job you hate and stop hanging around in shopping malls.

80% thumper 🙂

self explanitory…

Further lessons avaliable at the Durham from 4:30