Search the Community

I'm in the process of Applying for my Skills Assessment by Engineers Australia including a Relevant Work Experience Assessment. On the Engineers Australia website, I've seen the excel spreadsheet which lists the summary work experience. However it also talks about having a more detailed "endorsed" document which should detail exact periods of work, specific duties etc. which needs to come on Company Headed paper. I'm lucky to have worked for the same employer for over 10 years and for a lot of that time I have worked predominently for one manager who is personally willing to assist me with a statement but i am reluctant to "officially" inform the personnel department by asking for a formal company statement until our Visa is either well underway or granted. Can anyone out there advise me on their experience of RWE statements or possibly share a copy of one? My specific queries are (a) typical content of a statement (b) who it needs to come from? I.e. does it need to come from the personnel department or can it come from a direct manager provided it is on headed paper? The company I work for is a large multi-national and we have little contact with the personnel department so the person writing the statement from personnel is unlikely to know me and will just copy facts from the Company payroll system etc. Your help much appreciated Ashley:hug:

Hi, My partner and I would really appreciate any help with skilled visas for Plumbers. I have so many questions and I keep getting told different things. We're wanting to go down the route of skilled migration as a Plumber in Australia. We have both lived in Australia previously for 4 years (I was sponsored) but left due to family reason back at home in the UK. So, my partner has a NVQ level 2 in plumbing (Not a level 3). Do you know if NVQ level 2 is enough of a qualification for a Plumber? He has over 5 years plumbing experience in the UK, and 2 years plumbing experience in Australia. We've been advised that to pass VETASSESS you need to have either Gas or Roofing experience. However, he doesn’t have much experience working with gas and no experience in roofing. My partner is currently completing a Gas course to get the knowledge, would this be enough for VETASSESS? Please can you give us some information about how hard or easy the test was for you. Any tips, advice or guidance would be great. Thank you in advance for your help. Jeanette

Hello all, I am a nurse and I writing to see if I qualify for a Medium Stream temporary skill shortage. I have an australian positive skills assessment and interest from an employer (potential for sponsorship is being sought). I have one year's post qualifying experience. I trained in the UK and worked in the field as a band 3 throughout my training. Does my positive skills assessment allow me to be accepted on a TSS visa or do I need another year's experience? Many thanks, Emma

Getting in to the Mining Industry in WA with no experience. What you need to know. My background, I landed in Perth in Jan 2010, with no knowledge or interest in mining as I had been a plasterer in England. I decided that I’d had enough of that so I got into a few other things and after I found they weren’t for me I decided to go full tilt at the mining industry….easy work….loads of money and only working half the year….hell yeah… let me at it… and then it got complicated. The following is the result of all my mistakes. Read it and hopefully you will save yourselves a ton of time and money. First - the DO’s. Get your HR license (HGV license or similar in UK). Book this as soon as you can as it gets booked up pretty fast. They do it Perth but it’s easier if you can do it somewhere quieter. You will need to do the ‘unrestricted’ or ‘open’ Road Ranger gear box course! Regardless of the fact that the majority of trucks on a mine are automatic. Keens Brothers in Bunbury do a two day course for about $1000 but you will need to do your learners permit at a licensing centre first, 17 questions and they ask you about 12. Costs about $120. A HR license is the absolute minimum pre-requisite. You will see some that don’t ask for it but most will and I have seen countless jobs pass me buy because of my dithering over whether I needed it or not – You do. An Australian Police Clearance certificate – post office about $50 – they need to know you’ve been a good boy. Even if you’re a crim in England it won’t show up here so be nice…until you get a job at least!! The should DO’s The most popular things that are looked on ‘favourably’ are; Forklift license – Consolidated Training Services do a one day course - $400 Senior First Aid – St Johns ambulance Australia two day course – about $150 Four Wheel drive and Defensive driving – 2 day course – Eureka 4WD - $300 (ish) Elevated Work Platform (EWP) – about $500 MARCSTA – Mining Safety induction – one day - $120 (not necessary but some like it), most companies will do their own version in the induction. A medical Examination – you can do this yourself if you really want or most co’s will require it anyway in addition to a pre-employment drug and alcohol screen. For people who want to really get stuck in; Dogging and Rigging (rigging crane loads and crane communication) – about $1000 DON’T DO!!! Don’t spend $3000 on a dump truck course, as with no experience it’s meaningless and you will still have to be a labourer or TA (Trades Assistant) and any good company will pay for your training if you want it later. Don’t touch ‘Hogan Mining’ or any company that offers to find you work for money!!! Things you need to know Recruitment agencies won’t touch you without a HR license and two years experience. I am seeing jobs now only requiring one year or the really crappy jobs, which you WILL have to do which do not ask for any experience. The fact that less experience is being required is a good thing as it shows that industry demand is exceeding the supply of experienced staff and therefore they are willing to look at ‘Greenies’ (you and me) as long as they have some tickets. Why do they need so much experience? Simple, a mine costs millions a day, the last thing they want is an idiot with no idea coming and getting himself eaten by a machine and having to shut the whole thing down to salvage his mangled corpse. A guy died recently in a Mine in South Africa, I think, possibly run by Rio Tinto or BHP and they had to close the mine down for a day or so, they lost millions in production and then their share price went down as a result. Register with the big boys. The likes of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, FMG, Newcrest, HWE. Go to their sites and fill in all the forms, pain in the rear but has to be done. Mining co’s a re split into different areas, Mine operators, Drilling companies, Exploration and labour hire (there will be more but this’ll do for the mo). The mine operators are the big companies and as you have no experience you might want to target these first due to their high numbers of staff and high turn over of employees. Yes, there are plenty who think they want it but after a month or so they’ve had enough. This is another reason why they are sceptical of those with no experience. The exploration co’s are generally small groups of specialists and unless you have a very special qualification or skill you will find it difficult to get in with them. Drilling companies, again small and will generally require a high skill / knowledge level. Labour hire co’s such as ‘skilled’ and ‘integrated’ will have the low level jobs such as labourers, TA’s and Field Assistants, they will generally employ you for 3 months (probationary period) and then you might get taken on by the mine operator. FACT – you will have to do a crap job to start with – swallow your pride and stay positive – no-one likes a moaner, everyone is away from home and we all have problems. Don’t give them cause to label you a winging pom. Been there, done that!! After all that….the good news, once you’re in, you’re in!! If you can get a start all you have to do is work hard and keep your head down, don’t get involved in politics, talk to the people in the sorts of roles that you would like to do like operators (excavators, graders, dump trucks, cranes etc) and you can easily move into a more exciting role. This is Australia remember, they are not famed for their work ethic and innovation, the British are so if you do what you should do and you’ll shine in no time. So where am I working??? The answer is, I’m not. It’s taken me a year of messing around to get to the point where I’m actually employable. I want to get into Health and safety and training and have had to do some hefty courses, despite this I will still have to go in as a labourer / TA. The only difference now being that I know I can actually get a job and I know that after a year or so of crap I can use my qualifications to move on up. I’m applying for jobs at the mo as well as studying and after my parents have visited in Jan I should be ready to go. I have been working up North in construction too. Just for interest I have done the following courses; HR (Heavy rigid truck license) including learners permit - $1200 (sitting license mid Jan 2011) 4 wheel drive - drive and recover course - $200 Defensive driving course - $200 Forklift Course - $400 Senior First Aid - $200 Cert IV OHS (Health and Safety) $2500 Cert IV Training and Assessment $1200 If you’re looking to do any Cert I, II, II or IV courses don’t go with Seek Learning, I paid $2500 and found out that I could have got this for about $1500 if I went direct!! I hope this will save you some time and effort and if you need any other pointers please feel free to contact me. Good luck….you going to need it….and a lot of patience.

Hi everyone Please can somebody tell me that if i have 2 years of human reaource advisor expwrience and 4 years of human resource manager experience in a school, will i be able to get a positive skill assessment from AIM? THANKS

I am a pharmacist graduated and obtained my bachelor degree in August 2014 but my registeration in the ministry of health was in February 2015 will my work experience be counted from the date of obtaining my bachelor degree? I was in a mandatory armed service as a pharmacist for 30 months will they need anything other than the work experience certificate such as pay slips or insurance as I can not afford any requirement like that from the armed forces.

I have two questions regarding skills. 1) Is education (time spent on university) considered as experience for skill assessment (maybe partially)? To be specific my assessing authority is Engineers Australia. 2) To get additional points for my partner's skills, her skills must be assessed as well. What happenes if she has only Master's degree and no post-graduate experience, is she still eligible and will I get points? (VETASSES) Thanks in advance for help!

So this is a question for those who have already made the move. Just wondering if you had your time again, what would you do differently? Not looking for 'never have moved' sort of thing (and please if we can not have a Australia vs. UK heated debate), more of a 'wish I had taken x, y and z' or 'left the... behind' or done something in advance of the move. We've 6 month exactly today until we arrive so grateful for those with experience & thanks for any insights.

Vetassess does not assesses job less than 6 months does DIAC accept this? If I don't show any information about 5 months job done earlier could it be shown later in final application in DIAC. Does this mis match in two different organization from a same person create any processing problem???? that jobs added to fetch 3 yrs requirement plz give this info ASAP and help to take decision what to do

Dear all, I have the following overlapping of my postgraduate studies (A) and my work experience (B): (A) 01/Jul/2003 - 09/Oct/2006 : Full-time postgraduate studies with obtaining a Ph.D. degree (ACS has recognized it as AQF Doctorate in Computing). During the course I attended some lectures, prepared five scientific articles, did some teaching and worked on my Ph.D. thesis. It all was possible because I had flexible hours schema during my described in (B) employment. (B) 01/Feb/2005 - 22/Feb/2007: Position of Software Engineer (worked in St. Petersburg, Russia for Sun Microsystems, full-time - confirmed by ACS): I really worked 40 hours per week – my manager confirms it in appropriate reference letter. In respect with the above, I have a concern that DIAC, although I was working at Sun Microsystems after receiving my Bachelor degree (recognized by ACS) will NOT count either my Doctorate or my experience at Sun because: a) Some people on forums wrote that any work experience can be taken into account by DIAC only after receiving the applicant's _highest_ degree, i.e. Doctorate I my case; b) The two full-time activities, I mean (A) and (B), took place in parallel for some time, and it causes me to worry. So, today, I have 70 points with my experience at Sun and 65 ones without it. What would you suggest? - Declare for DIAC my experience at Sun as relevant or not relevant?

This is my first post here and I would like to say thanks to everyone. I am accountant with almost 5 years of experience (4.8 to be precise). I have score 8 in IELTS and has recently got positive assessment from CPA. I am intending to apply for Australian immigration under 190 for NSW. I am facing a dilemma on a single issue and I am not sure what should I do. Thus I am here to seek your advise. As I said earlier I am intending to apply for NSW immigration. But I am worried with regards to DIAC experience verification and therefore bit reluctant to claim points for it. Reason I am reluctant to claim points for experience is that I don't have bank statements and payslip for my first job. I have actually worked in two different companies and I have sent reference letters for these companies for skills assessment. I have all the documents with me for the most recent job. However, I do not have bank statements and payslips for the job prior to that which was also my first job. At that time I was paid in cash so there wasn't any bank statement and my salary was well below minimum taxable income thus no tax return. For my first job I can only provide experience letter, contact details of CEO and salary certificate. Although my case is valid but I am not sure how DIAC would perceive it. Now I have two options to consider: First - I should mark all of my experience relevant (including first job) in EOI and hope that DIAC would not dig into my experience. There are many anecdotes on this site where people are claiming that DIAC has not asked them for bank statements or payslips for verification purpose. Second - I should mark experience irrelevant in EOI and thus avoid the risk of overclaiming points in EOI. Since I am not dependent on experience related points, I would not mind underclaiming points in EOI. The only worry here is that marking it irrelevant would unnecessarily raise red flags for DIAC and may complicate my seemingly straight forward case. DIAC may ask why I have sent my documents for Assessment when in fact I am claiming it to be irrelevant. Please advise which of these options should I choose and why. Is marking experience irrelevant in EOI the only way of not claiming points for it.

So we are serious about moving over to Perth (for the second time-first time we had no kids and lasted 6 months as we discovered I fell pregnant and I wanted to go home!) That aside, we are serious about the move this time, our eldest is 5 in april and should be starting Primary in the UK in August. We need to make all decision on where to live based around a good primary school. Can anyone give us any advice or experiences with primary schools in Perth? We would like to be near the beach but don't want to be too far south (Rockingham is too far south) and again not too far North (no further than Wangara) Price of property isn't an issue so don't let that stop you mentioning places. Thanks in advance!

Greetings everybody. Finally I am about to apply for the 186 ENS visa in the direct entry stream. My employer has agreed to sponsor me. That is a good news. However, while going through the nitty gritties, I have been pointed out a clause in the Booklet 5, which says that the experience needs to be "3 years post qualification work experince". I have few queries for all the knowledgable people on this site. How is the clause of post-qualification interpreted in reference to work experience? My occupation (ICT customer support) requires a Diploma according to ANZSCO code definition on ABS. I completed a degree (however in unrelated field) in 2000. I have been working on and off as IT support officer/executive since 2001 and hence got the necessary 3 years experience. Will my degree be acknowledged as fulfilling the requirement of the qualification, which is higher than a Diploma? As for the requirement of TRA, I completed a Diploma in IT in the year 2010 and subsequently did a JRP for a year and got my skill assessment completed successfully from TRA. I have also undergone training with different employers to qualify myself as suitable to perform the tasks at each of the employments. What is the definition of number of hours for a full time work in relation to 186 Direct entry stream? For the "Temporary Residence Transition" stream it is defined as 35 hours. However for the "Direct Entry Stream" there doesnt seem to be any mention of the hours in the Booklet 5. While part of my experience has been overseas, some (2 years) of my relevant experience has been in Australia where one of my employment was 35 Hrs/week. I hope this is not a concern. Anybody who can throw light on these points will make my day. cheers

have a query due to which I am confused and have not submitted my visa application yet for which I need clarity. I have worked in three different job positions during my career which are all related to my nominated occupation ‘ Marketing Specialist’ (225113). Details are: Position1: Job Title: Territory Executive Occupation: Marketing Specialist Company Name: Pakistan Tobacco Company Start date: 17/02/2014 End Date: To date (mentioned 20/08/2014 while filling form) Position 2: Job Title: Business Executive Occupation: Marketing Specialist Company Name: Premier Distributors Start Date: 27/03/2012 End Date 10/02/2014 Position 3: Job Title: Management Trainee Occupation: Marketing Specialist Company Name: Premier Distributors Start Date 26/12/2011 End Date 26/3/2012 However in my Skills assessment from Vet assess only "Position 2" is assessed positively from 05/2012 10/2013 – at the time I sent my application for assessment Position 1 is not mentioned because I joined that job after assessment and position 3 is not there because of unavailability of reference letters at that time. My all positions are consistent with a career advancement pathway and I do have all the necessary reference letters and evidences which shows that all of my employment roles are relevant to my nominated position. . That is why I mentioned "YES" on the below question: Is this employment related to the nominated occupation: “Yes” I am not claiming any point for any of my work experience as my total experience is less than 3 years and my points in EOI and points claimed in Visa application are same so everything in EOI and Visa form is consistent. and I have mentioned these in Employment history Since my current EOI is mentioned correctly, I would like to know whether I can proceed with the visa application with current EOI or I need to fill new EOI again and mention the employment which is only assessed by Assessment Authority. I already got invitation and and now just need to press last button of submitssion of Visa. If some one have gone through such situation or can clear situation to me I will be very thank ful

Hi! I am an Indian citizen and I am 27 years old. I've completed my Bachelors Degree in Computer Engineering and have completed a Masters degree in Management. I've got three years of work experience in an MNC bank. However, my experience is in banking and not IT/Computer Sc. My query is .. will my 3 years of work experience be considered for SkillSelect even though it is not in accordance with my undergrad degree in engineering? In case it doesn't get considered, what are my other options to consider applying for a PR? Regards, Ehtesham

Hi, Would be grateful for any advice, getting really worried now. I thought that I would just about meet the 65 points on the new points system. I've had my skills assesed by CPA Australia before July 1st and that has come back completed. I only became a qualifed accountant at the end of May this year (last exam passed May 2010). I needed to claim 5 points for my 3 years work experience, since my role as a Finance Manager is in line with that of a qualified accountant. However, I now read that DIAC are expecting the work experience to be verified as part of the skills assessment, and looking on the CPA website this says they will only count POST qualifed work experience - which for me is 4 weeks! I've checked out IPA and theirs also says post qualified is all that counts. So, I'm now 5 points short. Any advice? I've thought about state sponsorship but that will probably change now too. Please help, think my dreams may be over right now:no:

​Hello, I have done Certiii and DIploma of Buidling and Construction and hold IELTS 7 each, nominated occupation is bricklayer, also have a job offer in western australia, could you please advise if I need any work experience to lodge RSMS. Thanks

Here is the confirmation: http://www.acs.org.au/migration-skills-assessment/news-and-updates I am still not sure if they are deducting those 2 years from the total years of highly relevant experience or from the years accumulated after the completion of the Bachelor/Master degree. For example: Bachelor degree completed July 2009 Highly relevant work experience: from July 2008 until November 2013 2 years of work experience will be used to satisfy the suitability criteria and your Skill Level Requirement Met Date will be July 2010 or July 2011? Any feedback will be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone, pretty new around here, but I have a HUUUGE dilemma: i was arguing with one friend of mine today on this matter - Is it required as a must to have work experience, as long as you get over 60 points from the other criterias (for 189 or 190 class visa)? I read most of the info on Skill Select section , and nowhere is specified that work experience is an compulsory criteria for DIAC. I really appreciate any kind of help. Thanks, Luci.

​Dear All, I passed CIMA exams (passed finalist) in 2009 March. and became an ACMA in 2012 October. I worked as an accountant form 2009 July onwards to present for a $ 500 million company. Got my skills assessed as Accountant 221111. But did not get my employment assessed by CPA. i want to make sure whether i can claim 5 points for work experience i also have a HRM bachelor degree graduated in 2009 October. im bit nervous whether my visa will get rejected due to this. Appreciate a response from you Kind regards, mello

Can someone share their IELTS Appeal experience? Are you successfully appealled your band? and how much have those been raised? I was again very unsuccessfully having a 6.5 for writing when I got my result today. Listening 8, Reading 7.5, Writing 6.5, Speaking 7.0. I really want to know if I stand for a chance to successfully appeal my writing part. Can everyone who had once appeal for their result share their experience? I am on my very last chance to join the CSL list for Accountant with all band 7 on each elements.

Hi, I would like to apply for Skilled Migrant. Unfortunately I am not sure claim points for my academic background. I have completed BA History from India during the study time I used to work as part time web designer. Then I moved on to UK for doing Masters at London Metropolitan University. I have completed Graduation in Computing(6 month course) then MSc Internet Applications Development now I am working as Web Developer (2 years) BA History (3 year) Graduation in Computing (6 months) MSc Internet Applications Development(1 Year) Web Developer (2 years) Could you please tell me is theere any option to migrate to New Zealand with my qualification. Thanks in advance. Regards, Muhammed

Hi, I would like to apply for Skilled Migrant. Unfortunately I am not sure claim points for my academic background. I have completed BA History from India during the study time I used to work as part time web designer. Then I moved on to UK for doing Masters at London Metropolitan University. I have completed Graduation in Computing(6 month course) then MSc Internet Applications Development now I am working as Web Developer (2 years) BA History (3 year) Graduation in Computing (6 months) MSc Internet Applications Development(1 Year) Web Developer (2 years) Could you please tell me is theere any option to migrate to Australia with my qualification. Thanks in advance. Regards, Muhammed

Hello Everyone Me and my partner are planning to move to Australia. Our last visit was 2 years back on a student visa while my partner got a TR.I have been working as a Graphic Designer since 2010. We are good on the point test, but my offshore work ex is only 2 years plus.Do i qualify for a 190 visa as i have been told that i am under experience and wont get a state sponsorship (graphic design is open in ACT). I have to take a chance on the vetasses. I don't know whether this thread is repeated, but would really like a clear opinion on this. Thanks

Hi, Me and my girlfriend are off traveling to Oz in March on a WHV and cannot wait !! Our bank accounts are currently being set up with Commonwealth Bank and we have our Tax File Numbers being sorted too so that we can start work immediately when something comes up. Ideally we want to do the kind of work we cannot do here in England .. i.e. Beach / Sun / Fruit Picking jobs but at the same time we are not fussed as long as we get the chance to experience Oz ! We are due to land in Cairns on the 5th March 2013 and staying in a hotel for the first week of our travels. Eventually we plan to travel from Northern Australia to Eastern/Southern and eventually round to Perth over the year. Just wondered if anyone had any answers or helpful advice for the questions below ? * Any recommended Sharehouses /Hostels in Cairns (and generally Australia ) that are ideal for couples ? i,e. Double room with shared bathrooms? But still cheap enough for backpackers ? *Whats the best mobile network to get on once we are out there? Preferably pay as you go ? *Are there any websites that are good and worth signing up to for help finding work ? i.e wwoofing *Places we shouldn't leave without seeing ? * Is it worth taking our £GBP out to Oz and exchanging it out there or is the exchange rate better before we go ? * Best way to travel from town to town and costs ? Also anything else that might spring to your mind to help us would be great Thanks in advance ! Lee :wink: