Uralla Shire benefits From Skilled Migration

Uralla Shire Council General Manager Andrew Hopkins at work with Corporate Accountant Mustaq Ahammed, who migrated from Bangladesh

“Skilled migration unquestionably delivers win-wins, for employers who cannot fill a position locally and for professionals from overseas who dream of enjoying the lifestyle that we can tend to take for granted,” said Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI) Chair Russell Stewart.

“RDANI is producing a second series of skilled migration case study videos. The first series of four videos covered a range of employers in different parts of the region. The latest video is now online and I applaud all involved,” Mr Stewart said.

RDANI Skilled Migration Project Officer Gary Fry said the skilled migration case study videos are concise, featuring two unscripted honest insights; one from an employer and one from their skilled migrant employee. “In the first video of our second case study series, we are proud to showcase how our skilled migration program has assisted one of the small but progressive Local Councils in our region,” he said.

Uralla Shire Council is a small regional council in the heart of the Northern Inland. The Local Government body has challenges with skilled labour, due to the size of Uralla and its’ proximity to Armidale and Tamworth, which can have more appeal to professionals with qualifications and experience, as explained in the case study video by Uralla Shire Council General Manager Andrew Hopkins.

“Thanks to the Regional Development Australia Northern Inland skilled migration program, we were able to recruit a qualified and experienced accountant,” Mr Hopkins said.

Skilled migrants like Mustaq Ahammed are brought to the region through the Skilled Regional State Nominated visa (sub-class 489). Mustaq initially earned income and met his visa conditions by working at the tomato farm at Guyra. In the case study, Mustaq tells how he has been working as a corporate accountant in Uralla Shire Council for over two years now and loves it.

Mustaq and his wife came from Bangladesh. They are now very settled and at home in the Northern Inland region. “The decision to move to a regional area of Australia was not easy. I think my wife and my son love living in this region even more than me now!”

In the Northern Inland region of NSW, Mustaq Ahammed has found a rewarding, stable and supportive employer, while his family have settled into a place they now call home. Thanks to skilled migration, Uralla Shire Council have a skilled and committed employee, who has culturally enriched the workplace.

RDANI Executive Officer Nathan Axelsson is encouraging locals to watch the skilled migration videos. “There has been a lot of misleading hype about migration programs supposedly taking jobs from local Australians and telling our case studies are a practical way of showing the reality of the situation, here in Northern Inland NSW,” he said.

To view the latest skilled migration case study video, click here