After a disrupted two years, a return to previous levels of skilled migration is needed, according to Regional Development Australia Illawarra.
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The independent organisation highlights that with migrants making up 81 per cent of population growth in Wollongong, the ability of the region to be productive depends on a consistent intake of skilled migrants from around the globe.
Following the arrival of the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, migration levels to Australia fell to negative levels, meaning more people left Australia than entered the country. In 2019-2020, Australia's net overseas migration was around 190,000.
CEO of RDA Illawarra Debra Murphy said that while other parts of the country experienced population growth through domestic migration and natural population growth, this was not the case in the Illawarra.
"The thing that most people don't appreciate is that our population growth in the Illawarra, but particularly the Wollongong LGA, is largely driven by migration."
While the federal government forecasts migration to return to pre-pandemic levels and even increase in the years ahead, RDA Illawarra highlights that for the region to grow, programs targeting skilled migrants and attracting them to the Illawarra will be needed.
"Recent reports indicate that there is a significant job and skills shortage for skilled trades and professionals in regional Australia: yet it remains unattractive to skilled migrants," RDA Illawarra noted in its submission to the Department of Home Affairs.
Between 2011 and 2016, only 14.1 per cent of international migrants settled outside of the capital cities according to the ABS.
To overcome this disparity between the capital cities and the regions and address the skills shortage, RDA Illawarra recommends locally coordinated and championed migrant programs that link directly to employment with access to housing or land, as well as flexible visa employment conditions.
For Wollongong and the wider Illawarra, with its history of migration, the support networks are already there for many new migrants but consideration needed to be given as new cultures join the Illawarra.
"The Illawarra has grown and developed by migrants and it's a rich part of our history. So we have a really good culture of welcoming all sorts of people to our community," said Ms Murphy.
As skills needs morph and change, attention will also need to be paid to the type of jobs and roles that are most in demand and that cannot be filled by local workers.
According to RDA Illawarra this requires better data and transparency about what skills are in demand in the region. RDA Illawarra proposes that surveys conducted over several years could be conducted by local organisations.
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