Originally Posted by theli

I've been in oz studying law for the past 2 years. I will be admitted as a solicitor in July 2010 in either QLD or VIC. I'll hopefully lodge my PR application the same year. What are the job prospects in the cities? Perth/Adelaide/Melb etc? Could you advise me of any area\city that is in more need of solicitors please

Cheers,
Theli

Originally Posted by SSC

I work with an organisation that assists companies in Australia who are experiencing skills shortages. I am loathed to use the word recruitment because it seems no-one has a good word to say about recruiters.

Solutions we offer are upskilling (we work with TAFE), retention schemes, interstate and international recuriment.

Currently our focus is mainly health - however we do have clients in regional areas who are finding it hard to source skilled workers. There is also a shortage of individuals with experience in the power sector ie those with oil and gas experience.

I've noticed that more and more posts are appearing in forums from people concerned about the job market here.

We recruit a lot of nurses and we have begun to offer their partners job search assistance so that they remain in Australia rather than returning back to the UK/Ireland as they are trying to support themselves on one income.

About 18 months ago we refused to place individuals in construction, trades or IT in metropolitan areas on 457 visas unless they had a visa strategy to PR worked out and discussed with a MARA registered agent because most of us in the business world were aware that there would be a downturn in the job market and began planning for it - not only to support our candidates but also to ensure that we could retain the jobs of the people we employ within our organisation.

The job market is becoming more and more competitive. We have always prided ourselves on responding to all applications. However we recently advertised a job and we didn't expect a very big response. We received over 400 applications and a high volume of calls. We had to take the advertisement down after ten days because the applications kept on flooding through.

If you are not in health or engineering and have secure jobs in your own country I would delay your arrival in Australia unless you have sufficient funds to support yourself for three to six months OR if you don't mind obtaining Australian work experience and working in a job that pays between $20-$23 per hour.

As I am receiving so many requests from newly arrived migrants every day I thought I would pass on some tips that I've been giving out to them.

If you are coming to Brisbane avoid the Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast. The main industry is tourism and the payrates in these areas are lower. They are beautiful places to live and if you think about it if work was plentiful in these areas don't you think more people would live there rather than Brisbane?

The area that will be undergoing huge development is Ipswich. There is a regional development plan for south-east Queensland and Ipswich and the surrounding area is where all future affordable housing will be built and where all future industrial development will be located. There is a huge health park and education park being built at Springfield Lakes. There is also a lot of infastructure being built. If you are coming to Brisbane on a reccie check out this area and the potential for employment opportunities.

In Queensland when there are roadworks or construction going on where they need to close part of a road they don't have mobile traffic lights they have traffic controllers. It's not the most exciting of jobs but they are always looking for people. You need a licence and the penalty rates are good at weekends - but it can be very boring standing in the road with a lollipop saying stop or go. On the upside because you're working alongside construction sites/road works it's a good way of developing contacts and hearing where jobs are coming up.

Taxi drivers - again you'll need a licence. Called Yellow Cabs or Black and White - they are always looking for drivers.

Bus Drivers - they are expanding the service here in Brisbane

Warehousing in the food sector - IGA have distribution centres in Canning Vale in Perth and here in Brisbane. Often people don't want to work in Cold Storage.

Get an Aussie forklift licence

Use a good agency - for warehousing and manufacturing try Integrated at Springwood. Don't judge an agency by a name it depends on the people who work there and this agency always has jobs.

If there are any engineers out there who have oil and gas experience let me know and I'll put you in contact with a specialist agency.

Get your qualifications slotted into an Australian Qualifications Framework. You might be able to do this through RPL - our organisaton arranges this through TAFE. Go on a short TAFE course. It may sound silly but Australian employers like Australian work experience. If you have an Australian qualification it gives the impression of having Australian training so your resume will more likely get through the first selection round.

Don't be misled by advertisements on SEEK. There are often multiple advertisements for the same job being advertised by the employer and several other recruitment agencies. Remember often recruitment companies have to go out and find the jobs by cold calling.

Give serious consideration to South Australia. It's economy is not reliant on the mining sector like Queensland and WA plus they are offering a range of settlement services such as meet and greet, arranging short term accommodation, job search assistance and RPL of overseas qualifications.

If you are a metal tradesperson in Queensland think of doing something else for a while. A flood of candidates came back onto the market when some of the mines closed and a lot of the businesses were supplying the mining sector.

Also often the true unemployment figure is hidden here as it doesn't take into account casual workers who've had their hours reduced. Some workers at Brisbane docks have had more than a 50% reduction in their hours.

There have been two news articles out today both indicating higher levels of unemployment that previously thought

http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au...04/2532715.htm

More job losses in Queensland

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...02/2533026.htm

I would say it is still worth applying for your visa as you have up to five years to live in Australia as long as you validate your visa within the required time period. Don't worry about priority processing unless you are a health worker/engineer or are happy to work in a regional area.

Give consideration to regional areas. We have some carer vacancies in Central Queensland that we have been trying to fill for months. These communities have a lot to offer.

I know this post may contain news/information that people may not want to hear but I'm on the "front line" so to speak and I have tried to keep it as balanced as possible.

I hope that people find it useful and that I haven't put anyone coming to Australia - it's just that people need to focus on where the work is not where is the nicest place to live and come here with their eyes open and be prepared to do anything to get that Aussie work experience.

Originally Posted by SSC

I work with an organisation that assists companies in Australia who are experiencing skills shortages. I am loathed to use the word recruitment because it seems no-one has a good word to say about recruiters.

Solutions we offer are upskilling (we work with TAFE), retention schemes, interstate and international recuriment.

Currently our focus is mainly health - however we do have clients in regional areas who are finding it hard to source skilled workers. There is also a shortage of individuals with experience in the power sector ie those with oil and gas experience.

I've noticed that more and more posts are appearing in forums from people concerned about the job market here.

We recruit a lot of nurses and we have begun to offer their partners job search assistance so that they remain in Australia rather than returning back to the UK/Ireland as they are trying to support themselves on one income.

About 18 months ago we refused to place individuals in construction, trades or IT in metropolitan areas on 457 visas unless they had a visa strategy to PR worked out and discussed with a MARA registered agent because most of us in the business world were aware that there would be a downturn in the job market and began planning for it - not only to support our candidates but also to ensure that we could retain the jobs of the people we employ within our organisation.

The job market is becoming more and more competitive. We have always prided ourselves on responding to all applications. However we recently advertised a job and we didn't expect a very big response. We received over 400 applications and a high volume of calls. We had to take the advertisement down after ten days because the applications kept on flooding through.

If you are not in health or engineering and have secure jobs in your own country I would delay your arrival in Australia unless you have sufficient funds to support yourself for three to six months OR if you don't mind obtaining Australian work experience and working in a job that pays between $20-$23 per hour.

As I am receiving so many requests from newly arrived migrants every day I thought I would pass on some tips that I've been giving out to them.

If you are coming to Brisbane avoid the Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast. The main industry is tourism and the payrates in these areas are lower. They are beautiful places to live and if you think about it if work was plentiful in these areas don't you think more people would live there rather than Brisbane?

The area that will be undergoing huge development is Ipswich. There is a regional development plan for south-east Queensland and Ipswich and the surrounding area is where all future affordable housing will be built and where all future industrial development will be located. There is a huge health park and education park being built at Springfield Lakes. There is also a lot of infastructure being built. If you are coming to Brisbane on a reccie check out this area and the potential for employment opportunities.

In Queensland when there are roadworks or construction going on where they need to close part of a road they don't have mobile traffic lights they have traffic controllers. It's not the most exciting of jobs but they are always looking for people. You need a licence and the penalty rates are good at weekends - but it can be very boring standing in the road with a lollipop saying stop or go. On the upside because you're working alongside construction sites/road works it's a good way of developing contacts and hearing where jobs are coming up.

Taxi drivers - again you'll need a licence. Called Yellow Cabs or Black and White - they are always looking for drivers.

Bus Drivers - they are expanding the service here in Brisbane

Warehousing in the food sector - IGA have distribution centres in Canning Vale in Perth and here in Brisbane. Often people don't want to work in Cold Storage.

Get an Aussie forklift licence

Use a good agency - for warehousing and manufacturing try Integrated at Springwood. Don't judge an agency by a name it depends on the people who work there and this agency always has jobs.

If there are any engineers out there who have oil and gas experience let me know and I'll put you in contact with a specialist agency.

Get your qualifications slotted into an Australian Qualifications Framework. You might be able to do this through RPL - our organisaton arranges this through TAFE. Go on a short TAFE course. It may sound silly but Australian employers like Australian work experience. If you have an Australian qualification it gives the impression of having Australian training so your resume will more likely get through the first selection round.

Don't be misled by advertisements on SEEK. There are often multiple advertisements for the same job being advertised by the employer and several other recruitment agencies. Remember often recruitment companies have to go out and find the jobs by cold calling.

Give serious consideration to South Australia. It's economy is not reliant on the mining sector like Queensland and WA plus they are offering a range of settlement services such as meet and greet, arranging short term accommodation, job search assistance and RPL of overseas qualifications.

If you are a metal tradesperson in Queensland think of doing something else for a while. A flood of candidates came back onto the market when some of the mines closed and a lot of the businesses were supplying the mining sector.

Also often the true unemployment figure is hidden here as it doesn't take into account casual workers who've had their hours reduced. Some workers at Brisbane docks have had more than a 50% reduction in their hours.

There have been two news articles out today both indicating higher levels of unemployment that previously thought

http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au...04/2532715.htm

More job losses in Queensland

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...02/2533026.htm

I would say it is still worth applying for your visa as you have up to five years to live in Australia as long as you validate your visa within the required time period. Don't worry about priority processing unless you are a health worker/engineer or are happy to work in a regional area.

Give consideration to regional areas. We have some carer vacancies in Central Queensland that we have been trying to fill for months. These communities have a lot to offer.

I know this post may contain news/information that people may not want to hear but I'm on the "front line" so to speak and I have tried to keep it as balanced as possible.

I hope that people find it useful and that I haven't put anyone coming to Australia - it's just that people need to focus on where the work is not where is the nicest place to live and come here with their eyes open and be prepared to do anything to get that Aussie work experience.

Originally Posted by SSC

Get a feel for the job market on arrival. Things are changing very rapidly at the moment. If you are thinking of re-training do it through TAFE. Whilst you're thinking of your next career move - get an Aussie forklift licence. There's lots of warehousing work.

Whilst they've been taken off the CSL there is a shortage of motor mechanics. I'm suprised that they took mechanics off the list. It's a long training process though - it's about 2 years at TAFE.

What do you do at the moment and what do you enjoy doing?

The economic downturn is not going to be forever - I know it may sound crazy but I'd consider studying for a trade as again it will take 2 years.

Bakers are in short supply. A franchise (whose name escapes me) is offering training programs. Even in a recession people need bread. There is a bakery here in Brisbane that is desperate for staff.

The health and social services sectors are in short supply. Careers in renewable energy such as solar energy will be a growth sector as is aged care.

I hope this helps - it's hard to give suggestions without knowing someone's interests/current skill levels.

PM me if you'd like any more information.

Originally Posted by KateandPhil

Great thread ssc. We have lodged our application had medicals and police checks so hopefully not long now (famous last words!!)
My oh is a plumber/gasfitter, plumbers have been taken off the demand list but gas fitters are still on there apparently on the critical demand list. We are thinking of moving to Brisbane Victoria Point/Cleveland in december. How in demand are gasfitters really and how easy is it to enroll on a course through TAFE?? Any information would be greatly apprciated. Thanks Kate

Originally Posted by kelli28

Its quite simple to enrole in a TAFE course however there is NO demand for gas fitters in bayside, there is no gas everything is electric! your husband will need to retrain or move to an area where gas is used maybe Victoria or South island, NZ. please do not go to bayside and expect to get a job in that profession my OH was in HVAC in the uk he now just does air con, we lived in bayside for 2 years all heating is from reverse cycle air con, solar or electric hot water and log burning stoves