CM1874

Hello all having recently returned from an 11-day holiday in Australia and enjoying my stay that much I've been looking into how to become a fully qualified electrician in Australia. Bit of background info I am currently 20 years old. I have already studied 3 years' worth of Electrical installation at college in England which has led me to gain a Diploma in Levels 1 & 2 of electrical installations and a Level 3 Advanced Technical Diploma in Electrical installation. I've already done a bit of research and see I'd be unable to do a 3-year apprenticeship because a visa doesn't cover it, the only other option I've seen is if I was sponsored by a company. If anyone could provide some info on this it would greatly be appreciated also I have family in Australia and are citizens so would this help me with a Visa?

quoll

You’d be better doing your apprenticeship and training to be an electrician in U.K. then getting some experience under your belt and applying for a skilled visa, hoping that electrician is still on the skills list when you are eligible. Having family there isn’t really that much help. If you are sponsored by a company, they have to prove they can’t find an Aussie for the job and even then it’s likely to be temporary with no guarantee you can stay. Get your skills and experience then start looking at it.

paddy234

Listen, I can tell you now at your age and with the severe tradie shortages you will get sponsored no problem. One of the most common ways young people Stay long term in Australia is by getting a working holiday visa and then try out different companies to see which suits. Once you find a company you like you could then pursue sponsorship.

The smartest thing to do however would be to email different companies by looking for jobs on seek.com.au
Tell them your situation and that you would want sponsorship and see what they say. That's what I did when I was a similar age to you. I applied for positions in NZ from the other side of the world and got a job offer. The working holiday visa is usually just an easy and quick way to get into the country and start working

rammygirl

not sure when you came but it really isn’t as easy as that now. Even for sponsorship for that trade you will need to be fully qualified and experienced. Employers are expected to take on residents for apprenticeship places and only seek overseas tradies if they can prove they can’t hire locally.

paddy234

Here in WA there is still SEVERE tradie shortages. Have a look on Seek.com.au. There are plenty of ad's for apprenticeships. He already has been studying it for 3 years. As I said if he just emails the employers of these ad's about his current position and experience and his long term intentions in Australia they will be able to tell him if they are willing to offer sponsorship.

rammygirl

But there isn’t a visa for foreigners to undertake apprenticeship in Australia. They can pay to study on a student visa but that is expensive and doesn’t guarantee getting a work visa. Employers can only sponsor qualified people.

brits1

Our eldest son has a boss who’s son-in-law and daughter (also two children) spent two years in a working holiday visa in Australia they loved the life but had to return home just before Covid hit now just over two years later they have all just flown back to Perth WA and told everyone they are staying for good, both so not have any skills that are currently required in Australia (one is a labourer and other works as a shop assistant) my son asked them how they were able to do this, his boss said that there is plenty of work in the building industry he’s going back to work for the builder he last worked for and that they would eventually be able to apply for permanent residency….I thought Aussie was a lot stricter about “things like that”

paddy234

His boss is most likely the primary visa holder in which the other family members are added under him. This would allow them to take on less skilled work as they please aswell as potentially study. He would most likely be the one with the skills required. It says on the immigration website that trade qualifications can be substitued for relevant work experience of at least 3 years

spouse of scouse

Did the daughter and SIL leave their children behind when they were on work holiday visas? Family members can't be included in this visa, and visa holders can't be accompanied by dependent children.

If they're back in Oz and working they'd need to have some kind of visa that permits them to work, otherwise they're working illegally.

paddy234

It depends. On a 482 visa all he needs is 2 years relevant work experience. He already has the qualifications to work in this area. Simply use a working holiday visa to gain some experience and then get sponsored after 2 years of work experience. Another option is getting sponsored through family who are Australian citizens which he has.

brits1

Sorry “The Boss” is in England (Liverpool…urgh lol) he has.no connections at all with Australia no visa etc that’s why we thought Australia has “loosened” its rules but to be fair when we lived in Aus we did meet people there who had no hope of getting a permanent visa but after a while and through different routes were given a PR .

Pollyana

Only certain close family members can sponsor.

SoS is correct in that if they have kids, they can't be accompanied by them on a WHV.
There are a large number of people out here working in various illegal ways - such as while holding a tourist visa - and many of them have announced on arrival that they are here to stay. Some do eventually sort out their visa status, but others end up being "asked to leave". Happens here as in just about every other country, then doesn't mean its the right thing to do though.

old.sparkles

Electrician is a licensed trade though and has quite a few hoops to jump through - and experience, in addition to qualification, is required to start the process.

I also do not think you can do an apprenticeship in Australia if not already at least PR, but not 100% on that.

paddy234

I don't think Australia with today's skill shortages is going to enforce this anyway. They are too busy trying to work their way through the serious backlog of Visa applications

paddy234

It depends on what trade he is doing. Many people learn a trade solely through work experience and gain no formal qualification, with a 482 Visa one could gain sponsorship from an employer if they have at least 2 years of work experience in a relevant area. WA with many trades is alot more loose with formal qualifications than the likes of Victoria where i know to run jobs one must have a qualification. I'll aks some of the guys from other parts of Europe how they were able to get sponsorship through my company. I think they just had to prove the relevant work experience with references.

This is how i got my residency in New Zealand with the points system. I was able to prove my years of experience with references and that was it. <snip> I do know a skills assessment may be required but i haven't heard anything of this from the guys getting sponsored here. I was going to get my PR here through my skill being on the shortage list but i was told by an immigration agent who i was just asking for advice that i would be better to just get PR through my Wife who is an Australian citizen even though it was almost twice the cost simply because getting the skills assessment can be expensive and lengthy and the partnership route is just so much easier especially if the relationship/marriage has been long term. If i went the same route to PR here as i did in NZ i would be able to fill you in more on this but most knowledge i have is from the immigration website and through asking others.

This is a quote of what i've seen on the immigration website in relation to qualifications with all trades i've looked at

• At least three years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualifications listed above. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification.Registration or licensing is required