Support migrant centric journalism today and donate
According to workpermit.com's survey, many of our readers really like Australia. The good news is, if you are a skilled worker, Australia's door is open it you. Recent statistics show that Australia welcomed a record number of skilled workers into the country in the 2004-05 migration year.
Of the 120,060 migrants who became permanent residents in Australia during this period - the most since the late 1980s - around 65 percent (77,880) emigrated through one of the country's many skill streams.
They are not just heading to big cities. The government has been trying to attract skilled migrants into Australia's regions, and their strategy seems to be working. The number of skilled migrants sponsored by a state or territory reached an all time high in 2004-05. The number of newcomers settling in non-metropolitan areas also increased by over 50 percent on the previous year.
The number of doctors arriving in Australia accounted for the biggest increase in specific workers arriving in the country -- a 294 percent increase over 2003-4. Doctors were followed by accountants (48 percent), nurses 40 (percent) and trade workers (38 percent).
Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) hopes to attract a further 20,000 (97,500 in total) skilled workers in 2005-06, and possibly even more the following year. The door for hopeful migrants with the skills that Australia wants is open.
In total DIMIA hopes to welcome between 130,000 to 140,000 migrants into the country over the next 12 months.
