Recruiting offshore talent: Everything you need to know
Our Co-founder and Director Sam Bricknell had the pleasure of sitting down with the incredible team at LAB17 to discuss all things Australian Immigration.
FULL ARTICLE BELOW:
Perhaps you’ve never considered looking offshore for talent.
The very idea might seem daunting, convoluted and expensive with legal hoops to jump through.
But Sam Bricknell, Founder and Director of Techvisa says otherwise.
Since 2016, Techvisa has been helping Aussie tech companies navigate immigration law — upskilling their workforces with the best offshore talent.
Sam says companies who cast their eyes outside Australia are often rewarded with highly skilled, loyal employees.
He also thinks recent changes to immigration law will make it easier for organisations to bring higher level offshore talent on board.
Here are Sam’s thoughts.
What’s the latest in the world of Australian immigration law?
Sam:In a nutshell: a lot!
But tech organisations will be most interested in:
📍 The new Skills in Demand visa
This is going to replace the flagship employer sponsored program — that is, the Temporary Skilled Shortage (Subclass 482).
For tech companies, this new visa should make it quicker and easier to attract highly skilled employees.
📍 The Global Talent Independent (GTI) program
There are promising signs that processing times for the GTI program will speed up under the rebrand to the National Innovation Visa. If that happens, this program will become a great way for startups and scaleups to access and bring in overseas talent.
Outside of those changes, we’re really excited about some of the recommendations we’ve made to the Government. A number of them are now being tabled, or even implemented!
Do you think it’s becoming harder or easier for tech companies to attract highly skilled offshore talent?
Sam: The Immigration department has rejigged some of the various skilled visa programs lately. It’s early days, but I’m optimistic these moves will make Australia more attractive to skilled tech professionals.
For starters, you will soon be able to get a TSS visa with a degree and 1 year of relevant experience instead of the current 2 year experience.
Also, it’s now quicker to get Permanent Residency (PR) status. Employees holding 482 visas can now apply for PR after 2 years (down from 3 years).
And, the Government has relaxed the rules around PR status.
This means all 482 visa holders can now access PR — even those with short-term ones.
There are some other changes afoot, too. I’m hoping those create a more streamlined visa process and open up direct pathways to PR.
With any luck, Australia will start looking pretty attractive to overseas talent!
What has 2024 given us so far in terms of trends and happenings?
Sam: Techvisa sits across multiple vertical markets, so it’s been interesting to see what’s shifting, where.
I’d say it boils down to government funding from both Government and VC’s — it’s going out of some areas and into others.
The most obvious one is less funding to fintech and more going into climate tech, quantum and deep tech. The government is also prioritising health and education.
For us, that means continuing to advocate for faster turnaround times to get these roles filled.
What’s your advice for Aussie tech companies who haven’t explored offshore talent?
Sam: Try it!
Once your company is set up as a standard business sponsor, you open your talent pool to the global market. From there, you can start targeting more mature markets — and dramatically boost your organisation’s skill set.
Employers can be nervous about losing employees soon after they arrive from overseas.
But we find the opposite is actually true.
When international candidates are given the opportunity to work in Australia, they are often extremely loyal.
So, in fact, organisations who hire outside the country end up seeing extremely high retention rates.
At Techvisa, we’re massive advocates of engaging and retaining talent with a carrot not a stick.
If you’re investing in your employees, you’ll see the benefits!
Migration can be complex. Where can companies get misguided or unstuck?
Sam: It’s true: migration can be complicated. It can also open up incredible opportunities for employers (and employees).
Often, though, organisations:
Lack awareness
Many organisations don’t realise international hiring is even a viable option for them. They end up recruiting candidates from the local talent pool — even if they aren’t a great fit for the job.
Don’t know where to start
Migration and international hiring can appear daunting if you’ve never gone through the process before. I understand that!
That’s why we’re so heavily immersed in the tech and innovation ecosystem in Australia — and the education side of things.
It’s also why the Techvisa team provides strategic guidance and support to organisations throughout their hiring journeys.
We help break down the process into manageable steps — so it becomes simpler and more successful.
Have vague timelines
When companies are unclear about where they’re going (and when), it’s near-impossible to scale their teams in line with growth targets.
We take a strategic approach, focusing on both a candidate’s visa and their longer-term options. This means better buy-in from the candidate — and better talent retention for companies.
If you need help building a scalable, end-to-end Talent Acquisition function to attract, engage and hire world class talent > GET IN TOUCH with the team at LAB17
