slapphead_otool

This isn’t a post about the new migration rules per se, nor is it about Indian students (or Chinese, Korean or any other ethnic group).

As we all now know, there are sweeping changes afoot in the migrant visa areas.

Some of those changes relate specifically to trade based qualifications that were obtained here in Australia.

To give some background on what was happening: changes made in 2001 allowed onshore processing of migration applications, where the migrant had been studying in Australia. The point system allowed students in many trade areas to qualify – especially cooking, hairdressing, hospitality and hospitality management.

A large number of new trade colleges sprang up, offering a “package deal” to potential migrants – training that would lead to PR.

The result was an exponential growth in students in these areas, and the consequent visa applications. Between 2007 and 2009, the number of foreign students in Australia rose from 248,500 to 386,528, and most of that growth was in trade areas. Between 2004 and 2008, foreign student commencements in vocational education and training (VET) courses jumped from 32,056 to 105,752.

A large percentage of these students came from India and China. Between 2004 and 2008, the number of Indian students commencing VET courses shot up from 1005 to 32,771. The number of Indians studying in the four key areas jumped from 409 to 18,269 in the same four year period.

This isn’t a post about Indian Students, or about the use/abuse of a loophole in the visa system. I have many Indian friends, and i have many friends who have used the loophole, and gone on to become (in my opinion) good Australians.

But what i really want to know is why UK migrants didn’t use the same scheme? The courses were expensive but not prohibitive. Students could work legally for 20 hours, many did far more. It was a sure fire guaranteed way of getting Australian PR within 2 years.

So why was it not used by UK people?

Was it not publicised in the UK?.

shears

Hiya

A few did, back in the day, Paul&Nic (gone now I believe - from the forum not Oz I hope!); there were quite a few people from the UK attended the college I did, just didn't come on this forum.

Obviously there was a huge push in India & a lot of Asian countries by education agents working on commission, representing the private colleges here in Aus, selling it as a sure-fire way to get PR. From a programme on SBS (can't recall the name) late last year, a lot of students were saying they were sold the course as a "PR course" - they were guaranteed PR at the end of it by the agents in their home countries. There were some agents in the UK acting as reps for colleges in Aus, but I just don't think it was as wide-spread.

slapphead_otool

It was certainly a booming industry. Victoria had 104 colleges for overseas students in 2006. It registered 31 new colleges in 2007, and 50 more new colleges in 2008.

I knew many students at the Sydney colleges, I live in an area where many of them are (CBD near Town Hall) and drink in the bars with them. Many became good friends (mainly the cute Asian girls).

I often went to things like birthday parties etc, but never met anyone from the UK. I can’t understand why it wasn’t a big thing with thme.

One ironic point – one Asian girl I know has a degree in architecture. She can’t get PR based upon that degree, because Architects aren’t on the list. So she is doing 2 years at a crappy catering school. They insist on work experience, so she is working in a local bar – supposedly in the kitchen. But she always ends up pulling beers behind the bar. From memory she doesn’t get paid for this “work experience”. I assume the “college” gets the money.

livinginreality

I would of thought maybe because the pay in hairdressing,catering and so on is'nt that great.Hospitality management might be a different story.

mohogony

Yes theres seems to be thousands of Indian and Chinese enrollled in vocational courses like hairdressing and cooking, most or alot have no interest in becoming cooks or hairdressers or the course they are studying only using it to get permanent residency in OZ. l think there are quite a few British and other people from western countries who also take advantage of this loophole in the immigtration system, but its mostly Asians.

jad n rich

The coast was full of poms on bricklaying and hairdressing courses. Think plenty used the scheme.

It sounded risky to me, they would often talk about $8000 per kid to be at a crappy state school, $22,000 for the course and bricklayers paying up to train when the building industry was going ass up.

That was on top of flogging the UK house to get here and playing the currency roulette.

I do actually feel a bit sorry for those that now will have to go back.

slapphead_otool

But surely a big advantage to onshore processing as opposed to offshore, was that the applicant was in Australia, earning money on a bridging visa, even whilst they were waiting for the PR to come through, and given the skills requirements, the PR was virtually guaranteed.

I don’t think many people seriously considered actually doing the job after training. The course was all about getting the PR, not about a long term career.

Mind you, a lot of people are highly stuffed right now. After they finish the course they will get an 18 month work visa to gain work experience in the field that they have studied, and then they have to get sponsorship to get PR.

12,000 cooks are going to be fighting over very few jobs.

Broad Shoulders

well they wouldn't have had much street-cred when going back on site!

Personally, I think the whole thing is a rort, from many perspectives. The Aus govt have done this not to get skilled workers (I mean seriously cooks and hairdressers put in the same list as builders, nurses, teachers and doctors?????) but to increase foreign trade. Now the Govt have seen that it is being abused and they need to control immigration they are pulling it out from under the people who are now committed and spent a fortune to be here.

Regardless of the intentions of the people coming over here to study hairdressing and not actually following through with the trade, the govt have a duty to these people they have already miss-sold a future to.

slapphead_otool

What gets me is who the hell told the government that we needed cooks and hairdressers?

I remember in the late 1980s “Asian Waiters” were on the critical skills list.

It has always seen like a rort to me. Even with the magical “Job offer”. I know many examples of fictitious job offers that have resulted in job advertisements being published for positions that were never going to be offered to applicants. The job advertisement was just part of the process of proving a need to import someone with the skills. “We advertised in the press and didn’t find anyone with the skills and experience”.

To be fair, under the new rules people studying onshore will get 18 month work experience visas for work in the field being studied, and if they get a job offer they will get PR. If they really wanted to be a cook they will get a chance to be one.

My guess is though that within a month many of the overcrowded 4 beds to a room student apartments in Sydney will be empty, and the International Colleges will be closing doors.

I daresay a few Migration agents will go back to bookkeeping or house conveyance too.

Kingseat

But gaining a PR visa with a skill and continuing to work in that skill doesn't always happen either.

I have friends who came to Brisbane about 7 years ago. She got the visa being a teacher. Hasn't worked a day since she got here.

slapphead_otool

Which in itself defeats the purpose of giving the person the visa.

These are skills related visas. They were intended to service a demand for that skill. If the applicant doesn’t pursue that career the system has failed.

I know a girl who graduated as an accountant, obtained PR and now works as a shop assistant. Bizarrely she earns as much as she would have as a newly graduated accountant, because due to the flood of newly PR’ed accountants there is a surplus and companies can pay lower wages.

newjersey

Someone said that making all of these visas provisional will straighten up the system for good. If you pretend to be a cook - go right ahead. If you work in your trade for, say a year or two you can keep your visa, if not, well, stiff $hit.

moneypenny20

Loads of Brits took advantage of the scheme, however it's very expensive especially if you have kids and don't make much equity from the sale of your UK home. If you worked more than 20 hours a week you were very likely to have the visa revoked and thrown out of the country. It is also extremely difficult, in some areas, to find any sort of work for only 20 hours a week.

It's also not a sure fire way of getting PR, has plenty of risks. Not in a million years would I have put my family through the stress or put that amount of money at risk.

Don't assume that because you haven't heard of Brits having done it that way, that they haven't.

Kooky.

Have you had your hair done by an Australian, slapphead? Possibly not. I think all the good ones must move abroad because I had two absolute disasters before finding a good Kiwi, who has since moved on, and now two Brits to cut and colour my hair. They came here on 457s, for which I'm very thankful.

(Lest anybody should accuse me of being racist - using a vague definition of race - two of the best hairdressers I've ever met are Singaporean. Unfortunately they're in Singapore. )

So govt, please keep letting them in.

slapphead_otool

To be honest most of the recent arrivals from the UK that I come across are in the IT recruiting industry (which is also on the “endangered species list).

I have never met a UK Cook or hairdresser.

Maybe I need to get out more.