Hotels and the 457

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THE TEMPORARY (SKILLED) WORK VISA SUBCLASS 457

SKILLS SHORTAGES OCCUR WHERE THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE AVAILABILITY OF SKILLED WORKERS AND THE CURRENT AND EMERGING NEEDS OF THE CORRESPONDING INDUSTRY.

This may cause significant short and long-term issues for a nation’s economic health and negatively impact the quality of life for all citizens.

Research undertaken by the Department of Employment shows that in Australia there are a sufficient number of applicants – with relevant qualifications – to fill the vacancies in almost every occupation.

In 2014-15, for example, there was an average of 13.6 applicants for every skilled vacancy. However, while most applicants held relevant qualifications, only 2.2 were considered by employees to be suitable for the job.

This resulted in more than a quarter of skilled vacancies remaining unfilled for approximately four to six weeks after advertising occurred.

The reasons for the unfilled vacancies varied, but included: no applicants – 5 per cent of employers – and no suitable applicants, as qualified persons often lacked experience or other attributes employers sought.

Driven by this sort of employer demand, the Temporary Work (Skilled) visa – or as it is more commonly known, the ‘subclass 457 visa’ – is designed to address labour shortages in the Australian market.

Introduced in 1996, the subclass 457 visa allows skilled persons to relocate to Australia and work for an approved business for a period not exceeding four years.

While one of the criticisms of the 457 visa program is that it undermines the job opportunities of Australian citizens, this is counteracted by the condition that employers may only recruit overseas workers where a genuine skill shortage exists or, in effect, where an appropriately skilled Australian has failed to apply and/or meet the job requirements.

Michelle Morrow, a Commerical Operations Manager for a Victorian based hospitality management group, represents just one of the many approved sponsors that has benefited greatly from the subclass 457 visa program.

Michelle currently employs four active skilled workers and they are very well established within her business.

Rewarded for his hard work and dedication, one of the skilled workers has been promoted to lead a kitchen – where he also channels his passion into writing menus – while the other is responsible for using his flare to plate and teach apprentices.

Michelle was also proud to share that the remainder of her 457 staff have become active members of the community, both inside and outside of the business.

“They are all amazing in their own right,” says Michelle. “ Our 457 employees are extremely team focused, diligent, professional and an absolute pleasure to work with.”

Encompassing three stages, the subclass 457 visa program requires employers to first apply to become an approved sponsor before nominating a skilled overseas worker to fulfill a specific position.

Following this, the skilled overseas worker completes the process via the lodging of a linked temporary work skilled visa application.

In order to make this process more manageable, Michelle outsourced The Philippines Recruitment Company (TPRC), a specialist firm who facilitated the engagement of skilled workers.

“A 7-step recruitment process will see TPRC pre-screen and assess our applicants prior to putting them in front of Australian Clients,” explains Michelle.

“They profile candidates to ensure that they are ‘ready to fly’ – meaning that they have a Trades Recognition Australia (TWA) assessment and are visa ready.

“This can see applicants arrive in Australia in as little as four to six weeks and our own personal record is three weeks from selection,” concludes Michelle.

With two recruitment options, this specialist type of outsourcing allows clients to either fly to Manila to assess candidates and/ or authorize TPRC to make the selection based on the client’s

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detailed job description.

Regardless of the option selected, all clients are taken care of in the form of a 12-month guarantee.

Applicants, however, are equally cared for, as Michelle has pointed out that: “TPRC works hard to ensure that candidates are placed in the best environment for them to grow, develop and share their skills.”

This is clearly reflected in both the success stories of Michelle’s 457 staff and the fact that two of her employees have brought their wives to join them in Australia – an outcome made possible by the subclass 457 visa, which grants family members unrestricted work and study rights and represents the overall commitment, stability and job satisfaction of her team.

From a skill shortage that made it near impossible to retain efficient, diligent trades people to the recruitment of loyal, hard working staff, the subclass 457 visa has definitely made a positive difference for Michelle’s work environment.

Since inception, the subclass 457 visa program has undergone considerable change – its title, for example, used to be the Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa – yet in cases not unlike Michelle’s it has continued to be responsive to the demands of the Australian labour market.

It’s no wonder that the subclass 457 is the most commonly used visa program to sponsor overseas workers on a temporary basis and that the owner of Bendigo’s Rising Sun Hotel, Pat Sheehan resorted to using it when he was struggling to engage local staff.

“I went down this path because when we were advertising locally, for Chefs in particular, there was virtually no one,” recalls Pat.

He also checked with the local Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions for apprentices, only to find that they were having similar issues – where intake and the numbers who were endeavoring to finish their course were dropping off quite dramatically.

Having realised that others were subject to this skills shortage –especially those in rural and regional areas – Pat decided it was time to look into alternative forms of recruitment.

“The process I went through was that we used a consultant from Immigration and the advice we received was to open up to a wider applicant pool and that could be accomplished by becoming a subclass 457 sponsor,” said Pat.

Following approval from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) Pat advertised positions on seek where he received around forty responses from overseas.

Since opening up to a wider market, he has employed four skilled workers – three of which have been with him for the past 1-2 years – and he has nothing but kind words to describe them: “The biggest thing I’ve found is that they have very good work ethic.

“To get employees that are punctual, organised and don’t seem to miss a beat really ticks all of the boxes.”

While both Pat and Michelle have experienced positive results from utilizing the subclass 457 visa program, there appears to be a consensus that the application process itself is very slow and arduous, something that they would both like to be reviewed.

“I would like to see the application process be less lengthy,” said Pat.

It is also of both their opinions that sponsors are often ‘left in the dark’ and unsure of where exactly they are up to in the process. While this is somewhat understandable, it can be tricky in peak periods.

For example, if the kitchen is going into Christmas two Chef’s down and they have applied for a subclass 457 visa, not knowing how soon until or even whether immigration will give the skilled worker clearance can be really difficult.

Despite this hope for a review and possible reform of the application process, both Michelle and Pat believe that the subclass 457 visa program is a valuable solution for businesses suffering from the adverse effects of a skilled labour shortage.

“From the results we’ve had, we would most certainly use this process again,” concludes Pat.