WA businesses can recruit skilled migrants from the United Kingdom without needing sponsorship arrangements and skilled occupation lists.

The Innovation and Early Careers Skills Exchange Pilot (IECESP) offers a smoother pathway for innovators and early career professionals from the UK to work in Australia. 

It is central to the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UK FTA), enacted in May 2023, which ushered in a new era of the bilateral trade relationship between the two countries.  

In addition to the IECESP and a range of provisions to enhance the mobility of skilled professionals across jurisdictions, the A-UK FTA included a comprehensive reduction in tariffs. 

How can IECESP benefit businesses? 

The program provides Australian employers with an opportunity to access innovative and early-career professionals from the UK, through the pilot of a new and streamlined temporary mobility pathway from the UK to Australia.  

Applications close June 30, 2024.  

With only 1,000 visas available this year, businesses are encouraged to act now.  

The program is focused on attracting highly skilled UK nationals to work in Australia for up to three years.  

Through two streams, the program is focusing on areas critical to the diversification of WA’s economy, such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence, life sciences, fintech, agritech, audio-visual and cultural industries. 

Streams 

Early Careers Skills: Allows participants to undertake a short-term placement, secondment, or intra-corporate transfer for up to one year in Australia. 

Innovation: Allows highly skilled and experienced participants, with a demonstrated contribution to innovation, to undertake opportunities for up to three years in Australia. 

For information on the IECESP and an application form, visit likenoother.wa.gov.au/work-in-wa/. 

 

If you are looking for support or advice in business, investment or trade, contact our experienced International Trade and Investment Centre team at [email protected].