Chris1972

Hello Forum Newbie here,
My wife and I have just returned from Perth staying with my sister in law and family for a wonderful 2 and a half weeks holiday. Needless to say we have both decided to look into the possibility of moving there permanently, but as along with hundreds of others neither of us have a job on the current skilled visa list.
I work for the Ministry of Defence as Aircraft Loadplanner/ramp supervisor. I am also a Band D line manager to 5 people. My job entails loadplanning/loading, unloading mainly military aircraft. I am also a member of the RAF Reserves currently serving as a RAF Regiment Infantry Gunner (CPl Rank).
My wife Is a residential Carer with nearly 10 years experience. Now i realise that neither of our professions are listed, and after an online assessment with Migration company, we were told our best bet would be a 457 visa. Does this sound right?
I have looked on Seek.au website and there are loads of jobs that i could apply for ranging from general fork lift driver to Airload delivery specialists, but none that really cover that all important skilled visa criteria I know they are also crying out for Carers in Perth area as that is my sister in laws profession, and since they emigrated 18 months ago she has more work than she can hope for....
I have thought about re-training as i know BT are currently advertising for OpenReach Customer service Engineers. Is this classed as a Telecoms Engineer?
Sorry for the essay but we would like to have realistic ideas on our chances of making the dream move before getting our hopes up.
Thoughts from forum members please !!
Chrs

Dorothy

If you're serious about one of you retraining in order to get a visa, I would recommend your wife (or you) retrain as a nurse. Unfortunately customer service is not a Telecoms Engineer.

To be sponsored for a 457 - which is not a permanent visa by the way - you would still need to have a job on the list of eligible occupations.

spouse of scouse

Just as an aside - I can't for the life of me see why WA needs hairdressers more than it needs Carers for frail aged people and those with disabilities. Even if I didn't work in the social welfare field, just a cursory look at employment vacancies shows dozens of positions advertised for carers.

Chris1972

I know my sister in law is never short of work and the pay is quite reasonable for the Perth area. Perhaps the new SOL list this year will include qualified Carers, well we can only hope!
It is difficult to re-train as both my wife and I are now 40, so time and money are against us. I thought my job was classed as air transport specialists nec which is on the list, I got all excited, but when i looked into it My job wasnt covered It seems we could be heading for a brick wall....

Molly dog

Given your MOD/RAF experience, what about contacting the Au Defence Force. I recall hearing on the news a while back there was fast track for UK military to transfer over.

TeeTMI

The 457 also requires an occupation on CSOL.

You might look for a regional employer sponsor?

Chris1972

I am currently in the process of putting together a CV to email off to relevant recruiting agencies and the Australian Defence Force. Seems if i combined my civvi job with my military job I could have a good chance to get a sponsor via the defence force or our equivalant Ministry of Defence.
Just on a side note I mentioned that BT Open reach were advertising for Fibre Optic broadband fitters/engineers. I know someone that has progressed onto fitting phone lines, working with the junction boxes etc but it is all on the job training nothing formal, Is this a trade that could be in demand over there, is it recognised on any of the SOL lists?