netandneil

Just realised in originally put this in the wrong section to start with, so now opened a new thread hopefully in the right place!!! Whoops!!! Well, I am new to this after all. So here it goes!!.....

Hi, am new to the forum and looking for a bit of advice??!!

My husband is just looking into getting his skills assessed by the TRA, however we are unsure on whether his up to date experience will be sufficient from their point of view. He is a fully qualified Motorcycle Mechanic (City & Guilds NVQ III) (60 points on the occupation list). He has been working on bikes since the age of 15, however he is only just going back full time in the trade, having been working as a drugs counsellor (also on the recognised occupation list, but no formal qualifications) for the last 2-3 years. During this time though he has also been working part time as a mechanic in a motorcycle garage and has also been working at home on his own customer's bikes in his own time. Prior to this he had 3-4 years experience actually working in the trade.

We would be able to get testimonials from his private clients (including one who is a Solicitor) but unfortunately, of course, there would be no wage slips or formal employer reference for this. His previous employer and the current part time employer would be able to supply references though and he will shortly be working back in the trade again.

Just wondering whether the TRA would recognise the testimonials as evidence of the up to date/recent experience (??), or whether he would need to work back in the trade for the next 12 months or so first??!!

(Pleased to say though that we have found that Mechanics have just gone on the 'on demand' list, which has given us some encouragement!)

ZimBabe

Hi and Welcome!

I was in the same boat, I have an NVQ LEvel 3 in Secretarial skills, which would normally qualify me for Company Secretary (50) or Office Manager (40)on the skilled list, but for the last 5 years I have been working my way up in a public transport company. I am now a manager but still will not pass the assessment as I have only been managing employees and supervisors for 2 years!! I was gutted and seemed to have hit a brick wall.

I do not know how they will evaluate your husbands experience, and I hope it works out. Hopefully someone else will know. I have now decided to go the education route and have found a 2 year TAFE course in Building Surveying which will allow me to live in Australia and work towards becoming a Surveyor in Regional Australia.

Good luck, but never give up!

P.S. Just in case, your husband can study in Australia and you can work full time! see the www.immi.gov.au website. Loads of information on studying and then applying for migration.

JAJ

Lots of confusion here between the requirements for Vetassess, AIM and DIMIA. Can't suggest anything better than hiring a professional to sort it out.

You need to be very sure of what you are doing if planning to get PR through study. Lots of students spend time and thousands of dollars getting Australian qualifications and then end up having to go home because they don't qualify for anything.

What visa do you think you'll be eligible for after your course, out of interest?

Jeremy

ZimBabe

The Onshore General Skilled Migration visa, I can build up extra points for Study location, 6 months work experience, Job on skilled occupations list, etc etc. I have been reading up on it on the immigration website.

I am hoping to do the Diploma of Building Surveying TAFE course, outcome will be Assistant Building Surveyor, Buildings Inspector, Clerk of Works or Building Supervisor.

If I still do not qualify points wise, I will apply for STNI or even SIR, even though I may have to temporarily leave Australia.

JAJ

An Australian diploma will generally be ok for a 40 point occupation. You'll get no more than that for skills, unless you can get a 50 or 60 point skill assessment based on your overseas qualifications (and then the Australian qualification must be relevant to this occupation).

Study in a regional area will get you a maximum of 10 points. You'll almost certainly get no points for work experience.

Even with points for age and English (50 max, less if you are 30 or over) you've still a long way to go to get to 120 which is the requirement for the regular skilled independent visa (for onshore students from 1 Apr 2005), or even 110 for SIR.

As for STNI, you need an occupation on their current skill shortage list (which can change over time) - I think you're underestimating how hard it is to get STNI.

Sponsorship by a regional employer - theoretically possible, but most Australian employers are very reluctant to sponsor when they could hire the Australian next in line.

Jeremy

netandneil

Thanks for your advice, Zimbabe. Still not sure which way to go with it, really.

JAJ

TRA assessments are not easy. Professional advice from an agent experienced in this area can add a lot of value.

This is especially so that you say the more recent work experience is in another occupation for which he may not have the qualifications - even if he gets TRA assessed his application might be refused for that reason. Your case is not a simple one => get some professional advice.

Jeremy

netandneil

Thanks Jeremy. Looks as if that is the best way to go. He is going back to work full time in as a mechanic within the next 4 weeks so even if it means us having to delay things until after he's been back there for 12 months or so (or more), then we are prepared to do this, but we will look into getting some professional advice now and go from there. He's 31 now and I'm 32, so there's still time (as long as they don't drop the points on the SOL or something!).

netandneil

JAJ

TRA assessments are valid indefinitely so it probably makes sense to get that sorted out even if you work out you're not eligible to apply to DIMIA.

The other option to bear in mind is that if the occupation is on the skill shortage lists for Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania, and you're happy to live there for 2 years, then you could try for a nomination for a Skill Matching visa. This requires only 6 months skilled work experience and there is no points test. Don't confuse this with the SIR visa which you really don't want unless there is no alternative.

Jeremy

netandneil

Do you mean that it would probably be best to seek assessment from the TRA now, or at least seek professional advice from a Migration Agent now, and then maybe wait a while before applying for the Visa?

Hadn't really considered the skill matching visa as yet. Will look into it now though. As it happens, when we visited Australia for the first time recently, we did fall in love with Adelaide and this would probably be the place we would aim for anyway.

Out of interest, is there anyone who specialises particularly in applications which are not straight forward when it comes to recent job experience?