The 457 Visa charade has been going on for long enough!
The likes of AMSA have been hiding behind it as an excuse not to invest in training local employees, especially when it comes to removal of B1 restrictions. As an educated guess, I would say many of the soon to be out of work Qantas LAME's will not be full B1's either. Where are they going to find the $7,000 to $12,000 plus put food on the table for the five to fourteen weeks to gain these qualification so they can compete with the "cheap" imported labour?
