Papua New Guinea (PNG) has continued to become an attractive destination for non-citizen workers seeking employment in various specialized skill areas. However, in order to maintain a balance between the influx of foreign labour and the protection of domestic job opportunities, PNG has established an administrative and skills transfer system for non-citizen workers through the Employment of Non-Citizens Act. 2007 and its Regulations. It is an important requirement that non-citizen workers contribute positively to the nation’s growth while facilitating knowledge transfer to locals.
Statutory Approvals
Obtaining necessary approvals including institutional registration is a pivotal aspect of the employment process for non-citizen workers in PNG. It entails several crucial steps, hence it is important for employers to understand this system in order to streamline their hiring process while maintaining regulatory compliance.
- Institutional Registration: Non-citizens seeking employment in specialised professions as engineers, accountants, medical professionals, surveyors, etc must first apply for registration to local professional bodies such as IEPNG, CPAPNG, PNG Medical Board, PNG Surveyors Board, etc, before submitting an application for work permit to the Immigration & Citizenship Authority (ICA).
- An employment offer through a valid and accepted employment contract outlining terms and conditions of employment, a detailed job description, the employee’s qualification documents and a detailed curriculum-vitae are important requirements to have in order to apply for work permit. The work permit is the prerequisite to obtaining an employment visa, and is essential to ensure that non-citizen workers enter the country for employment legally.
- Sponsorship: Employers in PNG are typically required to sponsor non-citizen workers. This sponsorship includes demonstrating that the employment of foreign labour is necessary due to a lack of available local expertise. Employers must provide evidence of efforts to hire locally before resorting to non-citizen employees.
- Police & Medical Clearance: Non-citizens are required to obtain satisfactory Police and medical clearance from their country of residence or home country which are important requirements to fulfill before an employment visa can be granted at nominated PNG or Australian mission overseas.
Skills Transfer Requirements
The core objective of the work permit system in PNG is for non-citizen workers and their employers to ensure there is transfer of skills and knowledge to local workers. It is recognized that foreign expertise can play a crucial role in capacity building and the advancement of local industries.
- Training and Mentoring: Employers are obligated to submit a training report outlining skills development training received by locals when submitting applications to renew work permits for its non-citizen staff. The report should outline training programs undertaken and skills received by local employees. It often involves training and mentoring programs delivered as a result of direct interaction from the non-citizen employee with their local counterparts. Part of our offering as a ‘one-stop-shop’ on-hire agency at Peopleconnexion is providing the full-suite of services to our Contractors, and our Mentoring Program has been developed as an applicable training to support expats in this mentoring requirement. Curated by our Learning and Development arm of Peopleconnexion and Gary Blair, we have been successful in rolling out our Mentoring Matters course to a number of industry-leading organisations across PNG and it has been great to see the development not only of non-citizens but of our local counterparts. You can learn more about Mentoring by visiting our website page linked.
- Local Employment Quotas: It is also required that employers hire a specific percentage of local employees for every non-citizen worker they employ in order to encourage employers to actively engage in skill transfer and invest in the development of local talent.
- Reporting and Accountability: Employers must regularly report on the progress of skill transfer activities and when required to the Work Permit branch at ICA. This ensures that the requirement for non-citizen workers to impart their skills and knowledge is being implemented effectively and that local workers are benefiting from the expertise of non-citizen employees.
Current statutory regulations governing the work permit system is designed to strike a balance between harnessing the benefits of foreign expertise and protecting the interests of the local workforce.
Even though ensuring enforcement and compliance to set standards and regulatory requirements has been a challenge to the responsible government agencies, skills transfer requirements for non-citizen workers in Papua New Guinea remains the critical element of the work permit system and should become the responsibility of respective employers and its non-citizen employees.