Has anyone used these to get AQF for pathway E?

[nickynush]

Hi

 

I found these after a search on the internet today - uk.tradetrain.com.au

 

It looks like they can award the necessary AQF qualification via onsite assessment in the uk which in turn will allow you to get a positive skills assessment from TRA via pathway E. Has anyone used them before? and if so any idea of cost?

 

Thanks

 

Nicky

[Guest Stewlanz]

That's interesting....Alan at Go Matilda is setting up some AQFIII stuff....wonder if these two could go hand in hand??

[nickynush]

Going with Go Matilda would mean a trip to OZ - these are in the UK and can come and look at previous jobs you've done. Also Go Matilda don't have Wall and Floor tilers on their list. Alan has said that he expects Go Matilda to be cheaper than these but GM cannot help us at the moment. Also Go Matilda are not up and runing with their AQF stuff yet whereas these are.

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hello Nicky

 

Tradetrain are not the only people offering to do AQFIII workplace assessments in the UK. ACTS (Australian Construction Training Services) are another almost identical company and I am sure that there are others besides.

 

Typically they all charge around £3,500 to £4,000 to do the assessments in the UK. If they decide you need extra tuition for any parts of it, this might cost extra - I don't know: you would have to find out. I'm also not sure whether the figures I have given you include VAT - again, you would need to check this.

 

An AQF III assessment in the UK will not guarantee a positive skills assessment from TRA. TRA are a law unto themselves. If they decide that the evidence of work experience is insufficient, there is nothing that you or the assessment companies can do about it except appeal against TRA's decision and hope for the best.

 

You need to read the TRA Uniform Assessment Criteria with a fine toothcomb. The document is here:

 

http://www.workplace.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/FA0FD1E1-8B74-4C11-AFBB-2C159890FF80/0/UniformAssessmentCriteriaSeptember2007.pdf

 

The reasons why Alan Collett is in discussions with TAFEs in Australia about the idea that the candidate alone would go to Oz for a couple of weeks and do the AQF II assessment out there are:

 

• Alan reckons that if only the candidate goes to Oz, the whole thing can be done for 50% or less of what it would cost to do the assessment in the UK;
  
• The TAFEs usually have good relationships with the relevant companies/ contractors/ potential employer-sponsors in the relevant trades fields in the local catrchment area of the TAFE concerned;
  
• During his fortnight in Oz, the candidate would get the chance to go and bang on the doors of target-companies, both the ones which are known to the TAFE and the ones which are not.
  
• The fact that somebody has taken the trouble (and gone to the cost) of making a special trip out to Oz proves that he is serious about looking for employer-sponsorship (if that is the route that he needs to consider because he is short of points for a skilled independent visa instead.) Lots of people have reported getting job/sponsorship offers whilst they were in Oz. Being able to say that one is attending the local TAFE for a short while is not a bad wheeze because all the employers in the area will be aware of the local TAFE.

I don't know about Wall & Floor Tilers. I do know that Alan is close to concluding a deal with a TAFE for Locksmiths and Floor Finishers. Please see here:

 

Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - News

 

Additionally, TRA are insisting that they intend to introduce the New, Improved Pathway D on 1st July 2008. Knowing what the Bureaucratic Machine can be like, I don't think anybody is holding their breath at this stage. Alan has mentioned this in one of his most recent articles.

 

However, a lot of people would strangle Alan if he sent them chasing out to a TAFE in April, May or June 2008 only to learn that if they had hung on for a few more weeks, a trip to Australia might have been saved. In his shoes, I wouldn't send anyone out to Oz until we see what (if anything) TRA actually do on 1st July or before.

 

The only reason I can think of for sending anyone hurtling to a TAFE is Oz or to one of the companies in the UK before 1st July 2008 would be if the guy is getting very close to his 45th birthday meaning that he has to accept the lesser of various potential evils and just hope that his gamble pays off. IN any other situation, my own inclination would be to advise him to sit tight for a few more weeks. He has already been waiting since early September 2007, after all.

 

If I were in your shoes, I would not be too ready to grab the apparent bird in the hand without giving some properly informed thought to the potential two in the bush just at this moment, chooks.

 

Best wishes

 

Gill

[nickynush]

Thanks Gill

 

I am inclined to wait until 1st July as Oh is only just 43 so we have a bit more time yet. I'm just considering alternatives if pathway D doesn't return or comes back much stricter. We have studied the TRA criteria thoroughly and I am confident that his experience is more than enough and proving it is no problem - it's just the qualification!!! Tradetrain and ACTS appear to be the same people and are so confident that you will get a positive TRA assessment that they promise a full refund if you don't. I did wonder why Alan was looking at offering a pathway E solution if pathway D is due back soon and he says

 

".....I am usually of the view that if you can take the initiative with the migration process you should do so, unless there is a financial reason to the contrary. We have been waiting for TRA to introduce a replacement for Skill Pathway D for more than 6 months already - if a replacement comes in soon that would be great, but I am not holding my breath waiting...."

 

 

So - we will probably hold on until July and see what happens and if no news on pathway D hope that Alan adds tilers to his list or we go with tradetrain.

 

Thanks

 

Nicky

[Alan Collett]

Comments as follows:

 

1. I am not a clairvoyant, so I don't know whether a replacement for Skill Pathway D will come into being, when anything substantive will be announced, or what the process will entail if a replacement comes into being. However, the context within which it was removed (fraudulent applications) remains an issue, and I do not see an easy way around this - unless there is a practical assessment of applicants' claimed competencies, which will be time consuming and costly (witness the process for electricians, etc that is now handled by VETASSESS).

 

2. It is also acknowledged by DIAC that the VETASSESS assessment procedure for trade skills persons is a far from efficient exercise that is not conducive to the speedy resolution of the skills deficit in Australia.

 

3. Wall and floor tilers are not presently on our list of occupations that can be assessed in Australia.

 

4. We are issuing details of the costs of the workplace assessment/AQF Certificate III pathway to the first batch of occupations (Plasterers, and Painters and Decorators) this week. Floor finishers are already receiving details from the assessing organisation so they can progress their applications.

 

5. As I have said before, my general opinion is that if I have a choice between being proactive and taking the initiative and waiting for someone else to take action I tend towards the former. It might mean that in hindsight I would have saved some money, but I am consoled with the fact that I am more in control of my own destiny. That is why I wouldn't be waiting for a replacement for Skill Pathway D if I could progress matters now.

 

6. The other providers that can facilitate AQF Cert III outcomes are certainly worth looking at. I know they aren't particularly cheap, but then again a trip to Australia isn't cheap either. Persons concerned have to weigh up their options and decide what works best for them.

 

7. As Gill says, coming to Australia for the workplace assessment will (in my view) greatly enhance the prospects of making a quick transition into employment in due course, and will afford an opportunity to look at lifestyle issues.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best regards.

[Guest stue116]

Hi all, we have also looked at go matilda for the AEQ, as my husband is a locksmith and we had our TRA paperwork returned to us on 3rd sept 07 because of the pathway closure. we would of gone ahead with there offer of this option had we not spent £3,000 in November 07 on o/h going to melbourne and adelaide for 10 days meeting with a potential sponsor.

our agent TA, have advised us to also sit tight a wait (whats another 4 months when we've been waiting 7) and still got probably another 12 to look forward to!!!!

I just hope and pray that the revised pathway D is not too complicated for us ,the genuine applicants.

good luck all,

sam.:goofy:

[Alan Collett]

Hi all, we have also looked at go matilda for the AEQ, as my husband is a locksmith and we had our TRA paperwork returned to us on 3rd sept 07 because of the pathway closure. we would of gone ahead with there offer of this option had we not spent £3,000 in November 07 on o/h going to melbourne and adelaide for 10 days meeting with a potential sponsor.

our agent TA, have advised us to also sit tight a wait (whats another 4 months when we've been waiting 7) and still got probably another 12 to look forward to!!!!

I just hope and pray that the revised pathway D is not too complicated for us ,the genuine applicants.

good luck all,

sam.:goofy:

 

Sam,

 

Did an offer of employment not eventuate from your o/h's trip to Australia?

 

I understand from my exchanges with the TAFE that is assessing locksmiths that he has employers happy to look at sponsoring ...

 

Feel able to contact me off forum if you would like to know more.

 

Best regards.

[Guest stue116]

Hi Alan, the sponsor was a guy in Adelaide with his own business which he wanted to sell, as we couldn't afford to buy it he did offer us sponsoeship with the potential to buy after the 2 years, unfortunatly my husband wasn't that keen on Adelaide and flew to Melbourne for a couple of days where he made lots of contacts but were not interested until we had our visa. as i said in my previous post our agents have advised us to wait and obviously we would rather the permanant visa than the 457.

my only concern is that TRA will include something similar to what your suggesting with the AEQ and we could of done already rather than waiting til july. we are frustrated and fed up as many are i'm sure. keep up your great advice and support, thanks, Sam.

[Alan Collett]

OK - thanks Sam.

 

Feel able to contact me if you find you'd like to look at the workplace assessment/AQF Cert III pathway.

 

Best regards.