Myself & my partner are definately going to Oz at the start of 2008. He is an electrician & I work within Sales. The only thing we're unsure of, is whether to go out on a WHV & if we love it, hope that we'll find sponsorship to stay there? (Does this happen very often?!) OR do we apply for immigration now, so that it's easier (& I think we would have better & more job options?!) & pay all that money not knowing if we're going to like it or not? Anyone done either & did the right thing or wished that they'd done it differently??? All advise would be greatly appreciated.

If you go on a WHV then you may find yourselves ineligible for skilled migration due to lack of recent skilled work experience.

If serious about the move and eligible for a migration visa, it's the best option.

If you go on an WHV, you should expect to have to come home as that is the usual scenario.

I would have thought working holiday would he a sensible option as it will allow you to test the waters and if you like it there you can apply for migration visa at a later stage

No, that is not good advice. Many WHV holders find themselves ineligible for migration due to lack of recent skilled work experience.

I dont agree, he is an electrician so naturally he would work as an electrician in
Oz and would therefore have recent work experience. Anyway he only needs 12 months in the last 18 months so once he knows within a few months of landing then even without having that experience in oz he would be fine

Once again, not necessarily as he may not be eligible to get the necessary trade certificates.

Why not just keep it simple and get a migration visa to begin with?

What, do you mean logistically, it could be difficult to get paperwork to hand?

I suspect that JAJ means that it can be very difficult to become recognised/registered as an electrician....there have been what seems to be hundreds of threads on here.

Yes, the OP could probably quite easily come over and do "electrician-type work" (ie as a labourer) but that year in Oz would not count towards industry experience for migration purposes, and it may be that form an immigration point of view he has not worked recently enough as a fully-qualified electrician. ie what JAJ says.