Despite it's controversial reputation, the 457-visa program offers many benefits for local born Australian workers

Conditions attached to the government’s on-hire labour agreement for the recruitment of overseas skilled workers provide unique opportunities for Australian citizens to find work and enjoy additional training.

The labour agreement typically allows companies to hire up to 100 temporary overseas skilled workers in areas of high need on subclass 457 visas.

The 457-visa program recently received criticism from Monash University population expert, Bob Birrell, who claimed it was creating a "back door" to permanent entry by low-wage workers.

Local unions also view the scheme with scepticism viewing it as a potential threat to the Australian workforce. But many employment experts, such as Bruce Mills, Joint-CEO of Australian recruitment firm, 3W Consulting, Contracting & Recruitment Pty Ltd, take a different tack.

“The on-hire labour agreement enables us to address the immediate skills shortage, while grooming Australian nationals for future roles,” said Mills.

“It provides us with both the incentive and the means to train and hire Australians – particularly in apprenticeship roles.”

Investing in local skills
In order to secure a labour agreement, companies must satisfy certain conditions. In doing so, some companies have already provided a range of new scholarships for Australian apprentices and trainees. These include dedicated scholarships for Indigenous and financially university students as well as apprenticeships for local Australian employees.

Apprenticeships offer huge rewards
3W specialises in the provision of IT contractors and consultants to corporate companies, as well as local, state and commonwealth government departments. They also hold a Labour Agreement for On-Hire.

“The traditional view that apprentices can only be found in the trade industry is overdue for reconsideration,” said Mills. “You CAN have apprentices in almost any field – even IT!”

“We have hired eight Australian apprentices – five in our Sydney office and three in our Brisbane offices.”

Apprenticeships are not exclusively for young people or recent graduates either – people of all ages can be employed as apprentices.

The apprentices hired under this program all enjoy the benefits of employment, work-experience and on-the-job-training. And many companies, like 3W, also encourage and assist their apprentices with part-time study in a relevant field.

“We haven’t stopped at simply hiring apprentices – we want our apprentices to grow into valuable assets for our business. This is why we sponsor them and encourage them to study part time. Six of them are doing the Certificate IV in IT, while the remaining two have enrolled in the Certificate in Business Management.”

Re-thinking restrictions could open even more opportunities
There are still some issues for those who wish to hire apprentices. According to current legislation; apprentices may only be drawn from ASCO group 4 (i.e. they must be tradespeople). This poses a problem for companies in certain industries where other skills are more necessary.

“Although the apprentices we’ve hired are IT professionals, rather than tradespeople, they are considered formal apprentices under the Australian Apprentice scheme,” explained Mills.

“We are currently lobbying government to lift the restriction so that a wider range of Australian apprentices can benefit from this program.”