As the calendar counts down to the skills expo that will take place in Athens on October 8 and 9, some idea of how the event will run, and who will be taking part, is becoming clearer. The sessions will provide an opportunity for skilled workers in Greece, who have suitable qualifications, experience and English language ability to meet Australia’s skilled visa requirements, to hear about skilled visa options and sponsorship and employment opportunities in Australia.
The Athens event will follow a similar approach to an identical event organised by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) which took place in London three months ago.
As will be the case in Athens, the London sessions provided Australian employers and government an opportunity to talk directly to skilled professionals interested in migrating. Feedback given by the 570 individuals who attended the London event, showed that over 80 per cent found it useful, a third of those who attended had 5 to 10 years of experience in their field, and 40 per cent believed the event influenced their decision to apply for an Australian visa. 31 per cent had already made up their mind to migrate to Australia before going to the sessions.
The most popular visa category was permanent employer sponsored (35.9 per cent ) followed by temporary employer sponsored, or subclass 457 (23.2 per cent). The London event, run over three days in June, featured twenty exhibitors including five Australian state and territory governments, employers and recruitment companies acting on employers’ behalfs.
Sandy Logan the National Communications Manager for DIAC, told Neos Kosmos that the department had seen strong interest in the Athens event. “There will be five sessions over the two days, and it will be run conference-style, with addresses from the key agencies involved. Those attending will be able to visit various booths, depending on their skills and where they might want to go,” “A number of state government departments will be taking part,” said Mr Logan.
A spokeswoman for Victorian Government’s Department of Business and Innovation said that, “Victoria will be targeting prospective skilled migrants who could potentially meet labour shortages in the state’s engineering and healthcare industries.” She also confirmed that Nathan Cox, a senior London-based representative of the department’s Skilled and Business Migration Program would be attending on behalf of the state government.