Australian IT Workers Concerned About Migrants

sien writes "In Australia it is being asserted that Australia's intake of migrants skilled in IT is taking jobs and lowering wages for Australian citizens. It appears that in all developed countries, not just the US, the case that immigrants are lowering wages for IT workers is being made. Would programmers in the developed world be better off without immigration that favors IT or is there an overall benefit for the industry with skilled workers going to the developed world and thus making the industry larger?"

Comments

Just shut up....

[mcbridematt]

Perhaps they should stop blaming others and increase the standard of what is being taught at Universities and the last few years of secondary/high school. The Australian IT industry is a shame compared to other countries.

He also said the Australian Computer Society, which accredits the IT qualifications of applicants for permanent residency, should introduce tougher English tests and insist that overseas students spend three years studying IT in Australia, rather than two.

The Australian Computer Society? Oh, these are the same guys who think IT 'pros' should be certified just like doctors and nurses. When its illegal to be an uncertified IT guy in Australia, please tell me because I will happily show the door to anything trying to enforce it.

Re:A perfect world

[Ex-MislTech]

Funny,

I have worked for close to 30 years, and I have found lately that the bottom line is king .

A lot of the reason ppl are being hired from overseas is cost, not quality .

Don't get me wrong, some are quality ppl, I met some good and some bad while at cisco systems .

There is a perception that americans are fat and lazy, and I have met them too, but then again
I have met ppl that were awesome, but were paid very little because they were young .

I also see that older ppl are generally not accepted into the tech sector as being
considered unable to embrace new things and stuck in their ways .

Some old school telecom ppl got screwed on this HR techno-babble mental mindwash .

They need to just test the ppl, and have technical interviews in addition to the
personality assessment done by HR .

I have seen ppl hired at cisco that were pathethic , and they stayed even after the
DOT bust and ppl that stayed and left were both utterly amazed by it .

For the big corporations the accountants are driving them now, and 3dfx is a good
example of what happens when accountants and marketing droids take over .

Like I said, don't get me wrong, good ppl on both sides of the ocean, but some of the
most experienced ppl in the tech sector are being driven away by new visa workers
just for the cost savings .

As an american you can go apply at some of the foreign IT head hunter shops and no
matter your credentials you won't even get an interview .

They want ppl they can leverage with fear of being sent back home as well, knowing
it is the difference between a 3rd world job or being here making more than they would
in their resident country by far .

The flaw I see in this is that if money is made here, but most of it sent out of the country
to support their family back home, then money that would go into the economy here ends up
being sent out and deflating our economy .

They cry about a trade deficit, but they themselves employ foreign workers who send a great
deal of money home . "Just" sent via Western Union, "just" to mexico $6 billion USD .

http://www.businessweek.com/1997/19/b3526155.htm

I don't know how many ppl from other countries work here, but I know the figure is in the
millions, and I know it is from MANY nations . I also know generally the mexicans make
the least as well . So with that in mind, you can guesstimate the math .

When the corporations whine about the trade deficit, they can keep this in mind .

As for the government puppets protecting US jobs, that is a bunch of BS , and they should
all be flown to hollywood to pick up their oscar awards .

Peace,
Ex-MislTech

Re:A perfect world

[Chuck Chunder]

Sometimes for whatever reason, a nation might produce fewer skilled workers per capita in an industry than another nation does.

Interestingly I heard someone talking about this on the radio news on the way home today. The reasoning they gave for decreasing 'importing' people was that a lowering in wages was decreasing the desirability of IT courses to Australians (compared to other courses) and therefore Australia is producing fewer IT workers now. So, according to him at least, the "importing" of foreign IT workers was a cause of under producing native workers and getting more would in fact make the problem worse, as sort of a vicious circle.

To me it makes sense that a country should try and maintain a certain level of native competancy in skills, not that I have any idea what that level would be.