Without skilled migration, iron ore engine room could stall Targeted travel bubbles for foreign workers are needed, or the next generation of mine projects in the Pilbara face delays due to labour shortages. Michael Stutley Share The engine room of the Australian economy, the Pilbara region in north-west Western Australia, is at risk of stalling for one key reason – a shortage of skilled labour. At the very time iron ore, that inconvenient, reddish-brown dust that Australia has lots of, is saving our balance of payments, the Pilbara simply can’t fill the job vacancies. In the wake of the global financial crisis, iron ore helped build China and, in doing so, allowed Australia to not only survive the implosion of financial markets, but prosper.