The Committee for Adelaide held a migration and skills roundtable in May where we consulted with businesses, industry bodies and key stakeholders to further understand what barriers there are and what policies and actions are utilised to attract and retain skilled migrants in South Australia. The outcomes of this session assisted our development of a Migration and Skills Paper, which identified that the next logical step was to speak to migrants themselves and understand their experiences of moving to Adelaide.
In collaboration with The Department of the Premier and Cabinet and the Department of Industry Innovation and Science, we sent expressions of interest in August requesting to hear from migrants aged between 20-40 who had recently moved to South Australia. We were overwhelmed with the significant amount of interest migrants expressed in participating in the session, which we held in September.
As a result of the consultation session, we have developed a Migrant Consultation Paper, which provides a broad overview of the challenges and more importantly, details a number of ideas and recommendations. It was a powerful session, and we are grateful for all the participants, who were so open and provided deep and honest feedback about their move to South Australia.
The paper identifies the key challenges migrants encounter, what initiatives could break down barriers to provide a better transition experience, and what would entice them to stay here longer.
We also identify the next steps the Committee for Adelaide will take to further drive these outcomes. We will continue to advocate for migrants and to bridge the gaps that are so commonly identified throughout the paper. Through continued collaboration with business, government, industry and migrants, we are confident that practical solutions will be implemented. We intend to hold additional workshops to explore and further expand on the ideas and solutions we have provided to date.
We are passionate about driving outcomes that result in the state outperforming in the war for talent. Attracting and retaining overseas and interstate talent in South Australia is critical for our economic, social and cultural prosperity. Our businesses and future facing industries need access to talent to grow and thrive. National and state policies must support an increase in the number of skilled and talented individuals and families into our state. The acute need to do more is evident if we are to attract and retain our fair share of talent, who will undoubtedly assist the state fulfil its potential.
