According to the The Information Daily, Australia believes there are enough skilled workers in the U.S. to fill vacancies in their booming mining and gas industries:

Chris Evans, minister for Skills, Science and Research, expects the demand for skilled construction workers to peak over the next three to five years and said his government was looking towards the US to fill the gaps.

To do that, Australia is considering a change to their immigration policy which will enable U.S. workers in licensed occupations, such as electricians and plumbers, to have their skills assessed before they arrive for work in Australia. Under the current system, these workers are required to have their skills assessed when they arrive—a process that often takes several months.

The Daily adds, “[t]he announcement will come as a welcome relief to the US, with high unemployment rates at 8.3% despite some recent improvements.”

American industries report that they are unable to find skilled workers to fill vacancies for skilled labor here in the U.S., yet Australian government officials are so confident that skilled labor is abundant here that they are adopting policies to encourage those workers to emigrate half-way around the world for a job.