msmyrtle

Don't get me wrong, I think having a trade is a great profession, but gambling your family's future to go on a student visa to study carpentry in Australia is crazy for all the reasons stated above.

-limited hours available to work compared to cost of living
-higher tuition fees, no government support
-difficulty for non PR/citizens to get an apprenticeship to complete schooling
-lack of family support for childcare, emotional connections
-user pays medical/schooling (depending on state)
-no guaranteed pathway from student to PR

Bermudashorts

There is nothing particularly hard about applying for a course or a student visa, I would not consider that that is where the value of an agent lies. What an agent can do in your scenario is help you to develop a visa strategy.

I would not be doing that with any agent that is affiliated with an educational institute though, because they might be rather more interested in getting you into college than getting you a permanent visa.

sarahhibbert

Thanks Bermudashorts, might be worth me chatting to one. I have a strategy in my head but sure an agent could point out 100's of things I hadn't thought of.

Current plan is 2 years study then temporary graduate visa then hope to secure sponsorship. I have a job/skill currently on the consolidated list but didn't hit the points requirement do to lack of formal education. Hopefully its still on the list by then!!

Hopefully can secure sponsorship before then but planning out the what ifs first then anything else would be a bonus!

msmyrtle

What is your job/skill and can a 2-year diploma be enough to qualify as formal education (you mentioned not having a degree in a previous post)? What does your assessing authority require?

sarahhibbert

Hi msmyrtle,

Apologies for the delay in replying, I had to dig back through my research to answer this as I had parked the info at the back of my brain for a while whilst going for the student option instead!

I am a bank/building society manager which when I last researched this was only being nominated by SA. The assessing authority is VETASSESS and has special conditions applied. The special conditions are that I must have graduated in SA and the qualification must be linked to the role. The advanced diploma I will study ticks the requirements even though it is not a degree and only 1 year in duration.

Now by typing this the first thing I have realised is that I am studying in Melbourne!! However the plan was to study 1 x advanced diploma in leadership and management (all booked in to start Jan 2017) and then possibly a second year studying an advanced diploma in banking services management. So looks like we will move to SA for the second year!

If you spot any obvious mistakes any advice would be appreciated. I did liaise with an agent originally and to be honest found them very unhelpful. They basically said "no where is nominating your skill, end of" I replied pointing out SA were and they responded "yes but you don't have the qualifications and wouldn't meet the special conditions so that's the end of the road for you" I was disappointed that they seemed to give up at the first hurdle not even asking me if I'd thought of training etc.

Not being one to give up I've tried on my own to explore other options and came up with the plan I mentioned earlier but as I've said any pointers are most helpful as all of my ideas are complied through trawling the internet!

My husband and I are living with my parents saving every penny to allow me to study for at least 2 years with then the hope of getting employer sponsored, state sponsorship or even then trying for the temp graduate visa (which again these qualifications are sufficient for)

Bermudashorts

You are taking a HUGE gamble here and a lot of planets are going to have to line up for you to pull this one off.

I think that the agents have done the right thing by you by not taking your money and selling you dreams. The SA special condition sponsorship is in all honesty not intended for people that are currently overseas, it is really for people that are already working in the state but don't currently have a permanent visa.

So firstly vetassess, your iccupation requires a diploma and doesn't necessarily have to be in a highly relevant discipline so long as you have the work experience so yes you might pull that off and get a positive skills assessment.

The thing that really worries me is the sponsorship. I believe the chance of employer sponsorship as a bank manager are between remote and zero (I worked in this sector so have some knowledge). There is a reason that occupations are not on the SOL or sponsorship lists!

I would also be very concerned about getting the state sponsorship. The special sponsorships are few and far between, the occupation might not even be on there at all in 2.5 years when you have finished your studies including the SA bit. And finally, unless I am reading it wrong you need to be studying and working in the occupation to secure the sponsorship? So you need to find a part time bank manager role?

You have mentioned living with parents and saving every penny so I am going to assume you don't have money to burn. In which case you seem to be risking all your financial well being on this slim chance.

Australia is a wonderful place, but honestly when you are already in a first world country, it isn't worth that kind of sacrifice.

sarahhibbert

I see it the other way. We are a young married couple who want to see more of the world than the 5 mile radius we were born in. Financially we are treating this as a gap year or 2. We are living with parents to save money to fund us while I study but we also both own a house each and are renting those out whilst we are away.. These are with agents and being rented out at the moment with very little issue. We don't feel we are taking a huge gamble as we aren't putting all of our eggs in one basket. If we like it there we can push to stay on and try and secure jobs/ sponsors etc.. If we don't then we've had a blast. We can head back to the Uk, will still be on the property ladder and could secure jobs with relative ease in our respective industries with qualifications that would help me progress to Area Manager level. To me it's worth a gamble whilst we haven't got responsibilities such as children etc :-)

sarahhibbert

I'm not trying to make light of any issues you point out just I'm probably the most annoyingly positive person you could ever meet!!

My motto in life is "if you think you can't then you won't, but if you think you can you might!"

Bermudashorts

So long as you know it is a gamble then that is ok. I was reading it that you thought this was a real pathway rather than the huge gamble that it is. My bad.

Jilliebee

Good Luck with it all Sarah. I'm sure you'll have a blast in Melbourne. It's fab - especially for a young couple with no kids. So much to see and do around here. Can't really comment on Adelaide. Only went there for a long weekend and it was enough for us x

moneypenny20

I hate to burst your bubble but you're really not. As long as you go in with your eyes open and are looking forward to the experience then go for it and have a blast.

huske

hi Sarah, I have sent you a private message. Let me know if you have received it!

sarahhibbert

Got your message x