Australia News

The world’s biggest passenger plane loomed large over Sydney yesterday as the Airbus A380 made its first commercial flight. Carrying more than 470 passengers and crew, the plane air traffic controllers call “the big fella” touched down in Sydney from Singapore on the 25th October at 5.24pm according to a report from The Melbourne Age.

Amid much fanfare, 471 people representing 35 nationalities became part of aviation history when they boarded Singapore Airlines flight SQ380 at Changi Airport.

Hailed as a revolution in air travel, the double-decker A380 ends the nearly 37-year reign of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet as the most spacious passenger plane.

It is as tall as a seven-storey building, measures 73 metres in length and has enough room on each of its wings to park 72 medium-sized cars.

It is capable of carrying 853 passengers in an all-economy configuration, compared with the 747’s 500.

Airbus claims its jet is the most fuel efficient and quietest passenger aircraft in the world.

Top accommodation in the jet are the suites, enclosed by sliding doors and fitted with a 58-centimetre flat-screen television and laptop connections.

Suite passengers on the inaugural flight were offered Dom Perignon Rose 1996, caviar and a menu including duck breast and fish noodles.

The total number of jobs advertised in Australian newspapers and on the internet fell marginally by 0.4 percent in September to an average of 247,853 per week. This is a continuation of the consolidation in job advertisements that began in June following May’s robust 10.3 percent rise in total advertisements. The total number of advertisements in September was 33.1 percent higher than 12 months ago.

The number of job advertisements in newspapers declined by 0.7 percent in September to an average of 20,115 per week. This fall follows a 1.5 percent increase in August. Newspaper advertisements are now 1.8 percent higher than in September 2006. The fall in newspaper job advertisements in August was driven by declines in South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia. These declines were partially offset by job advertising rises in Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and the Northern Territory.

The number of internet job advertisements fell slightly by 0.3 percent in September to an average of 227,738 per week. In trend terms, internet job advertisements are still growing solidly, with annual growth running at 37.7 percent, up from a rate of 25.9 percent ten months ago.

“Total job advertisements remain at high levels, but the monthly trend rate of increase is easing. This suggests some steadying in the demand for labour after a period when it has been rising very strongly,” ANZ Head of Australian Economics Tony Pearson said. “The monthly trend rate of increase in employment has also been easing. The forward nature of the relationship between the Job Advertisements series and employment suggests that employment growth will continue to slow over coming months, although it will remain positive. We view this as a consolidation in the labour market rather than a change in direction. With economic growth continuing to show considerable strength, demand for labour will remain robust and the labour market will remain very tight.”

“Looking at job advertisements by state, it is in the largest states – New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland - where demand for workers appears to be stabilising. In Western Australia, job advertisements are now actually trending down after five years of exceptionally strong growth. This has been associated with a gentle rise in the rate of unemployment through 2007 and suggests the strong population growth in that state may now be overwhelming the demand for labour. In contrast, in the smaller states and territories – South Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory – job advertisements are showing a marked upturn, pointing to an acceleration in the demand for workers. In South Australia and Tasmania this would seem to be associated in part with specific large investment projects,” Mr Pearson said.

The Australian minerals industry has begun a recruitment drive for 27,000 skilled tradespeople in the southern Australian industrial hubs according to a report from The Melbourne Age. The total numbers sought comprise the estimated extra skilled workforce needed for mining over the next eight years.

The Now Hiring campaign is targeting skilled tradespeople in Geelong, Adelaide and Wollongong as the rapidly expanding industry seeks to meet its skills shortfall.

Set up as a pilot program targeting skilled trades people, the campaign is part of the Minerals Council of Australia’s (MCA) broader national strategy to promote career opportunities in the minerals industry and meet the estimated 70,000 additional workers needed in the industry by 2015.

MCA chief executive Mitchell Hooke said the minerals industry was at present experiencing a global supercycle of growth.

“We must attract skilled tradespeople if the industry and, indeed, Australia, is to fully capitalise on the opportunities of the strongest global market growth in a generation,” he said in a statement.

“We are not only offering well paid jobs, we are offering exciting career prospects.

“The minerals industry is at present experiencing double the wages growth of the all-industry average and has the most substantial on-the-job training expenditure per employee of any industry.”

Mr Hooke said specific tradespeople being sought were boilermakers/welders, metal fitters - mechanical, diesel and plant, mechanical engineering - diesel, heavy and light plant, and electrical trades.