November 19th, 2024 | Sterling

How Does Western Australia’s Construction Visa Subsidy Programme Impact Hiring?

Finding the right talent has always been a challenge for HR leaders, especially in the competitive construction industry, where the local talent pool in Western Australia is thinning. According to a report by Infrastructure Australia, there’s a growing shortage of tradespeople and labourers, and this challenge is rapidly increasing and will remain high until 2025, with a peak deficit of 131,000 skilled workers expected this 2024. As a result, the construction industry is expanding its search to attract talent from other states and also from overseas.

In a move set to bolster the construction industry even further, the Western Australian government has announced a 12-month extension of its Construction Visa Subsidy Programme (CVSP). This programme is now poised to continue its support for employers trying to navigate the complexities of hiring skilled migrant workers.

What is the Construction Visa Subsidy Programme?

Introduced in July 2023, the CVSP was launched to address critical skills shortages within the construction sector by offering businesses up to $10,000 in subsidies to cover a range of expenses including migration agent fees, visa application costs, and relocation expenses. This 12-month extension is a testament to the programme’s success and its role in helping employers fill crucial vacancies.

How will CVSP impact the way you hire?

For companies utilising CVSP, it’s now more important than ever to hire the right talent. Without adequate background checks on your candidates to ensure they are suitable, a bad hire can cost you not just the subsidies, but also your time, effort, and even risk, including compliance issues during the process. As reported in Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship, there are unscrupulous facilitators of illegal workers in the construction and agriculture industries who may take advantage and entice these workers with false promises of jobs in Australia before using CVSP, then pass the workers onto the end employers.

For employers who leverage the CVSP to enhance their teams, it’s key to conduct relevant and thorough background and identity screening to effectively minimise the risk of an illegal or bad hire. Hiring skilled migrant workers should be a long-term investment, and employers should invest in the right screening process to help find the best fit for the role.

How to Build a Screening Framework with CVSP in Mind

Employers seeking to secure the benefits and grants of the extended CVSP, especially construction businesses, should first take the following factors into account:

Ensuring Compliance with Local Regulations

Employers must ensure that all international hires comply with local regulations and standards. This includes: 

• Having the Visa and Work Permits: Verify that all required visas and work permits are in place and valid. Employers should stay informed about the specific conditions and restrictions attached to these permits to avoid legal complications.
• Trust and Safety: These are the essential building blocks supporting productive work environments. Integrity and character checks enable organisations to preserve your corporate culture and protect your employees by providing the full picture and history of your candidates. This in turn provides assurance and confidence for your team and everyone they interact with.
• Criminal Records Checks: It’s crucial to ensure you hire trustworthy candidates. Conduct criminal background checks in the candidate’s country of origin (and any other countries where they have resided). This helps to identify any past criminal behaviour that could impact workplace safety or your company’s reputation. 

Building a Trustworthy Team with the Right Screening Partner

Attracting skilled immigrants requires employers to pay close attention to cultural differences and experiences. This means partnering with an organisation with global reach while being flexible and adaptable to local nuances.

Hiring with cultural sensitivity in mind helps new hires understand and adapt to the local work environment, practices, and processes. For hiring leaders, navigating background screening on your own can be tricky. You might want to know more about the candidate but unknowingly ask the wrong questions or take incorrect steps, often leading to a longer and more tedious hiring process or even candidate drop-off.

This is where Sterling comes in. With our local experts, we can partner with you to help create hiring programmes to recruit overseas individuals with clean and verified backgrounds, and help avoid poor hiring decisions based on inaccurate, falsified information. It’s part of our strong commitment to protect your organisation’s reputation and to help you foster trust with your clients and stakeholders.  

By proactively addressing these concerns, your construction business can maximise the benefits of the CVSP, successfully integrate skilled migrant workers, and uphold the highest standards of safety and compliance in the workplace.

To find out more about how Sterling can help you develop and execute a screening program to support your organisation’s needs, contact us today.

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