Migrants are an integral part of the Australian workforce with nearly one in four Australian residents being born overseas and half of the population having an overseas-born parent.¹ In an attempt to boost productivity, address skills shortages, and build stronger communities the Australian Government has recently undertaken a review of the migration system.² This Research Bulletin investigates the role of migration and the alignment of the migration system towards the Automotive and Mining industries.

Migration at the Industry Level

In the Mining Industry, the proportion of migrant workers in each subdivision varies; Metal Ore Mining (23%), Exploration and Other Mining Support Services (25%), and Oil and Gas Extraction (25%) have higher proportions of migrant workers, whereas Coal Mining (9%) and Non-Metallic Mineral Mining (11%) have lower proportions of migrant workers (Figure 1). The proportion of migrant workers correlates with the need for workers with tertiary education in the sector (Figure 2).³ In both the Coal mining and Non-Metallic Mineral mining sectors, 15% of the workforces hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 24% across the entire mining industry workforce.⁴  

In the Automotive industry, the motor vehicle manufacturing sector has the highest proportion of migrant workers (28%), followed by the automotive repair and maintenance industry (20%), and the retailing and wholesaling sector (19%) (Figure 1). Like the mining industry, the proportion of migrants correlates with the education level of the workforce (Figure 2). 21% of the automotive manufacturing workforce holds a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 11% in the overall automotive sector.⁵ The automotive repair and maintenance sector, an occupation that is more aligned with VET pathways, has a workforce of which 6% hold higher education qualifications and employs 20% migrant workers.

Migration at the Occupation Level

Various occupations in the mining industry employ migrant workers (Figure(s) 3 & 4).⁶ The number of skilled migrants has increased over the years, indicating an ongoing need for their skills. The two most in-demand occupations in mining remain metal fitters and machinists, who increased from 1,216 to 1,793 (+47%), and migrant mining engineers, who increased from 1,019 to 1,575 (+35%) (Figure 3a).

While skilled migrants in the mining industry are dispersed across various occupations, those in the automotive industry are predominantly concentrated in the automotive technician occupation, surpassing the second-largest occupation – motor vehicle and vehicle parts salesperson - by 4,200 skilled migrants (Figure 4a).⁷

Accountants and Industrial, Mechanical, and Production Engineers had the highest and second-highest proportions of migrant workers in both the Mining and Automotive industries, each comprising around 30% of the workforce in 2021 (Figure 3b). Although Metal Fitters and Machinists topped the list of skilled migrant occupations in mining, skilled migrants represented 8% within the occupation category. Similarly, Motor Mechanics,⁸ the leading occupation for skilled permanent migrants in the Automotive industry, accounted for 9% within the occupation in 2021 (Figure 4b).

The top 15 occupations by number of visas granted contains several occupations of relevance to the Mining and Automotive industries (Figure 5). Including Motor Mechanics⁹ at third highest with 590 granted temporary skilled visas. The number of motor mechanics¹⁰ or automotive technicians granted skilled visas underscores the industry's use of international talent to address workforce shortages in the occupation.