US contractors mooted as skills shortage solution
ABC
Posted March 5, 2008 08:13:00
The Housing Industry Association says the Federal Government needs to adopt Queensland Government sponsorship programs to fix the skills shortage.
Spokesman John Futer says Government should target thousands of contractors in the United States after that country's housing industry collapsed.
He says it could take up to 18 months for Mackay to recover from February's floods because of competition for tradespeople and overseas trained contractors could be the answer.
“They could not only help themselves but they help our community as well, gives our community a chance to rebuild itself and you're looking down the barrel of 18 months in some instances, that gives us a fair window of opportunity to kick start a program or immigration which would target the people with relevant skills,” he said.
