It’s no secret that Australia is facing a shortage of IT talent, and cyber criminals have been making the most of this dire situation. Restrictions imposed by governments in response to the pandemic have meant employees have been working from home for long periods and, at times, have been totally house-bound. Consequently, technology has become more important than ever before, for both work and our personal lives. And, what we’ve discovered, is that many organisations were not prepared to provide their teams with ’cyber-safe’ remote-working environments. The costs have been massive: According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), which is part of the Australian Signals Directorate, Australia has experienced “significant targeting, both domestically and globally, of essential services”. These incidents have “underscored the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to significant disruption in essential services, lost revenue and the potential of harm or loss of life”. The latest ACSC report found that ransomware attacks disclosed to the centre increased by 15% in the 2020-21 financial year, when compared with the previous financial year. ACSC received more than 67,500 reports of cybercrime of all types in 2020-21, equating to one every eight minutes, compared with one every 10 minutes the previous year. One of the major hurdles Australian organisations have been grappling with is a shortage of IT talent. COVID-19 has stopped IT talent from coming to Australia – organisations simply haven’t had the resources necessary to get their IT under control! But that’s all about to change. From November, Australia will open its international borders to the world. You’ll be able to access the IT experts you need to fulfil client needs locally. Of course, IT talent arriving from overseas will need to be fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccination that’s approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and they’ll need to quarantine… but that’s it. Then they’re here. The Ayers Group Can Help As one of the countries least impacted by COVID-19, we anticipate that there will be plenty of skilled foreign IT workers who are desperate to come to our shores. But sponsoring these workers can be a complicated and time-consuming process. At the Ayers Group, we have experts on hand to help you bring the talent you need to Australia. As one of few companies that is approved by the Australian Department of Immigration to hire and on hire international workers, we can advise you on the eligibility of the workers you’re considering and arrange the temporary or permanent visas required. To speed things up we can provide pre-approval of your applicant. Importantly, should you wish, we can employ the international workers you need then allow you to contract their services, freeing you of the risks associated with visa sponsorship. Talk to an expert from the Ayers Group today.