Australia's booming gas sector to boost UK migrant numbers

Migration experts have revealed that Australia's booming gas sector will lead to a flood of migrants from the UK in the next few years.

Skills shortage in the natural gas industry in Queensland
Queensland will need to employ tens of thousands of new workers for their gas industry and the chief executive of Energy Skills Queensland, Glenn Porter has warned that a skills shortage is looming.

According to migration experts The Emigration Group, it is likely skilled British workers that will provide a large bulk of the workforce needed. Paul Arthur, Director of The Emigration Group said: "Queensland is predicting they will employ up to 17 000 workers in the gas sector by 2024. This is more than double what they originally predicted, and it is likely they will need to look to migration to fill skill shortages."

British workers in construction sector migrating
The gas sector in Queensland has already created thousands of jobs in the last few years, with major construction work underway to create the large gas fields. According to migration experts this has already led to hundreds of British workers in the construction sector migrating down under.

Paul said: "There has been and continues to be a huge construction boom in Australia and we've had hundreds of Brits from project managers to architects, engineers and plumbers emigrating down under in the last few years to fill job vacancies. The gas sector has partly fuelled this boom along with Australia's general economic growth, which has led to increased commercial and residential construction projects."

Gas field operation and maintenance jobs created
The new jobs being created in Queensland's gas sector will include engineers, rig managers and specialist trainers and assessors who will be essential to roles in the operation and maintenance of the gas fields.

Many of the jobs will be in the Surat Basin, the Bowen Basin region and the gas processing plants operating out of the Gladstone areas of Queensland.

Paul said: "The gas sector in Queensland is now a globally significant industry which will create thousands of job opportunities for Brits not just in gas, but across a whole range of industries, due to the gas sector fuelling economic growth throughout Queensland. For skilled British workers looking to emigrate down under this creates a great opportunity to find work and qualify for a visa to live and work in Australia."

Adapted from press release by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/09012014/australias_booming_natural_gas_sector_will_lead_to_a_flood_of_migrants_from_the_uk/