Guest WorkforceSolutions Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I am getting alot of requests from members on here for clarification on who we are because of the unique status we have re the Workplace Agreement. I am not a Migration Agent, or Lawyer, but merely the Head of Operations for Workforce Solutions here in Europe. Please send me your queries re jobs, the 457 Visa, or the Permanent Placement Role we have. I will give you my personal opinion, although please refer to an Agent etc for the official line. Best Regards, Richard Richard Thomas Head Of European Operations, Workforce Solutions (QLD) Pty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hello Richard Welcome to Poms in Oz. Are you aware that questions are also being asked about your company on British Expats? If not, the website is British Expatriate Community : British Expat Community It is a huge site, so you need to pick your way through the forums list carefully. I only ever look at the Immigration subsection of the Australia forum myself, and that is where I have fiound this thread today: Workforce Solutions from London Expo : British Expat Discussion Forum Do be sure that you are in the right part of BE if you want to post anything that potential candidates might read. Their membership is 10 times greater than ours and any reference to Poms in Oz automatically comes up as asterisks in both public posts and in PMs on BE. (You tell me why and we'll both know!) However, because their membership is so much bigger their readership must be as well, I should think. Back to WS, though. Do you only recruit for certain trades/industry sectors, please? I've heard that a new mine is due to be opened in South Australia and that they are anxious to find truck-drivers. Loads of British truckies would grab that but truck-driving is not on the list of migration skills. Can you arrange anything for truck drivers, please? From a bit of sleuthing I did in Google Australia the other night, I think the mine in SA might be the one which is going to be called the Honeymoon Mine (uranium, mainly.) Not sure though - the trials are being done at Mt Gee in the Flinders Ranges. There is mention of which company owns it and it is not BHP Billiton. The Honeymoon people are MPC or similar - but Google Australia reveals all. Piecing it together, this mine could be the one that wants truck drivers I think. Thanks Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WorkforceSolutions Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Thanks Gill, The problem was that the Australia House Expo ended up being a bun fight, and all of the recuiters there founf it very unsatisfactory that we had probably a maximum of 30 seconds with an applicant. It became a drop and drive scenario. I wish we could consider Truck Drivers, but they are non MODL and as such are outside our remit. We do have representation in SA, and we are in the process of opening new opportunities for applicnats at the Olympic Mine Project (perhaps the one you have heard of). We saw including the Emigrate Shows at the end of last year /last month and the Australia House Show approximately 15,000 people from all walks of life, and whilst I would love to be able to say to them yes come and work for us, in reality the restrictions that DIAC put upon us vis MODL etc, mean that we have had to whittle down to around 500 applications, and then 200 of the top candidates. Unfortunately some people are very disappointed, and some have become quite bitter. I do not begrudge them that right, and I am always happy to talk through anyone's application. I hope for every unhappy person, there are a lot of silent happy ones. Saying that, in our eyes constructive critisism is always considered. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hi Richard Thanks for this. You are right. The truckers are not on any of the lists, not just not on the MODL. Obviously I'm in the UK and although I've vaguely heard of Workforce Agreements, that is as far as it goes. But you say you can recruit for skills on the MODL? Ok, do WS focus only on some of the MODL skills or on all of them, please? What about a Hairdresser, Chef or a Cook, for example? I'm trying to get a "feel" for when it might be useful to suggest WS and when it would not be? I'm hearing about WS in the conext of trades which broadly involve "construction" rather than the whole gamut of MODL skills, but this could be no more than co-incidence, maybe. Are you on a limit of how many people you can recruit overall? If so, what is the limit, please, and how close are you to reaching it? Also, if you read this thread from the start, someone at the Expo left his details with you and then he was contacted by Bruce from ACTS? Why is there this hook-up, please? Why is it useful? What is it intended to achieve? Clarification of this as well might help to lessen suspicion. Best wishes Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WorkforceSolutions Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Cheers Gill, Just to say we consider anyone on MODL but realistically in regards to 457 then we are looking at Engineers, Tradespeople, Medical and IT primarily. Purely on the basis that the resources boom in QLD, SA, NSW, and WA is creating a lot of vacancies that cannot be filled by Australian Workers alone. Hairdressers etc are really looking for a self-employed work, which makes it hard to put out to a client, and chefs we sometimes place into hotle chains, but often they are loooking for a restaraunt role, which again is not our forte. In regards to PR we look at all comers. I do not know who ACTS are but I had a number of colleagues over from Australia helping with the Exhibitions, so possibly they recommended on a personal basis rather than WFS Policy. I genuinely know nothing about them ? I will make enquiries and post the answer back on here to clarify for anyone thats wants to know, or has concerns. I hope this covers most queries....... Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WorkforceSolutions Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Oh sorry, on numbers we have batches of 200 under the agreement, and when the batch is complete, they release another 200 (as I understand it although the negotations were done at Board Level with the Dept of Immigration and the Ministry themselves) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jamie Smith Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Cheers Gill, Just to say we consider anyone on MODL but realistically in regards to 457 then we are looking at Engineers, Tradespeople, Medical and IT primarily. Purely on the basis that the resources boom in QLD, SA, NSW, and WA is creating a lot of vacancies that cannot be filled by Australian Workers alone. Hairdressers etc are really looking for a self-employed work, which makes it hard to put out to a client, and chefs we sometimes place into hotle chains, but often they are loooking for a restaraunt role, which again is not our forte. In regards to PR we look at all comers. I do not know who ACTS are but I had a number of colleagues over from Australia helping with the Exhibitions, so possibly they recommended on a personal basis rather than WFS Policy. I genuinely know nothing about them ? I will make enquiries and post the answer back on here to clarify for anyone thats wants to know, or has concerns. I hope this covers most queries....... Rich Hi Rich Not trying to start a scrap here but you sound overloaded and under pressure to process people , a bit like the DIAC expo???? Your placements and interest in other candidates is largely driven by vacancies you have, relationships with historic clients and to some degree cherry picking of most popular categories? All normal recruitment and on-hire business management ideas, no problem. We would be happy to take your onwards referrals for all other occupations on 457 or indeed anything you think is not within WF's ability to easily place someone. Together we should be able to assist a wider range of people find work in Australia, and assist employers with skills shortages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WorkforceSolutions Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Thanks for that Jamie, It is true that my team here is very busy at the moment. We have seen a surge in applications in the last 3 months. Whether because its the global financial situation, or the general outlook for the UK I wouldn't know. We would be very interested in having a chat, please drop me an e-mail to richardt@workforcesolutions.com.au Many thanks Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Hello Richard & Jamie Do you think either of you might be able to help in the situation which I will descrive, please? My information is sketchy because at the moment it is all coming from jamesterror, the potential applicant's 16 year old son. I am going to ask James to try to persuade his father to join the forum himself because I suspect we need a word with Dad to discover whether he and James' Mum would be in with a viable chance of PR in Oz. The facts as told to me are: Dad is an electrical engineer aged 47/48. He hs 20 years of unbroken work experience in this field. They looked into the possibility of migrating to Oz a couple of years ago but gave up when they discovered that 45 is the cut off age for skilled independent migration. James says Dad is now asking whether he would really have a viable chance of finding an employer-sponsor at his age? My own feeling is that if he can get the necessary skills assessment and the type of electrical work that he does is on the MODL, then Dad should be in with as good a chance of getting employer sponsorship as anyone else? However, you guys do this for a living. I don't. Your comments - encouraging or otherwise - would be very gratefully received. Many thanks Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WorkforceSolutions Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Thanks Gill, As you know 457 doesn't have an age limit, and we would be happy to look at his details. I must stress that he would need to have done the relevant assessment to have his skills verified before we would look to sponsor him. Thats a WS requirement, and perhaps Jamie has other clients who are not as strict as us. Jamie would be able to confirm the chances of a PR submission then whilst in situ. If he would like to send me a CV then I can at least give him an honest opinion on his employment prospects with WS. Best Regards, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tahe49 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Hi Richard I hope you don't mind me asking but you have sent an e-mail to my OH asking him to send all his details after meeting at the Expo. While reading all these threads though I am a little confused. We are currently awaiting our PR visa so would not be looking for sponsorship.... but obvisouly are looking for a job. Is this something that you can still help us with or have we got our wires crossed. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WorkforceSolutions Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Thank Tahe, The literature is a bit confusing I admit. Basically we have two ways that we help overseas workers. The first is as a sponsor under 457, and also as a more traditional '...headhunter..' recruiter for our clients where the overseas worker is already in the process of/ or has gained their PR Visa. The stage 1 recruitement process is the same for all applications, in that we have everyone fill in a Registration Form, a Self assessment form, and forward us 3 references. We don't normally ask people to initially send us a reference from their current employer as we don't want to prejudice their job. It is a bit long winded, but bear in mind that often the first time an Overseas worker actually meets their employer face to face will be on day one of the job, therefore the information we ask fo has to be as detailed as possible. We do also ask everyone to sign up with Skype so that a face to face interview with Australia is easy to arrange, and most importantly free. I hope this explains it a little more. Kind Regards, Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jamie Smith Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Dad is an electrical engineer aged 47/48. He hs 20 years of unbroken work experience in this field. They looked into the possibility of migrating to Oz a couple of years ago but gave up when they discovered that 45 is the cut off age for skilled independent migration. James says Dad is now asking whether he would really have a viable chance of finding an employer-sponsor at his age? My own feeling is that if he can get the necessary skills assessment and the type of electrical work that he does is on the MODL, then Dad should be in with as good a chance of getting employer sponsorship as anyone else? However, you guys do this for a living. I don't. Your comments - encouraging or otherwise - would be very gratefully received. Many thanks Gill Hi Gill The skills can be determined via trade assessment as per Alan Collett's methodology. There is possibility for age waiver on an RSMS visa, which requires 2 years regional living before PR van be obtained. The waiver is decided on case by case basis, and will require a strong submission to State Government about why the waiver is necessary. That is probably employer evidence of advertising the job and failure to receive good candidates, together with higher priority. Now you get down to whether or not someone will hire a 47 year old. That is more a matter of supply and demand, and employer preference. In many occupations age will not matter as employers have fewer choices. WFS could do it but probably have enough to do now with 457s, and unlike the 457 the RSMS visa offers no ties the employer can use to "preserve" loyalty other than being a good boss, so it depends what they would offer and how they would treat anyone, and whether or not they have enough good regional employer contacts and subcontracts. So in my opinion FWIW, it's a matter of tracking down employers with the greatest need and working it out with them. We have worked out ways to track them down, it's a time consuming search as many employers have sadly given up advertising. Therefore age 45 is theoretically not a cutoff for a skills visa as long ast there is good reason (employment offer, preferred occupation) and a strong case put forward for any of the 3 state governments we've been talking to to grant the exception. And in practical terms, there is no guarantee that anyone who meets the simple formula above would be guaranteed a good result. But for my money it's cheaper, faster to get PR and less onerous than the adult student visa system some would want to follow as a last resort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest12551 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 hi all. as you may or may not know, im dealing with workforce solutions at the moment and have and interview or 3 lined up in brisbane..lol (looking for the best offer and best wages .. richard lol). thers has been quite alot thrown at WS lately and it would appear richard has answered these questions to the best of his knowledge, now im not standing in WS corner or anything but has anyone had any other problems or concerns over any other agencies.. ie hire a migrant???? i for one would be very interested to hear of anyone having these types of questions and possibly horror stories or ones that have turned out great!!!!!!!!! can anyone enlighten me??? john and marie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pirate willy Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 hey it sounds like ive stirred up a right hornets nest!! I only wanted to know at the begining who ws were? Because they were the only company to email me back after the expo!! its all very interesting stuff!! So do you have any bricklaying placements? and whats your rate of pay? thanks:jimlad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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