South Australia’s labour market is under increasing pressure.

Demand for civil recruitment, infrastructure recruitment, engineering recruitment and construction workforce solutions in South Australia continues to grow, yet the skilled migration pipeline that has historically supported these industries is tightening.

According to data published by the Australian Department of Home Affairs, South Australia was allocated 3,800 skilled migration nominations in 2024–25, comprising:

• 3,000 Subclass 190 visas
• 800 Subclass 491 visas

For the following year, that allocation was reduced to 2,250 places, including:

• 1,350 Subclass 190 visas
• 900 Subclass 491 visas

This represents a reduction of more than 40 per cent in skilled migration capacity in just one year.

A tightening supply at the wrong time

This reduction is occurring while South Australia continues to see strong activity across:

• Civil infrastructure and transport projects
• Road, rail and enabling works
• Engineering and project delivery
• Manufacturing and industrial operations

These sectors require experienced, site-ready professionals across both delivery and leadership roles. The issue is not a lack of work. It is a lack of skilled people available to fill it.

Real recruitment demand across civil and infrastructure in SA

From a recruitment perspective, this pressure is already being felt.

We are currently recruiting for multiple live roles across South Australia, with a strong focus on the civil construction space, spanning permanent, contract and labour hire solutions.

These include roles such as:

• Supervisors and Site Managers
• Civil Operators
• Civil Leading Hands
• Skilled Civil Labourers

These positions are tied directly to live projects with established clients operating in South Australia. Demand is active, immediate and ongoing.

What we are consistently seeing is that civil and infrastructure recruitment demand in SA is outpacing available talent, particularly for experienced operators and site-based leadership.

What this means for employers

Skilled migration has long supported workforce demand where local supply alone cannot keep pace.

Reducing migration intake does not reduce hiring demand. It intensifies competition for the same limited talent pool.

For businesses relying on recruitment services in South Australia, this is already resulting in:

• Longer time to hire
• Fewer suitable candidates per role
• Increased wage and rate pressure
• Delivery risk when critical roles remain unfilled

In civil and infrastructure environments, workforce constraints quickly become commercial constraints.

How Fetch Recruitment supports recruitment in South Australia

At Fetch Recruitment, we are already supporting clients across South Australia with permanent recruitment, contract recruitment and labour hire across Civil, Construction, Corporate Services, Mining and other sectors.

Our approach goes beyond filling roles. We work with businesses to plan, secure and sustain the workforce they need to deliver projects successfully.

Our recruitment services in South Australia include:

• Permanent recruitment for leadership and specialist roles
• Contract recruitment for project-based requirements
• Labour hire for site-based and operational teams
• Access to national and international talent networks
• Market insight on availability, rates and hiring timelines
• Workforce planning to reduce project risk and delays

This is how we deliver on Building Tomorrow’s Workforce, Today.

Looking ahead

South Australia continues to present strong opportunity across infrastructure, civil construction and manufacturing.

However, as skilled supply tightens, businesses will need to be proactive, realistic and well supported in how they approach recruitment.

We are actively supporting clients across South Australia and are open to working with new businesses seeking recruitment solutions across permanent, contract and labour hire.

Looking for talent in South Australia?

With skilled supply tightening and demand continuing to rise, securing the right people early has never been more important.

If you are hiring across civil, construction, engineering, manufacturing, mining or corporate services in South Australia, our team can support with recruitment solutions tailored to your project and business needs.

Submit a talent request below and one of our consultants will be in touch to discuss how we can support your workforce requirements.