Jobs In ACT/Canberra
Feb 27th 2009, 4:49 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 4
Jobs In ACT/Canberra
Hello,
We are considering getting sponsorship by ACT but we are worried about the job prospects for IT Managers/Project Managers/Business Consultants. It seems that most of the jobs advertised are government based jobs and require you to be an Australian citizen.
Has anyone else found this to be a problem?
Has anyone else found jobs as IT Managers with only a permanent visa?
We are really struggling with this issue, so any ideas or thought would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Michele
We are considering getting sponsorship by ACT but we are worried about the job prospects for IT Managers/Project Managers/Business Consultants. It seems that most of the jobs advertised are government based jobs and require you to be an Australian citizen.
Has anyone else found this to be a problem?
Has anyone else found jobs as IT Managers with only a permanent visa?
We are really struggling with this issue, so any ideas or thought would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Michele
Feb 27th 2009, 10:41 pm
#2
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 116
Re: Jobs In ACT/Canberra
Hi,
I live in Canberra, and work as a contract Test Analyst for a government department. I am an Aussie, but I worked in the UK for many years and also worked at KPMG in Amsterdam a couple of years back,so I know all about the expat lifestyle and the challenges of moving from one country to another to live and work.
There are some departments that you could work at without a visa. Some examples are: IPAustralia, CentreLink, DEWR. There are probably more that I dont know about, but the big departments like Immigration and Defence would be off limits to non-Australian citizens.
Unfortunately, things are grim in Canberra and look like getting worse before they get better.
There is a big cull of contractors going on at the moment, driven by the Gershon Report, and the economic downturn. We are attending farewell dinners almost on a weekly basis to say goodbye to sacked contractors. The department that I work at actually earns revenue, but they are terminating contracts mid-contract and reducing rates on those lucky enough to get renewed. All new projects are being canned, and belt tightening is being introduced to keep just the essential services running.
Once the contractors are gone, the permanent staff will start to get nervous. Government receipts from taxation are shrinking, and our economy is being run by an insane man with no understanding of economics who is in the process of bankrupting the country.
In Canberra, things are tightening up across the board. Work efficiency is plummeting as we look over our shoulders waiting for the signal that its our turn to lose our job. I am keeping my eye out for any permanent job offers that may come up, but many departments have employment freezes so there are not many openings about. I expect that any rare job openings that do appear will be swamped by out of work contractors, or returning Aussie expats from the UK.
If you are really keen to come here, you would run a very real risk of being unemployed for quite a long time.
Sorry if that is negative, but I have had the personal experience of relocating from Brisbane to London to take up a job that was cancelled while I was in flight, and then watching my savings evaporate before eventually biting the bullet and returning to Australia, and its not a pleasant experience. At least if you do still decide to risk it, at least you will do it with your eyes open.
Here is news that greeted me in my local paper this morning:
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news...px?storypage=2
I live in Canberra, and work as a contract Test Analyst for a government department. I am an Aussie, but I worked in the UK for many years and also worked at KPMG in Amsterdam a couple of years back,so I know all about the expat lifestyle and the challenges of moving from one country to another to live and work.
There are some departments that you could work at without a visa. Some examples are: IPAustralia, CentreLink, DEWR. There are probably more that I dont know about, but the big departments like Immigration and Defence would be off limits to non-Australian citizens.
Unfortunately, things are grim in Canberra and look like getting worse before they get better.
There is a big cull of contractors going on at the moment, driven by the Gershon Report, and the economic downturn. We are attending farewell dinners almost on a weekly basis to say goodbye to sacked contractors. The department that I work at actually earns revenue, but they are terminating contracts mid-contract and reducing rates on those lucky enough to get renewed. All new projects are being canned, and belt tightening is being introduced to keep just the essential services running.
Once the contractors are gone, the permanent staff will start to get nervous. Government receipts from taxation are shrinking, and our economy is being run by an insane man with no understanding of economics who is in the process of bankrupting the country.
In Canberra, things are tightening up across the board. Work efficiency is plummeting as we look over our shoulders waiting for the signal that its our turn to lose our job. I am keeping my eye out for any permanent job offers that may come up, but many departments have employment freezes so there are not many openings about. I expect that any rare job openings that do appear will be swamped by out of work contractors, or returning Aussie expats from the UK.
If you are really keen to come here, you would run a very real risk of being unemployed for quite a long time.
Sorry if that is negative, but I have had the personal experience of relocating from Brisbane to London to take up a job that was cancelled while I was in flight, and then watching my savings evaporate before eventually biting the bullet and returning to Australia, and its not a pleasant experience. At least if you do still decide to risk it, at least you will do it with your eyes open.
Here is news that greeted me in my local paper this morning:
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news...px?storypage=2
Fears for 800 PS jobs as costs bite
BY MARKUS MANNHEIMPUBLIC SERVICE REPORTER
28/02/2009 9:43:00 AM
Hundreds of Immigration Department staff fear they will lose their jobs as the agency prepares for what is shaping to be a horror May budget.
Immigration head Andrew Metcalfe warned all staff yesterday he had set up two taskforces to examine how to slash at least $24 million but almost certainly more from his budget, saying the global economic crisis was ''directly impacting on us as a department''.
Staff, many of whom met yesterday to discuss the cull, said they feared up to 800 jobs would go, or about 10 per cent of the workforce.
A Government source said the taskforces would focus on visa-processing officers because the worsening world economy meant there was less work for them.
But departmental spokesman Sandi Logan said any speculation had ''no basis in fact''.
''There have been no decisions made on either total numbers or percentages, or where or what type of savings these will be,'' he said.
The Commonwealth and Public Sector Union said the news was a blow to staff and their families, and was ''only a taste of what's to come if the Government's annual slash-and-burn policy isn't changed''.
''This isn't what Australians want,'' assistant national secretary Mark Gepp said.
''They want a strong Immigration Department helping keep our borders secure. If that's not an essential service, what is?'' Mr Metcalfe's frank message, obtained by The Canberra Times, said the department could not emerge unscathed from an economic crisis ''not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s''.
''We do not yet know the full amount of savings that our department will need to contribute and won't have a complete picture until the Commonwealth budget is handed down in May, but we do know that we will not remain unaffected,'' his email reads.
He said the department would cut $11million this year as a result of the Rudd Government's extra 1.25per cent efficiency dividend, $6million from the citizenship test, $5million allocated to the now finished Palmer and Comrie inquiry, and $2million as part of a cross-government financial management program.
The department will also shoulder a disproportionately large share of the Gershon technology reforms, which aim to cut $400 million a year from the Government's IT budget.
The efficiency drive follows Immigration's decision last year to cut about 200 jobs, almost all at its Belconnen headquarters.
Mr Metcalfe said the savings were partly a result of fewer skilled migrants entering Australia because of the worsening global economy. The number of people who applied for work visas fell by 30 per cent from September last year to January. ''The minister [Chris Evans] has also stated publicly that, although the cabinet is yet to consider the size of the migration program for next year, he expects it will be smaller as a consequence of decreased demand for skilled labour,'' Mr Metcalfe said.
''Our workloads and activity-based funding will thus decrease.''
Federal tax revenue is expected to fall by $115 billion over the next four years, and Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner has warned every government agency it needs to identify savings to help return the budget to surplus.
BY MARKUS MANNHEIMPUBLIC SERVICE REPORTER
28/02/2009 9:43:00 AM
Hundreds of Immigration Department staff fear they will lose their jobs as the agency prepares for what is shaping to be a horror May budget.
Immigration head Andrew Metcalfe warned all staff yesterday he had set up two taskforces to examine how to slash at least $24 million but almost certainly more from his budget, saying the global economic crisis was ''directly impacting on us as a department''.
Staff, many of whom met yesterday to discuss the cull, said they feared up to 800 jobs would go, or about 10 per cent of the workforce.
A Government source said the taskforces would focus on visa-processing officers because the worsening world economy meant there was less work for them.
But departmental spokesman Sandi Logan said any speculation had ''no basis in fact''.
''There have been no decisions made on either total numbers or percentages, or where or what type of savings these will be,'' he said.
The Commonwealth and Public Sector Union said the news was a blow to staff and their families, and was ''only a taste of what's to come if the Government's annual slash-and-burn policy isn't changed''.
''This isn't what Australians want,'' assistant national secretary Mark Gepp said.
''They want a strong Immigration Department helping keep our borders secure. If that's not an essential service, what is?'' Mr Metcalfe's frank message, obtained by The Canberra Times, said the department could not emerge unscathed from an economic crisis ''not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s''.
''We do not yet know the full amount of savings that our department will need to contribute and won't have a complete picture until the Commonwealth budget is handed down in May, but we do know that we will not remain unaffected,'' his email reads.
He said the department would cut $11million this year as a result of the Rudd Government's extra 1.25per cent efficiency dividend, $6million from the citizenship test, $5million allocated to the now finished Palmer and Comrie inquiry, and $2million as part of a cross-government financial management program.
The department will also shoulder a disproportionately large share of the Gershon technology reforms, which aim to cut $400 million a year from the Government's IT budget.
The efficiency drive follows Immigration's decision last year to cut about 200 jobs, almost all at its Belconnen headquarters.
Mr Metcalfe said the savings were partly a result of fewer skilled migrants entering Australia because of the worsening global economy. The number of people who applied for work visas fell by 30 per cent from September last year to January. ''The minister [Chris Evans] has also stated publicly that, although the cabinet is yet to consider the size of the migration program for next year, he expects it will be smaller as a consequence of decreased demand for skilled labour,'' Mr Metcalfe said.
''Our workloads and activity-based funding will thus decrease.''
Federal tax revenue is expected to fall by $115 billion over the next four years, and Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner has warned every government agency it needs to identify savings to help return the budget to surplus.
Feb 28th 2009, 12:02 pm
#3
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 4
Re: Jobs In ACT/Canberra
Hi UncleKev,
Thank you so much for your post. Clearly the job situation there is far worse than I expected, but it is better to know now rather than when we get there.
The risk of my husband being unemployed for a long time makes moving to Canberra a bad idea, at least for now.
We will just have to stick to waiting another year for our 175 visa to be processed.
Thank you once again,
Michele
Thank you so much for your post. Clearly the job situation there is far worse than I expected, but it is better to know now rather than when we get there.
The risk of my husband being unemployed for a long time makes moving to Canberra a bad idea, at least for now.
We will just have to stick to waiting another year for our 175 visa to be processed.
Thank you once again,
Michele
Feb 28th 2009, 8:45 pm
#4
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Canberra
Posts: 8,378
Re: Jobs In ACT/Canberra
I am inclined to agree - the situation in Canberra has definitely changed over the past year and jobs are now attracting many more applicants and there is a projected razor gang approach to the PS coming shortly which will impact even further. However there are still vacancies for some occupations like GPs which we never seem to be able to fill.
However, I am pretty sure that any employer is going to require that you at least have a visa to work here. It is standard advertising practice to specify that all government jobs have Australian citizenship or eligibility for citizenship as a pre-requisite.
However, I am pretty sure that any employer is going to require that you at least have a visa to work here. It is standard advertising practice to specify that all government jobs have Australian citizenship or eligibility for citizenship as a pre-requisite.
Feb 28th 2009, 9:53 pm
#5
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 116
Re: Jobs In ACT/Canberra
I am familiar with the sponsorship by ACT that Michele is referring to. It is a scheme that is used by government authorities in locations like South Australia and Canberra that have traditionally struggled to get qualified staff, particularly in the IT field. Sadly it appears to be run by the usual government drones, as we had a contractor working with us (he was terminated last week), who came over under that scheme and was unemployed for 4 months before getting a contract which only lasted 3 months. This contractor is a guy from India with a wife and two small children, and he was sponsored by our local government to come here and live in a small flat on the outskirts of Canberra unemployed for 4 months.
What possesses a government department to sponsor a family over here when there is not a specific, guaranteed job for them to move into? I was shocked when I found out that he had been sponsored by the government, but was ineligible to work in most of the departments here because of the Australian Nationality issue. You would expect a government department to be aware of their own restrictions on employment.
Up until about a year ago, whenever we advertised for testers, we either got no applicants, or very unskilled applicants that were not worth interviewing. As most readers of this forum are probably aware there is a negative attitude to Canberra from a large number of Aussies that live in the other Australian cities, so it can be very hard to tempt qualified Australian staff to come to Canberra in normal times.
But, over the last 12 months, that started to change. When we advertised new positions we were swamped with applicants, many of them of a very high calibre if not over-qualified for the job. It seems that in desperate times, people from Sydney and Melbourne will seriously consider relocation to Canberra.
It is very dire here now. I have a contract until November, but I seriously doubt that I will see that out. Morale is at rock bottom. Even the permanent staff are unhappy because as the contractors get sacked its up to them to take on a heavier burden of work. Any contractor lucky enough to get a renewal in our department has only been renewed until June. I expect another major round of cuts then to comply with the Gershon budget cut requirements. There is no new work coming through the pipeline so I am expecting another severe cull of contractors at the end of the Australian financial year in June.
I expect that within the next 6 months we will start to see former IT contractors looking for new roles as taxi drivers or security guards.
What possesses a government department to sponsor a family over here when there is not a specific, guaranteed job for them to move into? I was shocked when I found out that he had been sponsored by the government, but was ineligible to work in most of the departments here because of the Australian Nationality issue. You would expect a government department to be aware of their own restrictions on employment.
Up until about a year ago, whenever we advertised for testers, we either got no applicants, or very unskilled applicants that were not worth interviewing. As most readers of this forum are probably aware there is a negative attitude to Canberra from a large number of Aussies that live in the other Australian cities, so it can be very hard to tempt qualified Australian staff to come to Canberra in normal times.
But, over the last 12 months, that started to change. When we advertised new positions we were swamped with applicants, many of them of a very high calibre if not over-qualified for the job. It seems that in desperate times, people from Sydney and Melbourne will seriously consider relocation to Canberra.
It is very dire here now. I have a contract until November, but I seriously doubt that I will see that out. Morale is at rock bottom. Even the permanent staff are unhappy because as the contractors get sacked its up to them to take on a heavier burden of work. Any contractor lucky enough to get a renewal in our department has only been renewed until June. I expect another major round of cuts then to comply with the Gershon budget cut requirements. There is no new work coming through the pipeline so I am expecting another severe cull of contractors at the end of the Australian financial year in June.
I expect that within the next 6 months we will start to see former IT contractors looking for new roles as taxi drivers or security guards.
Feb 28th 2009, 10:58 pm
#6
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Canberra
Posts: 8,378
Re: Jobs In ACT/Canberra
What possesses a government department to sponsor a family over here when there is not a specific, guaranteed job for them to move into? I was shocked when I found out that he had been sponsored by the government, but was ineligible to work in most of the departments here because of the Australian Nationality issue. You would expect a government department to be aware of their own restrictions on employment.
Snip
It is very dire here now. I have a contract until November, but I seriously doubt that I will see that out. Morale is at rock bottom. Even the permanent staff are unhappy because as the contractors get sacked its up to them to take on a heavier burden of work. Any contractor lucky enough to get a renewal in our department has only been renewed until June. I expect another major round of cuts then to comply with the Gershon budget cut requirements. There is no new work coming through the pipeline so I am expecting another severe cull of contractors at the end of the Australian financial year in June.
I expect that within the next 6 months we will start to see former IT contractors looking for new roles as taxi drivers or security guards.
I hope you have success once your contract ends - my DH, who has never had a problem finding a job in his field (not IT), now finds himself doing something quite different, lower paid and more casual but he doesnt really mind.
Mar 2nd 2009, 10:38 am
#7
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 4
Re: Jobs In ACT/Canberra
I am familiar with the sponsorship by ACT that Michele is referring to. It is a scheme that is used by government authorities in locations like South Australia and Canberra that have traditionally struggled to get qualified staff, particularly in the IT field. Sadly it appears to be run by the usual government drones, as we had a contractor working with us (he was terminated last week), who came over under that scheme and was unemployed for 4 months before getting a contract which only lasted 3 months. This contractor is a guy from India with a wife and two small children, and he was sponsored by our local government to come here and live in a small flat on the outskirts of Canberra unemployed for 4 months.
What possesses a government department to sponsor a family over here when there is not a specific, guaranteed job for them to move into? I was shocked when I found out that he had been sponsored by the government, but was ineligible to work in most of the departments here because of the Australian Nationality issue. You would expect a government department to be aware of their own restrictions on employment.
Up until about a year ago, whenever we advertised for testers, we either got no applicants, or very unskilled applicants that were not worth interviewing. As most readers of this forum are probably aware there is a negative attitude to Canberra from a large number of Aussies that live in the other Australian cities, so it can be very hard to tempt qualified Australian staff to come to Canberra in normal times.
But, over the last 12 months, that started to change. When we advertised new positions we were swamped with applicants, many of them of a very high calibre if not over-qualified for the job. It seems that in desperate times, people from Sydney and Melbourne will seriously consider relocation to Canberra.
It is very dire here now. I have a contract until November, but I seriously doubt that I will see that out. Morale is at rock bottom. Even the permanent staff are unhappy because as the contractors get sacked its up to them to take on a heavier burden of work. Any contractor lucky enough to get a renewal in our department has only been renewed until June. I expect another major round of cuts then to comply with the Gershon budget cut requirements. There is no new work coming through the pipeline so I am expecting another severe cull of contractors at the end of the Australian financial year in June.
I expect that within the next 6 months we will start to see former IT contractors looking for new roles as taxi drivers or security guards.
What possesses a government department to sponsor a family over here when there is not a specific, guaranteed job for them to move into? I was shocked when I found out that he had been sponsored by the government, but was ineligible to work in most of the departments here because of the Australian Nationality issue. You would expect a government department to be aware of their own restrictions on employment.
Up until about a year ago, whenever we advertised for testers, we either got no applicants, or very unskilled applicants that were not worth interviewing. As most readers of this forum are probably aware there is a negative attitude to Canberra from a large number of Aussies that live in the other Australian cities, so it can be very hard to tempt qualified Australian staff to come to Canberra in normal times.
But, over the last 12 months, that started to change. When we advertised new positions we were swamped with applicants, many of them of a very high calibre if not over-qualified for the job. It seems that in desperate times, people from Sydney and Melbourne will seriously consider relocation to Canberra.
It is very dire here now. I have a contract until November, but I seriously doubt that I will see that out. Morale is at rock bottom. Even the permanent staff are unhappy because as the contractors get sacked its up to them to take on a heavier burden of work. Any contractor lucky enough to get a renewal in our department has only been renewed until June. I expect another major round of cuts then to comply with the Gershon budget cut requirements. There is no new work coming through the pipeline so I am expecting another severe cull of contractors at the end of the Australian financial year in June.
I expect that within the next 6 months we will start to see former IT contractors looking for new roles as taxi drivers or security guards.
Thank you once again for the update. The situation there is really dire, yet the govt. is sponsoring people to move - it doesn't make any sense. I have the feeling that there a large number of people on there way with no idea how bad things are.
I wish you lots of luck for the future,
Michele
Mar 16th 2009, 9:54 pm
#8
'Made in Ulster' Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Brisbane, QLD. (Though an Ulster girl through and through!)
Posts: 6,578
Re: Jobs In ACT/Canberra
I see ACT are sponsoring 'Pre-Primary Teachers', anyone got any knowledge or experience of this in the ACT state? I'm considering applying....
