Mining in Australia needs foreign workers, but someone needs to adress the language issue

Rob Burgess of Guardian Weekly comments on the conflict between the number of foreign workers needed for the Australian resource industry, and the number of immigrants with the English language skills to fill those positions safely and productively.

Perth’s Phoenix college has been working with a wide range of mining companies to help with English skills, but almost all with higher paid, more senior employees. It has only once been asked to train technicians – a group of welders from Indonesia who had to meet higher Ielts scores when they reapplied for new 457 visas. Most of the college’s mining sector students are likely to have had some formal English tuition in their home country. “Often they’re OK for social interaction, but not for writing reports – or for writing reports in the way Australian businesses require,” [academic director Lisa Barbagiovanni] said.