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With current labour shortages, hiring people on a bridging visa may just be the answer employers are looking for. Â Director, Maree Herath explains.
I’ve met a number of jobseekers of recent times that seem to be falling through the cracks: those on bridging visas.
Neither citizen or resident, but on the path to achieving one or the other, our potential fellow country men and women are missing out on key services to get them employed in the right roles with the right companies.
We find many bridging visa candidates, (permitted to work in Australia), are aimlessly seeking a job, any job as they pursue their true area of specialisation. This is further hindered as companies, who may desperately need the skills these entrants offer, strictly request “residency” as a prerequisite for applying for their roles. Â
Having placed candidates on bridging visas I would encourage employers to open up the brief. Individuals on bridging visas do not need to be sponsored and employers do not need to go through the sponsorship hoops they may assume. These individuals are usually assigned a case officer whose role it is to ensure these individuals are working for viable companies… that is all!
If publicly listed financial information is easily accessible; as a private company, supporting  information on financial position or a letter from an accountant will suffice.
Now …Â you may be thinking “What about all the employable residents and citizens of Australia?
Does this push them out of the system by advocating that employers consider or encourage employment of non-residents and non-citizens? ”
The answer in brief is no!
Most individuals with bridging visas have been granted these as they often fall into a skills in demand area. That is, skills shortages where there aren’t enough candidates to fill a brief.
It is not one at the expense of the other. We need residents and citizens as well as those on the “bridge” to residency in many of these fields.
Let’s be open and look after our citizens of the future.
