QUEENSLAND Premier Anna Bligh is calling for the federal government to urgently open the doors to more international students, saying the industry that trains them is in crisis.
Ms Bligh also warned there will not be enough Australian graduates to cope with the mining boom.
The premier will for an "emergency intervention" to the federal government's policy on overseas students at the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra on Friday.
"We have an international education sector in crisis at the worst possible time for Australia's economy," Ms Bligh said in a statement.
The state's $2.8 billion international education market has been suffering since 2009 when visa requirements for overseas students were toughened and the list of skilled jobs was changed, she said.
Reports of assaults on Indian students, the strong Australian dollar and renewed competition from the US and Canadian markets have also taken their toll.
"Following seven years of massive growth ... student enrolments began to fall sharply in 2009," she said, adding that international student enrolments are down 10 per cent this year compared to last year.
This meant less demand for vocational training and English-language courses, and fewer opportunities for the 17,000 Queenslanders employed in the sector, she said.
Ms Bligh will also call for more working visas to be offered to foreign students who graduate to cope with the mining boom, which she predicts will generate 38,000 jobs.
The in-demand disciplines will include engineering, environmental science, metallurgy, law, hospitality, accounting and management, she said.
"The growth in the sector in the short term is just too significant to be met by Australian citizens alone."
