Businesses across South Australia want to grow, adapt and compete, but whether the conversation is happening in metropolitan Adelaide, the regions, a workshop, a boardroom or over the back of a napkin, the same challenge keeps coming up: where will they find the skilled people they need, and how will they keep them?
At a recent South Australian business event, this challenge was put plainly:
“Every one of them tells me the same thing: finding and keeping good staff is really hard.”
Part of the answer may already be living in our communities. There are skilled migrants in South Australia with qualifications, experience, international connections and industry knowledge who are ready to contribute, yet many are still struggling to secure work that properly recognises what they can do.
We are talking about diesel mechanics, pharmacists, chefs, nurses, engineers, carpenters, welders and people with many other capabilities that employers say are in short supply. As businesses heard on the night:
“Skilled migrants fill the gaps you can’t fill locally, and they bring something extra: different perspectives and connections that add real value to a business and its customers.”
That “something extra” matters. A person who understands another country, culture, market, customer base or supply chain can bring much more than technical competence. You can help a business improve its products and services, connect with new customers, challenge old assumptions and potentially open doors nationally and internationally.
Start with the workforce, not simply the vacancy
The South Australian Small Business Strategy identifies workforce as one of six key pillars, recognising that people and skills are fundamental to productivity, innovation and sustainable growth.
“A skilled workforce is what lets a business grow, compete and seize new opportunities.”
But good workforce planning is not simply advertising the same position again and hoping that a different candidate appears. It means taking a practical look at the business:
- What skills do you already have?
- What capabilities are missing?
- Which roles are becoming harder to fill?
- What will the business need in one, three or five years?
- Could jobs be redesigned to make better use of available talent?
- Are recruitment practices unintentionally screening out capable people?
- What support would help a skilled migrant succeed and stay?
The South Australian Government’s Workforce Planning and Development Toolkit, available through business.sa.gov.au, can help businesses map their current capabilities and identify the gaps that need to be addressed.
The Office for Small and Family Business also offers access to business support officers who can meet with business owners one-on-one, at no cost, and connect them with relevant programs, advice and training. This is backed by the Small Business Fundamentals Program, with subsidised workshops, mentoring and advice covering areas including human resources, leadership and strategy.
Once a business understands the skills it needs, the Department of State Development’s Skilled and Business Migration team can help employers explore skilled migrant talent while supporting newly arrived professionals and tradespeople to understand and enter the South Australian labour market.
Recruitment is only half the job
Finding a skilled person is one thing. Creating a workplace where they want to stay, contribute and grow is another.
“Keeping great people means building a workplace where they feel and are valued and they can grow.”
That requires more than a diversity statement or a welcome morning tea. It means clear communication, thoughtful induction, culturally capable leadership, fair access to development and promotion, recognition of prior experience, and a genuine willingness to listen to different perspectives.
It might also mean checking the everyday systems that others take for granted. Does the employee understand Australian workplace terminology? Are expectations explained clearly? Do managers know how to pronounce the person’s name? Is overseas experience valued, or treated as somehow less credible? Does the workplace allow people to ask questions without feeling exposed?
The Multicultural South Australian Ambassador Program helps organisations put the South Australian Multicultural Charter into practice and build workplaces where people from diverse backgrounds can contribute their perspectives, have different needs respected and feel genuinely welcomed. This is not simply a social initiative. It is a workforce, productivity and business-growth opportunity.
From overlooked talent to South Australian advantage
South Australia cannot afford to have businesses crying out for skilled people while qualified migrants drive past those businesses on their way to jobs that do not use their capabilities. Of course, skilled migration is not a substitute for investing in local people, apprentices, trainees, graduates and existing workers. It complements that investment.
A strong workforce strategy should bring these elements together: develop the people already employed, create entry points for young people, use apprenticeships and traineeships, recruit for emerging capabilities and make much better use of skilled migrant talent already here.
This is where practical action begins so if you are a business owner or leader, identify one position that has been difficult to fill and reconsider how you are approaching it. Talk with the Office for Small and Family Business. Use the workforce planning toolkit, connect with the Skilled and Business Migration team. Review your recruitment language, onboarding and workplace culture. And perhaps most importantly, look beyond the familiar CV.
The skills may already be here, experience may already be here, connections, ideas and ambition may already be here. The question is whether South Australian businesses are ready to recognise the talent already in the room, welcome people from diverse backgrounds and turn that talent into opportunity.