The South Australian Government’s Regional Skilled & Business Migration Program has been established to help regional employers to address skill shortages, with access to skilled migrants for vacant positions that cannot be filled locally.

It also helps skilled and business migrants to find out more about Regional South Australia the lifestyle, career and business opportunities it offers.

The South Australian government has a network of eight Skilled & Business Migration - Regional Project officers providing information and assistance.

Regional Development Australia Murraylands & Riverland have appointed Claudia Ait-Touati as the Migration & Workforce Development Manager. Claudia's role covers both the Murraylands and Riverland regions of South Australia.

The role of the Development Manager is to:

• Promote the program to the regions businesses and employers through local media coverage, presentation at business gatherings and forums and direct contact
• Provide advice and or assistance with the processes involved with the State Specific Migration Mechanisms
• Provide the first level of contact with potential migrants supplying them with information regarding the region and the business that is offering sponsorship
• To assist migrants in the settlement process

Potential employees are located through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) Skill Matching Database (SMD), Migration Agents and Migrants contacting the Project officer direct.

With several thousand skilled migrants already listed on the SMD this is an excellent resource available to employers.

For more information on the state's regional migration program see:

Regional Migration South Australia
Immigration SA
Department of Immigration & Citizenship

Claudia Ait-Touati is the Migration & Workforce Development Manager for the Riverland and Murraylands regions. If you would like more information about this project please telephone or email Claudia.