The following article "Foreign worker solution for Perth" was recently published in The West Australian, outlining details about Perth soon becoming a "regional city" to up the potential for more sponsored visa places in the Western Australian capital.

Perth will be labelled a country town by the Federal Government as part of an extraordinary move to attract desperately needed workers to the city.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen will today announce that Perth will be reclassified alongside regional employment "hardship" areas such as Karratha and Port Hedland in the Pilbara.

The move will ease the way for businesses to bring in more skilled and semi-skilled foreign workers to fill occupations such as child care, aged care and scaffolding.

Adelaide is the only other major capital city to enjoy the nominal regional employment status.

The program will result in Perth being included in the Government's regional sponsored migration scheme, giving the city's employers access to a potential national pool of 16,000 sponsored visa places for foreign workers.

Workers coming to Perth under the program will be able to become permanent residents and businesses applying for the visa places will be given priority in the processing of their applications.

The scheme lowers the benchmark of English language requirement for eligible workers, while the demands on employers regarding salary thresholds are also lower than under other forms of skilled work visas.

The State Government has been lobbying Canberra to allow Perth's inclusion in the scheme, warning WA faces a shortage of up to 150,000 skilled workers by 2017 as major resource projects get underway.

The WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the move, saying labour shortages were the top concern of local businesses.

"It will make it easier for many businesses to get the extra workers they need," CCI spokesman David Harrison said.

"While it won't single-handedly solve the problem, it is a welcome step in the right direction."

To read the full article at The West Australian, click here.

To learn more about the 457 visa program and how you can take advantage of the regional changes in Western Australia, contact us to speak to one of our friendly Registered Migration Agents today.