Australia turns to UK to ease chef shortage

Regional government chiefs in Australia have launched a drive to recruit chefs from the UK.

The government of Victoria is offering British chefs an easy route to Australian citizenship in response to what it describes as "a critical skills shortage" in the state.

A dearth of staff, caused by an increase in the number of hotels and restaurants in Melbourne, has been exacerbated by the fact that Victoria receives only 18% of all skilled migrants to Australia, compared with New South Wales's 43% and Western Australia's 20%.

Chefs from Victoria are also being lured to work in London restaurants, offering glamour and higher salaries.

Under the scheme, migrants are nominated by the Victorian state government to fill shortages that cannot be met locally. State-nominated migrants receive priority processing of their visas.

The state government's skilled migration unit, set up to run the programme, will be urging UK workers to emigrate to Victoria at the Emigrate 2001 exhibition at Sandown racecourse, Esher, Surrey, this weekend.

Australian employers are eligible to participate in the programme only if they can demonstrate that they cannot attract or train local people for a particular job.

Migrants must have an occupation on the skilled migration unit's "skills in demand" list to be eligible for state nomination. Chefs are included on the list.

by Cathy Cooper

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 15-21 March 2001