Western Australia (WA) Premier Roger Cook will lead an investment and trade mission to India and Vietnam from September 17-25, with job creation, workforce development and education among the key areas of focus as the state seeks to address labour shortages and strengthen skills and mobility links.
The mission will cover energy, tourism, aviation, primary industries, education and workforce development, with the Western Australian government seeking opportunities for businesses and institutions in India and Vietnam that could support local jobs, the government of WA said on Monday.
In India, Cook will visit Mumbai and Delhi and attend the opening of the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) Mumbai campus – the first Australian Group of Eight university to establish a campus in India. India was WA’s largest international student market last year, with more than 15,000 enrolments.
The mission will also include meetings with government, business, industry and education stakeholders, covering areas including mining, energy transition, tourism and investment. Cook is also expected to meet major Indian airlines as the WA government pushes for direct flights between Perth and India to strengthen tourism, trade and investment links.
Daniele Merlerati, chief regional officer for APAC, Baltics & Benelux at global staffing firm Gi Group Holding, said the skills partnership could help address structural shortages in Western Australia, particularly as the resources and energy sectors expand faster than the domestic workforce.
“What a partnership with India offers is scale and speed as India produces one of the largest pools of technically trained, English-speaking young talent in the world, and the mission’s focus on formal government-to-government and education-to-industry frameworks is exactly what’s needed to convert that talent pool into a reliable, compliant pipeline rather than fragmented individual migration,” Merlerati said.
The strongest demand is expected in mining and resources support services, construction and infrastructure, healthcare and aged care, and the emerging renewables and battery minerals workforce, where WA’s project pipeline is outpacing local labour supply, he said.
India and Australia entered into a trade deal in 2022, under which India enjoys duty concessions on 100 per cent of tariff lines, while Australia has got concessions on 70 per cent of tariff lines, covering 90 per cent of Australian shipments.
Boosting bilateral trade is set to be an important item on the agenda during the visit as total merchandise trade between the two countries has declined nearly 16 per cent in the last five years. India had a trade deficit of $6.5 billion with Australia in 2025-26 (FY26) and exported goods worth $7.3 billion. Additionally, boosting trade is increasingly significant as the two nations have set an ambitious target to increase bilateral trade five-fold to $100 billion by 2030.
In Vietnam, Cook will be joined by Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis and Parliamentary Secretary Samantha Rowe, along with a delegation of 32 WA businesses and organisations. The delegation will focus on energy transition, primary industries and international education.
Rowe will lead the education component, including visits to schools delivering the Western Australian curriculum and meetings with education authorities.
For Indian workers and students, structured training and mobility pathways could connect vocational training with employment in sectors facing shortages in WA, Merlerati said.
But for such pathways to scale sustainably, they would require mutual recognition of Indian skills and qualifications in WA, compliant mobility frameworks including visa and staffing arrangements, and sustained partnerships between Indian training institutions and WA employers to align training with live vacancies.
“Direct flight connectivity between Perth and India would also meaningfully lower the friction for both students and workers making that move, and would signal that this is a durable corridor rather than a one-off initiative,” he added.
The mission comes as WA seeks to deepen economic ties with India and Vietnam while using education, skills and workforce development to support employment and address labour shortages.
Premier Roger Cook said in a statement that India and Vietnam were among WA’s largest trading partners and the visit would help strengthen ties and create jobs and business opportunities for Western Australians.
“Both economies are growing quickly, and there is real potential to expand what we do together across mining, energy, defence, agriculture, education and tourism. My number one priority for future direct flights is to secure a connection between Perth and India,” Cook said.
Western Australia is one of Australia’s six states, with Roger Cook serving as Premier and Minister for Defence Industries and Tourism, Trade and Investment.
