Australia’s first recruitment tech start-up, WorkinAUS, is making it easier than ever for international job seekers to connect with Australian employers as new research shows there is a large pool of overseas workers ready to relocate that can help solve the country’s critical problems. labor shortages.
WorkinAUS is an online platform advertising Australian jobs directly to international candidates who are ready and willing to relocate to fill one of the approximately 500,000 vacancies in Australia.
The start-up is initially targeting the UK and Ireland and aims to have 10,000 registered jobseekers by December 2022, with plans to expand to other countries.
Around 750,000 people aged 21 to 35 in the UK and Ireland “could leave immediately if the right opportunity presented itself”, according to a YouGov study commissioned by WorkinAUS. These countries also accounted for more than 50% of foreign workers who came to Australia before COVID.
Brian Schroder, co-founder and managing director of WorkinAUS, says easier recruitment of migrants and better job offers before they arrive are key to solving the labor shortage in the country.
“Borders shouldn’t be barriers, and that’s why the WorkinAUS platform creates a direct line between a wider international talent market and Australian employers and recruiters,” he said.
“WorkinAUS is the first international job board dedicated to bringing migrants to the country to fill job vacancies by making it easier for them to find employers willing to hire them.
“Never in 20 years of recruiting have I seen such a gap between employer demand and available manpower.
“The government lifting the cap on permanent migration is a positive step, but we are still a long way from returning to pre-COVID levels of migration from Australia into the country. WorkinAUS is looking to change that.
“Sectors such as hospitality, retail, tourism, health, education and construction – some of Australia’s largest industrial sectors – face significant labor shortages.
“There are currently over 70,000 overseas workers who have been granted Working Holiday Visas but have yet to arrive in Australia. With faster processing times than other visas and the ability to attract a wide range of skills and experiences, the potential there alone is very powerful.
WorkinAUS currently features jobs from brands such as restaurant leaders Hunter St Hospitality and Pacific Concepts (formerly Rockpool Dining Group), specialist medical staffing agency Medipeople and franchisee Endota Spa, the start-up targeting 500 employer clients from end of the year.
Momento Hospitality, which operates leading Sydney-based food and beverage outlets, is also among the employers that have signed up to the WorkinAUS platform.
Momento Hospitality managing director Marcello Colosimo said hospitality was one of the industries most affected by the labor shortage in Australia, as it typically employed a large number of overseas workers.
“Many of our overseas workers have returned to their home countries during the pandemic and almost all have yet to return,” he said.
“Host venues have struggled to find enough staff over the past two years, and some have had to change their opening hours, close during peak periods and reduce the number of sessions, making too many businesses not viable.
“We urgently need innovative solutions, like WorkinAUS, to help encourage international talent to return to Australia to fill more vacancies than ever before in hospitality and other sectors. They are a key part of our ability to provide excellent customer service and bring diverse ideas and experiences with them. »
Margy Osmond, chief executive of Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TFF), the leading industry group for the country’s tourism, transport and aviation sectors, said the research findings were an exciting reinforcement that the australia is still a desirable option for a large number of potential overseas workers.
‘Australia offers an incredible experience for overseas workers and making it easier for them to find jobs that welcome them is an important part of solving our jobs crisis,’ she said.
“We have the jobs ready to be created, but we need to make them easier to access and remove the barriers for that to happen.”
WorkinAUS has formed a strategic partnership with the Migration Institute of Australia and is a preferred partner of the Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association (RCSA) – alliances which will see the platform promoted to the organizations member companies.
To date, WorkinAUS has been funded by co-founders Brian Schroder and Chris Carman and a closed group of private investors. Additional fundraising is planned for early 2023.
Brian Schroder co-founded The Andersen Partnership in 2010, a recruitment firm with over 100 consultants across 11 offices in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, UK and Ireland. Brian left in 2019 and is now a non-executive director.
Chris Carman has been a migration specialist for over 15 years and has advised some of the world’s leading organizations on Australian immigration law and assisted thousands of migrants with visa related issues. He owned Carman & Associates, which he sold in 2018.
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