The products made at Simon Kennedy’s pipe fabrication business in Port Adelaide will one day prop up major resources projects.
But the director of Smart Fabrication says he struggles to find staff. "We advertise regularly and we struggle to get (Australian) nationals here on a regular basis. There’s just not enough skilled tradesmen in South Australia to fill the jobs we’ve got today, in my opinion, and with the defence boom coming, we have a mass need for more skilled migrants, definitely, " he says.
A welder at Simon Kennedy's business
John Landalos, originally from the Philippines, is a boilermaker at the business.
"It's like, I’m enjoying the job. I’m enjoying the workmates here. I gain lots of experience and skills from them. It’s good for me. It’s good for me."
South Australia’s Premier, Steven Marshall, says the state needs many more skilled workers like John.
He’s calling on the Prime Minister to consider the needs of regional areas in the nation’s migration policy.
He says states such as South Australia and Tasmania, as well as the Northern Territory, have vastly different needs to Sydney and Melbourne and he wants to see designated area migration agreements – DAMAs – expanded.
"What we’re calling for is a simplified pathway to further DAMAs, so we can get skilled migration to the areas where they’re most needed in Australia. "
The Premier’s plan also includes more incentives for international students, and encouraging local residents to stay and work – in a state where about 5,000 locals leave each year.
Nigel McBride - Chief Executive of South Australia’s peak chamber of commerce, Business SA - says many employers across the state support the notion.
"What we’re seeing is policy being set at a national level, responding to the complaints out of Sydney and Melbourne, but don’t recognise the huge need - not only in regional South Australia but right across regional Australia, " he says.
