opportunities for pacific islanders in png’s construction...
Post on 15-Apr-2018
219 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Inqui re In form In f luence
Opportunities for Pacific Islanders in PNG’s construction industry
PAILS FORUM, PORT VILA, VANUATU
19-21 APRIL 2016
Dr Carmen Voigt-Graf, Senior Research Fellow, National Research Institute, Papua New Guinea, cvoigtgraf@nri.org.pg
Main aims of presentation
1. Providing an overview of PNG’s economy, labour market and the construction industry;
2. Providing an overview of PNG’s foreign workforce and Pacific Islanders among PNG’s foreign workforce;
3. Exploring the scope for increased intra-Pacific migration, focusing on PNG’s construction sector.
The economic context in PNG
Dual economy with a large informal and subsistence sector and a
small formal sector;
Formal economy dominated by large companies involved mainly
in the extractives industries and agri-business;
Sluggish economic growth in first 30 years since independence;
High growth rates since 2007, with peak in 2014 and slowing
down since 2015;
LNG construction phase (2007-2012) provided an enormous
stimulus to economic and employment growth.
Total GDP and non-mining GDP growth rates in PNG, 1995 to 2020
Source: Various BPNG QEB tables, various PNG National Budget Documents.
-10.0
-5.0
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.01
99
5
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
20
07
20
08
20
09
20
10
20
11
20
12
20
13
20
14
20
15
20
16
20
17
20
18
20
19
20
20
%
Total GDP rate of real growth Non-mining GDP rate of real growth
LNG construction phase
Formal private sector employment
Source: BPNG Quarterly Economic Bulletin, September 2015.
Snapshot of PNG’s labour force in 2014
Source: Based on data provided by Jones and McGavin, 2015: 115.
Number of Persons Employed by Industry, 2011
Source: Census 2011.
Industry Number employed % employed
Agriculture 1,205,628 71.1
Mining 19,842 1.2
Manufacturing 17,028 1.0
Construction 61,010 3.6
Whole sale & Retail Trade 171,167 10.1
Education 34,899 2.1
Other 185,200 10.9
Total 1,694,774 100
The formal private sector
Agriculture provides most formal employment opportunities;
Mining sector is capital intensive and employment numbers are not high;
Mining sector with huge impact on labour market due to high wages, skill drain and employment of foreign workers (e.g. LNG project).
Formal employment by occupation, 2011 Census
Occupation Total Male Female
360,732 261,682 99,050
Legislators and senior officials and managers 17,330 13,748 3,582
Professionals 76,512 45,866 30,646
Teaching and associates professionals 28,441 19,433 9,008
Office clerks 24,440 10,211 14,229
Service workers shop and market sales
workers35,942 22,574 13,368
Agricultural animal and fishery workers 14,184 9,862 4,322
Craft and building trade workers 57,937 54,333 3,604
Plant and machine operators and assemblers 29,956 28,436 1,520
Elementary occupations 72,267 54,588 17,679
Not stated 3,723 2,631 1,092
Current skill supply issues
Oversupply of unskilled workers;
Shortage of adequately skilled workers;
Low skill levels in workforce;
Skills shortages most pronounced in TVET areas;
Sufficient supply in some professional areas;
Training not aligned with labour market requirements;
Many TVET and university graduates unable to find work;
Employers turn overseas to recruit skilled workers.
The LNG project and skills demand
Huge demand for workers during construction phase (2007–2012);
Many required skills not available in PNG;
There was a long lead time which would have enabled advanced training of local workers;
Creation of labour market distortion due to high wages in LNG project;
Many companies recruited workers from Asia.
PNG’s work permit policy
Non-citizens need valid work permit to work in PNG’s private sector;
Traffic light system of occupations following three principles:
1. employers can recruit non-citizens for occupations which require a high skill level (green category);
2. semi-skilled jobs have to be advertised in PNG first (“labour market test”). If no suitable candidate can be found, the employer can recruit a non-citizen for the position (amber category);
3. unskilled and low skilled jobs are reserved for Papua New Guineans (red category);
There are also language and training requirements;
While policy seems balanced on paper, it is seen to disadvantage local workers and has been criticised for lack of enforcement.
Regional trade agreements with labour mobility provisions
The Melanesian Spearhead Group’s Skills Movement Scheme (SMS) is the only existing (sub-regional) agreement with labour mobility provisions but no movement yet;
PICTA Trade in Services: schedules are being developed;
PACER Plus: labour mobility provisions likely to deal with flows to Australia and New Zealand, rather than between PICs.
Number of work permits issued by major source countries, 2000 to 2014
Source: DLIR, annual work permit data
Work permits for PNG issued to Pacific islanders, 2000 to 2014
Nationalities of work permit holders, May 2015
Number of work permits held by Pacific Islanders, May 2015
List of ten industries with largest number of work permits, May 2015
IndustryNo. of total
work permits
No. of Pacific
Islanders
Forestry and Logging 2,376 0
Construction Services 1,720 8
Oil and Gas Extraction 1,601 1
Building Construction 1,190 12
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 1,027 10
Other Store-Based Retailing 948 15
Fishing, Hunting and Trapping 884 1
Administrative Services 775 8
Exploration and other mining support services 599 7
Professional, scientific and technical services 566 4
List of ten industries with largest number of Pacific Islander work permit holders, May 2015
IndustryNo. of Pacific
Islanders
Water Transport 26
Air and Space Transport 22
Personal and Other Services Including Religious Workers 20
Social Assistance Services 18
Other Store-Based Retailing 15
Accommodation 14
Telecommunications Services 12
Building Construction 12
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 10
Major occupational groups of work permit holders, May 2015
Source: DLIR, active work permit data, May 2015.
Major occupational group Total no. of
Work Permits
% No. of Pacific
Islanders
%
Managers 17,551 42.7 226 44.2
Professionals 8,100 19.7 212 41.5
Technicians and Trade Workers 13,440 32.7 64 12.5
Machinery operators and drivers 737 1.8 3 0.6
Labourers 857 2.1 1 0.2
Community and Personal Service
Workers 159 0.4 2 0.4
Clerical and Administrative Workers 69 0.2 3 0.6
Sales Workers 27 0.1 0 0
Three major occupations in construction sector among work permit holders, May 2015
Source: DLIR, active work permit data, May 2015.
Industry Three main occupations
No. of
Work
Permits
Construction services 1,720
Technicians and Trade Coordinators and Supervisors 440
Specialist Heavy Machinery Mechanic or Technician 138
Operations Manager 105
Building construction 1,190
Technicians and Trade Coordinators and Supervisors 389
Building and Construction Manager 118
Professional Builder 116
Heavy and Civil
Engineering Construction
1,027
Technicians and Trade Coordinators and Supervisors 270
Specialist Heavy Machinery Mechanic or Technician 79
Professional Builder 69
Ten most important occupations of Pacific islander workers in PNG, May 2015
Reasons for small number of Pacific Islander workers in PNG
Movement under general work permit policy and no movement (yet?) under the MSG SMS or the PICTA TiS;
Competition from workers from all other countries;
Filipinos in particular have gained an excellent reputation among employers in PNG as well qualified, hard-working and not complaining;
Foreign-owned companies sometimes recruit workers from country where headquarters are located;
Recruitment generally done through (local or foreign-based) recruitment agencies with links to selected countries overseas;
Pacific Islanders have not developed networks and reputation in PNG;
Lack of Pacific Qualifications Framework;
Cost of travel: Flights from POM to Manila are cheaper than to any Pacific destination.
Is there scope to increase the number of Pacific Islander workers?
YES
- There are ongoing opportunities and the second LNG project in particular will create considerable new opportunities.
BUT:
- The PNG government would like to see more Papua New Guineans taking advantage of opportunities in PNG;
-There is scope not only in construction but also in other industries (e.g. tourism and hospitality which are less male dominated).
Policy options
- Improve access under an existing or new regional scheme (MSG SMS for Melanesians, PICTA TiS);
- Preferential treatment for Pacific Islanders under PNG’s work permit policy (similar to New Zealand’s RSE);
- Create opportunities for Papua New Guineans in the region;
- Marketing campaign among PNG-based companies;
- Establish links with PNG-based recruitment agents.
THANK YOU
top related