Figuring out the 457 - Print 21 magazine article

The 457 visa scheme has attracted a lot of adverse comment recently but that hasn't stopped local printers from taking advantage of the scheme. So what is the truth about temporary overseas workers - are they good for the industry or just an excuse to exploit foreign labour? Mitchell Jordan tries his hand at cracking the 457 visa code.

When Sean Schickerling arrived in Australia this year on a 457 visa sponsorship scheme, he felt relieved to have a job he was qualified for and unable to find elsewhere.

Some might call Schickerling lucky - not just to have found a job, but to still be alive. That's because the 457 visa scheme has attracted considerable criticism recently, following reports of three 457 visa holders who died in workplace accidents over the past few months. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), for one, has been critical of the scheme and has asked the Federal Government to set up an independent judicial inquiry into it.

But you won't hear these complaints from many printers. For them, the scheme allows access to desperately needed workers and helps to combat the ever-growing skills shortage crisis. As the skilled migration adviser for Printing Industries, Peter Lovell has already noticed a healthy level of interest from printers wishing to sponsor workers from overseas.

"The long-term effects of the 457 visa program are overwhelmingly positive for the printing industries and Australia," he says. "It enables employers who have had difficulties in recruiting local skilled workers the option of obtaining skilled staff from overseas to help maintain and expand their business."

The issue is not as simple as Australian printers just looking for overseas workers, however. It also turns out that there are a high number of overseas workers who view the Australian printing industry as an attractive career path.

Seek and ye shall find
Schickerling's printing background has, for the large part, been spent in South Africa, where he is a resident. After a three-year stint in New Zealand, he came into contact with his current employer, David Scott, the man responsible for changing both Schickerling's life and career.

Pictured: Sean Schickerling (left) with David Scott (right).

Fed up with working night shifts and spending less and less time with his family, Schickerling began looking for new jobs. An advertisement for a position on the online job site, Seek, caught his eye and he decided to apply.
"I applied for a few different jobs with different companies [in Australia] but most weren't prepared to sponsor me on a 457 visa," Schickerling says. "Maybe it's too complicated or they think it will cost them too much money."

David Scott, the managing director of IPC in Lithgow, NSW, was distressed at how few Australians working in the printing industry would consider relocating from the big smoke to the country.

"It's hard for us to get people to move from the city to Lithgow," he says., adding that the thought of sponsoring an employee did not phase him. "Bringing people here from overseas used to be a big thing. It used to take two years.

"The 457 visa scheme is a means of getting people here a lot quicker and it opens up a lot of opportunities."

As part of the scheme, employers must demonstrate to the government that the employee is highly skilled and filling a role that cannot be met by local employees.

"My point with Sean was that he was highly qualified and could assist us in our training project," Scott says. "The process wasn't too hard. The main thing people need to do is gather all the information they need and put it in at once. Don't do it in bits and pieces."

For Schickerling, the steps required were not as easy: "The 457 website doesn't have all the information," he says. "Some things are a bit vague and some of the points need to be a bit clearer."

The clash of cultures
Now that he's here, Sean has slipped into his role as printer at IPC with ease and has also made progress settling into the Lithgow community.

"I am enjoying it," he says. "IPC is a good working environment with friendly people."

In comparison to Wellington, Schickerling describes Lithgow as "friendlier and more family-orientated." He also admits that having lived in two different countries - South Africa and New Zealand - before arriving in Australia has helped make the transition process easier.

"New Zealand was the hardest for me because I came from South Africa which is completely different. New Zealand and Australia have some similarities," he says. "Because I'd done it before, I knew what to expect and what to do."

Scott is well satisfied with Schickerling, though he also acknowledges that the experience has the potential to be a disaster for both parties.

"It's a bit like an internet bride," he says. "It can turn out differently to what you expect."

Then, of course, there's also the issue of clashing cultures.

"Having a different culture in a workplace can be an issue for some workplaces because they have a different thinking," Scott says. "But I'm very happy with Sean; he's a good worker."

As luck would have it, both Scott and Schickerling also belong to the same church - the Christian Brethren - which is active in Lithgow. This meant that Sean and his family were immediately introduced to people with whom they had something in common.

"By coming to our church they already had a social group to belong to, and I think that is part of Sean's success," Scott says. "A lot of Australians who haven't been overseas don't know what it's like to be in a different country and culture so you've got to be sympathetic. And if you help them you get the return back."

You don't need to have read How to Win Friends and Influence People to know that developing relationships with anyone is a gradual process that often gets harder with age. While Sean admits to finding solace and belonging through the church, he also points out that: "My daughter is enjoying it here, but kids adjust quicker than adults do.

"It's hard to make friends again, especially when you've got a family because you can't just drop your daughter off at the grandparent's place while you and your wife go out for dinner. It takes a while to build up friends and trust people."

Suck it and see
Tom Stockdale, manager of Stockdale Printstaff, a recruitment agency in Sydney and Melbourne, deals with a plethora of enquiries from workers keen to make the journey to Australia on a regular basis. In his experience, these applicants do not always have the necessary commitment to make the leap successfully.

"Our advice to these people is to come over to Australia first so we can interview them and organise some casual work for them," he says. "Once they've had a feel of the country they can decide if they want to move here or not."

Stockdale also notes that few people follow through on his advice about visiting Australia, and are often never heard from again.

"It's a big decision to move companies, and a lot of people won't come over first to have a look," he says.

Stockdale is not entirely convinced that looking overseas is the answer to the industry's employment shortage.

"It depends on what sector you're looking at, but there are very highly-skilled people here in Sydney and Melbourne," he says.

The printing industry has become an increasingly instant industry in all senses of the word. Not only do customers want their orders five minutes ago, printers also need staff at least one week ago. Too many printers, Stockdale says, don't have the time to wait for a visa application to be approved.

"457 is good in theory but we generally find that permanent residency is a drawn-out process and a lot of printing companies don't have that long to wait," he says. "Most of our clients are saying 'We need people now'. Companies need people, and they need them today. Paperwork is also a problem and most people would rather an easier solution."

Getting it right
Prepress and IT are two areas where the Australian printing industry feels the shortage the most, according to Michael Schulz (pictured), managing director of SOS Print & Media.

Despite being located in Sydney, with enough nightlife and mod cons to attract social butterflies and city slickers alike, Schulz has experienced some difficulty in locating qualified prepress and IT staff.

"They are very specialised areas," he says. "We get a lot of kids straight out of school who are applying for jobs; but we need someone with extra skills and, to get that, sometimes you need to look outside the local market."

Placing an ad in a newspaper or recruitment agency hasn't always worked for Schulz who, in the past, has then had to spend considerable time wading through applications from people who were inexperienced and did not address the selection criteria. Overseas contacts formed through SOS's partner companies have proven to be a saviour on more than one occasion, finding the right person for the job. Schulz has used the 457 scheme to bring out people from England and Germany, and is currently considering an employee from Iran.

"We don't target people from overseas, but we do keep an open mind," he says.

Like Scott, Schulz also found the process to be a smooth one. "We used a lawyer who was specialised in that area and as long as you have a case and can show that the person is skilled and the right candidate for the job then it's easy," he says.

Schulz recognises the risk factor involved, but he firmly believes that common sense and good judgement will prevent most problems from occurring.

"You've got to make sure they're serious about what they want to do, but once they're here and you've seen that they've taken the risk then your chances of it working out are just as great as they are with an Australian worker," he says.

If an employee is willing to relocate to a new country just to start a job, then their dedication to the role can sometimes be greater than that of a local candidate.

"They have an added commitment and that's a good thing," Schulz says. "But it's the same as somebody moving from Perth to Sydney; it's not necessarily a nationality issue. I think it just shows that you really want to work somewhere."

Critics of the 457 scheme have dismissed these claims of workplace loyalty, and view visa holders as opportunists ready to jump ship as soon as a better offer comes about. When potential sponsors speak with Peter Lovell about bringing out workers, this subject often arises.

"Some sponsors have raised issues such as concerns about staff being poached by other employers," Lovell says. "One printing industry sponsor expressed concern that he spent a considerable amount on recruitment costs, only to have his nominee find a new sponsor soon after his arrival in Australia."

Different companies have different approaches to keeping their employees. At SOS, overseas staff are required to stay for a two-year period before they can move on. In Schickerling's case, Scott opted for a more open method which did not involve a contract.

"I told Sean that if he's not happy here then it won't work anyway," he says.

Slaves to the wage
Employers aren't the only ones who are putting themselves on the line through the hiring overseas employees. The media is currently awash with stories of neglected staff from overseas, even in the printing industry.

Most notable is the case of Melbourne printing company, Aprint, where owner Dor Tu was recently fined $9,240 by the Federal Magistrates Court after underpaying four Chinese workers whom he brought out under the 457 scheme in 2006. Cases like Aprint are an extreme example of 457, according to Schulz.

"There are some people who refer to 457 as the 'slave visa' and exploit the dependency of the visa applicant," he says. "This is a very short-sighted view. We treat all our employees equally."

As a fellow immigrant, Schulz believes that the 457 visa scheme is a positive initiative. "It's important to realise that many people are going to go back home at some stage so, as a country, Australia cannot rely on 457 totally," he says. "But I think something like this is needed and necessary."

Recognising how difficult it can be to restart in a new country, Schulz encourages social activity and interaction amongst his employees, and advises other companies to do the same.

"Working here is not a problem but the after-work and private area is something you really need to work on," he says. "The transition from being a traveller to a permanent resident is difficult because travellers are always looking for new people and the people you need to meet aren't really looking for new friends - you have to put yourself out there."

Best of both worlds
Both Schulz and Scott agree that they would each use the scheme to bring out more employees in the future.

"I would do it again," Scott says. "From an employer's point of view, 457 has helped us to find someone. It's really made me think."

So far, too, Lovell has for the large part experienced positive feedback from printers, and he foresees a bright future for overseas workers and the companies they work for.

"Employees appear satisfied with the outcome and several have discussed with me how they might sponsor their skilled workers for permanent residence," he says. "This visa category allows employers the option of obtaining skilled workers relatively quickly and hopefully retaining them for the benefit of the Australian economy."