sammysuv

hi i'm new so bear with me! just started looking into emigrating to oz, me and my partner are willing to train/get qualifications in an occupation to get there but what would be the best,quickest,easiest occupation to train as, and will we have had to have worked in that occupation for 3 or 4 years after we qualify? will it really take us 5 or more years to get there?? can't wait that long! is there any other way of living in Australia? we are in our 30's with 3 small children and not much money! please help anyone i'm starting to think it is impossible! x

Dorothy

What is your occupation now? What is your partner's occupation? Do you own a business? Do you have family here? Want to re-train here rather than there? What are you looking at training to do? What would you like to do?

Information goes a long way toward giving a decent answer.

sammysuv

thanks for reply, i do bar work he is process operator/factory worker, no family, no business have looked at hairdressing but would do anything so would he! would be willing to train there but don't understand how i could do that, just hope it won't take years and years !! but please tell me its possible somehow thanks x

The Bloke

Anything is possible but from what I've read, you really need several years of proven experience for recognition if you are applying for a skills visa(someone please correct if I'm wrong, here), and then there is the "retraining" in some trades to get your skills accredited here. Add to that the prediction that there will nearly be increase in the unemployment rate to 7% or 300 000 out of work (I hope it doesn't happen), you maybe better off waiting a few years and get something behind you.

Dorothy

Take a look at the skilled occupation list at www.immi.gov.au for occupations that interest you. Discuss where in Australia you would like to live and start searching for universities/TAFEs that offer that course. Apply for the course then a student visa.

Studying in Australia is VERY expensive and there is no guarentee that you can stay when the course is finished. You are, as The Bloke says, much better to retrain for a career you will be interested in while still in UK and get some experience behind you before thinking about applying for any visas. Especially with children.

Do a search of "student visas" on this forum and you will find lots of information. Also do a search for Pumpkin Blossom who is here in Australia on one. She will be able to give you some good information.

One alternative is to find a sponsor who would give either of you a job and sponsor you for a visa. Your best and first stop should be www.immi.gov.au for information. If you are still unsure, it might be worth your while to speak to a MARA registered migration agent who can give you more options.

Amy and Barry

Hi sammy im in the same boat but i went back to college there in september to get qualifications to go on and get a degree im doing an access course now then hope to do midwifery.
Its going to take me and my family another 4 yrs before we can even start to apply. We have 3 kids as well and are starting to save so when we do get there if we cant find work straight away we will have savings i think this is very important theres no point in moving any where with no savings..
As in giving you advice i think you and your partner first need to sit and talk things through and see what the best route of study is for both of you take things slow you will be able to be more clear then in your own mind of what is going to happen. Also retraining isnt easy its hard to get back into study its very demanding especially with having the kids i myself am up late every nite trying to get the work done but i enjoy it because its something i want to do. And i would advise you to only pick a college course that you want to do dont pick something for the sake of it to then hate it because it was second choice.
And also remember 5 years is a long time and what ever is on the jobs in demand list now might not be on the list in 5 years.
What ever you decide to do i wish you and your family the best of luck.

sammysuv

thanks for the replys everyone, Amy it helps to know i'm not the only one in this position, yeah i know its hard retraining, i did 4 years at college when my first 2 kids were younger but that was horse and stable management and i never followed on with a job in that area so thats not much use! now i wish i had done something that could get me in australia! oh well looks like a long 5 or so years ahead of us to finally have a better life in oz!! any other ideas though from anyone would be great! xx

Iwannabethere

Could be clutching at straws here but hear me out...... Could your OH do some courses both in and out of work, depending on the type of factory work he does now, to become a skilled worker? He might be able to claim some of his current work experience, work might fund some of his training and if you are lucky he could cop a promotion and payrise. Worth looking at the job lists to see if anything fits.

sammysuv

thanks great idea, do you mean that if he could train as something on the skills list but still work for the same employer he could then claim to have the relevant work experience? sounds too good to be true but will definately have to look into that, thankyou

viviennef

I decided I wanted to migrate when I was 20. I left school when I was 16 and so I needed to go to college and then get post grad experience. I talked the university into letting me avoid an access year and actually got my visa when I was 30.

Looking back I dont know whether I would have been able to manage on a student visa with children. say you both worked 20hr and got $20 an hour - thats $800 a week before, you wouldnt get any family assistance on top. Rent is unlikely to be less than $300. It is dooable but tough as you may need childcare too.

I guess you could ask on the migration forum about changing the work conditions on visa 2 (the non student) on hardship grounds but i dont know if you can.

my husband came on a working hol isa and we did that with his bridging visa but i had PR

viv

Iwannabethere

I am no agent (worth chatting to one about it though) but if your OH is training in a similar field to one he is working in (e.g. working in metal polishing and doing training to become a supervisor/manager in the same area) then it could be possible IMO. Most agents will do a free initial consultation so it is worth contacting a few and seeing what your options are. There are lots of agents out there. We used Ian Harrop at Burford and would recommend them.

Paula31

Hi

I too am taking that long hard road of 5 years before we can apply. Like you, me and my husband did not have qualifications on the MODL and have 3 children. I started looking into moving to Oz this time last year and thought about the quickest way in there. There is none.

I decided to retrain, so gave up my job as a teaching assistant, went on an access course to get into university and am now over half way through my first year. It is the best thing I have ever done. Don't be tempted to go into a job just because its on the skills list. Your heart won't be in it.

My degree course in English is 3 years and then 1 years PGCE. I may have to do 1 year after that. So 5 years in total before we can even apply.

Things do change. Secondary teaching was only on the SOL list when I first started looking at what I could do, but now it is on the Critical Skills List.

Research as much as you can on anything and everything, if like me, it will become something of an obsession.

Peoples ideas can change with time, but if you are determined to work hard at what you want then at least you have created that opportunity for yourself and that will open a whole new set of doors.

Good luck for future plans.

Paula

Zambia

Sorry to be blunt but anything you do at this piont is a huge risk. As you are basing your decision on what DIAC has on their skills list in the very far future. Things are changing at a very rapid pace and skills in Demand are filling very fast.

In all honesty the advice you have been given is sound train for a career in the Uk doing something thats in demand in the UK , nursing , etc chances are it will be in demand in Oz if Oz are still accepting people at all at that stage.

Spend the time immersed in something you like doing and hope it comes right.

I will show my bad news bearing ass the door now.

viviennef

It worked out for me though, I ended up with a first class honours in computer science and then some good post grad experience which set me on a different path than if I had never wanted to come to Australia.

I think the advice is good - train in something that is universally required and if you dont get it to take you to oz - you may find it takes you somewhere just as nice (or maybe nicer!)

Vivienne

sammysuv

paula hanks so much, yes it is becoming an obsession, teaching also interests me but thought it would be too much for me, how do u fit it around 3 kids?! hairdressing is 2 evenings a week local college but will hairdesser even be on the list, yeah would like to something my heart will be in. Also if my oh manages to become qaulified and has suitable work experience then do i have to be aswell or do me and the kids qaulify for residency with him if u know what i mean? also what does PGCE mean? Like u i am determined to go one day, for the kids futures, i mean we struggle along here uk so i'd rather struggle along in the sunshine in oz, i'm not expecting a big luxurious lifestyle, so thanks for all the advice everyone x