The Master Plumbers and Gasfitters Association of WA is engaging with the WA State Government to address the issues related to hiring skilled migrants.

As we all know, many employers are keen to overcome the local shortage of skilled tradespeople by hiring migrants with overseas plumbing and gasfitting qualifications.

However, this option is often unachievable in practice due to issues with migrant skills assessments and gap training.

We are acutely aware of the impact these issues are having on plumbing businesses. An article in The West on Tuesday 26 September (Employers Plumb the Depths for Recruits) featured our distinguished member Bill Busby and his first-hand account of the impact of the skills shortage.

The article also included a call from our CEO Murray Thomas for a reduction of red tape around employing skilled migrants.

With the release this week of the Australian Government's White Paper on Employment and the expected release of a new national migration strategy later this year, the skills shortage and skilled migration will be getting widespread media interest. We are using this time to ramp up our lobbying activities.

We will keep members informed of our progress.