Dragonflygecko

You don't need a local agent. We opted for Emergico Migration (based in Brisbane with offices in Essex) due to good reviews and lots of happy customers. Professional fees will depend on visa type and number of applicants ours was reasonable and certainly worth the cost as we want it to be thorough and done right.

Hi All, I just wanted to clear up the requirements for Childcare Centre Manager to get a positive skills assessment from TRA. There seems to be a lot of incorrect information out there. So I just received the good news today my skills assessment has come back as 'successful'- Fist pump! To help others in a similar situation- you DO NOT need a degree. TRA have stated that a qualification equivalent to the Diploma of Children's Services in Australia is sufficient. Of course as this is a minimum requirement to be Manager of a setting over there. My advice is to apply to ACECQA and have your qualification approved first. I done this in August so I could add to my application and prove I was eligible to work as a Childcare Centre Manager by the Early Childhood People! My qualifications: *2006- Montessori Diploma in Montessori Teaching -1 year *2008- Level 5 in Early Childhood- 1 year *2016- Foundation Degree in Early Years (UK level 5) -2 years Now they would only consider post qualifying experience so my 2 year Foundation Degree was not going to add anything to my application really to be honest. I have worked in early years since 2006 starting off as a Assistant Educator, Montessori teacher, Room Leader, Supervisor, Deputy Manager and Manager. For the last 3 years and 7 months I've been in Senior management (Deputy Manager and Manager although to be fair as Deputy I done everything I do now too!). My setting is large I have about 78 children on the register and currently 20 staff members. I submitted around 300 certified copies of all types of evidence I could find on employment, professional development, qualifications etc to prove my role and experience. Any questions I'm happy to help.:hug: It's a minefield out there lots of conflicting information!

Wow Bungo- a bit harsh. I worked in Sydney in a childcare centre where nearly 30% of the team where sponsored from overseas and was offered sponsorship too. I think there is a chance but you'd need the experience. I'm currently in the middle of a TRA assessment for Childcare Centre Manager so I'll let you know how I get on if it's possible not to have a degree. I do have 11 years experience & 4 in leadership and management of the centres though.

Short answer no. This is required for you to be qualified anything after this is 'experience' for points let's say.

Seek a reputable agent. Your husband hasn't worked for almost a year? There is a 90 day requirement for him to find a new job willing to sponsor him otherwise the visa will be cancelled. Perhaps it has been already?! You said in July they told you it's been refused, why are you only looking into this now??

The English test probably.

I was talking about spent convictions in regards to rehabilitation of offenders. I'm not sure if that applies after only 3 years. Just saying- if I am interviewing someone we have a 'declaration of offences' form. A staff member discloses that they were convicted of stealing we would obviously discuss this and find out the reasons why, when etc but I cannot discriminate and not employ them on that basis alone. Of course if there were more incidents or the persons behaviour towards it was not what I would expect then that's different. I thought 457 offshore you need a police check? For all temporary and PR visas?

You might not necessarily need to go back two years, what you have been learning might be relevant and equivalent here. You can probably go straight to A Levels. If you are arriving in January then you will have a gap until September, perhaps you could do a foundation course to get you ready for A levels.

Have you looked into sponsorship? If you are eligible you could top up your qualifications whilst working out there and then after a couple of years apply for PR.

You need to apply for the police check even for 457. You don't need to tell your employer unless you are asked. On your police record it will have 'no live trace'. Your employer cannot hold it against you if it does come up as everyone who has a conviction has the right not to be discriminated against because of this. If it were a more serious crime and your job involved vulnerable adults or children obviously this would be an issue.

3 weeks and to only spend $100 is a bit drastic, but they have however spent a fortune to fly 24hours across the world to see their son, grandchild, and you. I would not expect them to be buying their grandchild clothes from Myer and being angry they didn't. There is nothing wrong with Primark clothing for kids, some of it is actually very nice now and the quality has improved in recent years. Babies and toddlers come into my nursery wearing Ted Baker leggings and Burberry jumpers etc.. let me tell you they get destroyed in seconds and we just have to laugh. Why spend so much money on these clothes for everyday wear! I think it's really sad you throw away the clothes that family send you.

I don't think the UK is as strict as Australia although I wouldn't risk it as they probably will open it up and investigate what exactly it is.

Really were you in same room as me? I found the speaking a nightmare with everyone else speaking loud. How annoying for you, S60 wtf? Can you ask for a remark? Or maybe it was something to do with the microphone? I need 79 in all areas and I got W84 S82 R80 L78 (so pissed off! 1 mark off what I need... I thought you had to have 3 years post qualifying experience no matter what? What's your occupation? Bell- sorry to hear your husbands having a rough time with the scoring and in particular the describe image- let me reassure you it's not about how you analyse it. You just need to point out the obvious trends name of graph and keep talking for the whole 40 seconds to get full marks for fluency. Tbh it's all a money making exercise! :arghh: I'm going to calm myself down before rebooking & hope I don't fail on something else next time! Ugh. Shouldn't you just need to resist one part... Joke!

Thanks bobbie2016 for your advice it really helped. I done my exam yesterday and was called in second to get started, I quickly checked everything was okay and got started before the others. Overall I found the real exam easier than the practice scored test (let's see how my results are though.) I'm not sure if I got the score I need for the 20 points but I'd say I'm not too far off. The speaking is by far the hardest part, I find it very unfair to try and concentrate and read then speak when people are shouting next to you. What about people with dyslexia? I think this part of the exam should be reviewed and perhaps students are put on different parts at different times. There were 10 of us shouting at the same time. Trying to read and understand the graph imagines whilst people are shouting is so tough. A native British guy next to me said last time his score for speaking was 46 he was so angry as the background noise affected him! Let's see what I get... Scores are 'reportable' on my login do let's see. Good luck to anyone doing it soon, if you need any help let me know :chatterbox:

The experience but is very important too & teaching practice. Have you got the equivalent to Aussie standards? You need minimum of 45 days supervised practice? Worth getting a free consultation.

I was thinking (it might be a long shot) but the RSMS 187 visa where you have to be under 50 with a skill on the CSOL or RSMS list and a willing sponsor. I think the 457 you have to have skill on the 'more skilled' SOL list?

Have you checked the CSOL list?

We decided to use an agent. It is quite a complex process unless you've been researching for a long time and your application is fairly straight forward. Lots of people hVe done it on here alone, I wouldn't trust myself it would be an expensive mistake if I entered something wrong or overlooked something. We had a free consultation via Skype with Emergico who have come very highly rated on another social media page where lots of people received visas. What's your plan? Which visa? Which skill?

HeyAndyvrs, My TRA application has just been posted yesterday. How long from posting did you receive an email to say they've acknowledged them? I'm hoping it doesn't take the full 60 working days to get a outcome as that means I could be waiting until mid Feb! I want to be there in June so it's looking tight. When are you hoping to arrive? Also can I ask, why some people front load documents such as form 80 and PCC and others wait to be assigned a CO? I would like to front load mine when the time comes but just wanted to know if that is only optional for some people, or some occupations? These people seem to get direct grants with a much faster turn around. I am so impatient with this, I really admire some of you and your patience when you've been waiting 8 months or so. Can I also ask about work, for my role I need to give 3 months notice and so this is a bit tricky. My employer knows already that I have started the process and we have put down a end of June/July date as a rough guide; obviously closer to the time I will have to give formal notice and during those last 3 months I have to train someone into my role. This has me so stressed because like most of you, we want to get there asap after grant. My lease also runs out in July and so I thought it would be a perfect consolidation of life here in the UK (we have no family or close friends that could put us up in London). This visa process will take years of my life- and that's even if we're successful :wacko: Lovely to read all your timelines and visa grant messages! Keeps the motivation going...:chatterbox:

So my Pearsons test is booked for next Wednesday. I've been doing quite a bit of practice using YouTube videos and webinars. Today I took the practice test which is scored and specific time allocated appropriately, cost £28 (ridculous!) I scored well enough considering some elements I couldn't even understand. I'm not stupid by any means, in my degree I got A's & B's. I'm a native English speaker but God was this test difficult! I dreaded the describe image & retell lecture elements of speaking but managed to get 73! My my practice scores: listening 75 writing 72 speaking 73 reading 69 (one whole paragraph I could not understand!) I had had to write an essay on politics, not my strong point at all! Any tips appreciated on how to bump up my scores. Does anyone know if the practice tests are harder/marked harder than the real thing?

You can only work for a maximum of six months with any one employer on a WHV. You don't necessarily need a skills assessment but you will be employed as a 'casual employee' due to your visa restrictions. The skills assessment may help in getting sponsored though.

I went back to study for a higher qualification as I thought mine original qual would not be enough. Funnily enough ACEQCA have approved my first qualification as equivalent and so I have wasted the last two years and £10,000 studying for my degree in Early Years. On a more positive note at least I do not need to have 3 further years post qualifying experience which means I am now able to apply for the 189 skilled visa rather than a sponsored one or wait 3 more years. Still in the early stages though and so will need to wait to see my skills assessment outcome. If you are retraining, do something you will love as if the occupation comes of the list it will be so disappointing to have studied for something you are not 100% about. Have you looked into the csol list?

Oh fingers crossed for you, let me know how you get on? What qualifications do you have if you don't mind me asking? I have a FETAC Level 5 in Childcare from Ireland, a Montessori Diploma and in July I just finished my Foundation Degree in Early Years so I am going to submit all of these. I have been a deputy manager and manager for 3 and a half years so I am really hopeful it goes through. What is your experience? I am hoping that I get to Australia by June 2017! Can be a very lengthily process! I'm doing the PTE test for extra points!