lewib85 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Hi Guys I have successfully lodged all my evidence to Vetasess, i.e certificates, references etc. Can anyone tell me what the practical or technical assessment is like for a general plumber? will i need to revise? will vetasess provide me with any information on what to revise for before going into the test centre? I am little nervous as i don't like going in blind. I have 14 years experience but still a little wary. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mims Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Hi Lewis, my hubby's a plumber too, his practical is on the 21st nov in London, that's the last one this year, have you got your date yet? Once you've passed stage 1 (all the paperwork) They will call you (we had ours last Sunday at nearly midnight!!) and tell you exactly what you need to revise, you just need to have a general understanding of everything plumbing and the Aussie elements that aren't relevant here although they take into account that plumbers aren't practiced in those things of course. Another plumber on here whose moved now said he revised like crazy and then found that it was really easy and that they actually help you where you aren't certain so I don't think it's anything to be too concerned about. Look out for Steven if you're off to London 21st nov! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewib85 Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 Hi Mims. Thank you for the reply. I have not received a date yet as I have only just lodged in required documents and awaiting outcome, so fingers crossed. When Vetasess called you guys did they also email him on what to revise on? or was it only over the phone? Has Steve also got to do IELTS test?. Thanks again, Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mims Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Think it took a couple of weeks for the outcome of the document stage, although I had to chase and then got the answer same day so bear that in mind! Check this link out for the dates available on the practical- http://www.vetassess.com.au/skills-assessment-for-migration/trade-occupations/assessment-dates -I was originally told that they had no availability even at the 21st nov session and that we would have to fly to oz!! I pushed back and next thing a space opened up so bear that in mind too! I don't know what your time frame is but we want to go asap, if youre the same then maybe worth pushing on the docs stage and enquiring now if they have any spaces for 21st nov as the cut off date for booking it is 6th Nov and there is no mention of 2016 dates online yet by the looks of things. No they didnt email anything after the phone call, it was really strange, they just made steven write a list of what he needed to revise, but they could have just emailed it and not woken us up at midnight..?! Yes Steven has done IELTS already, he just needed 7's but that for him as a dyslexic was hard to achieve but somehow did it first time (with a lot of practice beforehand) have you got to or with 14 years work experience surely you can avoid it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewib85 Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 Hi Mims. I am going through Migrate Me i submitted paper work through them about 4 weeks ago but had to resend other documents as the first lot i'd sent wasn't up to Vetasess requirements. I am still waiting. I am pretty sure they will have other dates next year. With the general plumbing exam, i take it that its always a Practical exam that you would take? i would prefer this to be honest. I am looking in the next 12 months to migrate. I have been there twice and going again at christmas to see friends, can't wait. Have you guys been there before and where about are you looking to stay? I was told to be assessed on my plumbing first before booking the IELTS test. To be honest my English is not that good either, its one of those i think if i revised long enough i should get through it. Yea 14 years experience and still have to do it, madness. I think more points the better, hence the IELTS test, greater chance of getting the visa. You Guys have to do a medical etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mims Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Ah we are doing ours ourselves, bit of effort and research involved but its ok. I did go really over the top on documentation for stage 1, we had mostly self employment which meant lots of evidence for those years, hopefully you've cracked it now with the extra docs. Yeah they will have more dates next year for sure, its just jumping on them when they are released which you should be in a position to do once you've completed stage 1 which i can't imagine will be much more of a wait now. Yeah stage 2 is a practical with theory questions thrown in, i'd ask your agent to provide a copy of the guide, or you can download it from the website, it gives you an idea of what to expect. You have to take a few tools along with you so you'll need the list of those. Same as us really, 12 months max though, in theory we should have our visa early next year so we won't hang around once we have it. Very jealous that you're off there form Christmas!! Maybe you could do your practical stage 2 whilst there??? just a thought, they have loads more dates over there apparently. We were there for a year in 2014 travelling and a bit of work. I think we are going to settle in Perth or within a few hours drive of it but we havent fully made up our minds, we loved loads of places. Where are you off to? Hmmm, you don't have to have your skills assessed before you do IELTS, of course if you do IELTS and then fail your skills is a waste of money on the IELTS but in theory there is no reason why a plumber with 14 years experience will fail the skills assessment, I'd say crack on with the IELTS whilst you're waiting on the skills assessment to come through, otherwise the IELTS is just going to delay you in submitting an expression of interest and visa application. Also, there are other tests besides IELTS, there are a few threads on them on here, we were already too far down the track with IELTS to change but if you havent started and find English hard then one of the others might be better to try, there seems to be a higher success rate with one thats called Pearson something or other, search IELTs on here and go from there. Steven had an IELTS specialist tutor for the day which was really handy, its as much about learning how the tests are marked etc as it is being good at english. It is better to have more points, think you get your invite to apply a bit quicker etc but we have the minimum 60 points and that won't stop us getting a visa, if you don't HAVE to do the IELTS and you're not in any mad rush to get there I'm not sure the £300 on tutoring and 1 test attempt (some people spend thousands if they repeatedly fail) is worth it, the practice was hellish for us, wouldn't have put Steven through it if it wasnt necessary, we are 25 though and as they don't count apprenticeships as part of your work experience it was either wait another 2 years to increase Stevens work experience by which time Plumbers may not be in demand or do an english test. Just looking into police checks and medicals now, think both are mandatory, I'm trying to get this all done prior to request so it doesnt delay us later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewib85 Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hi Mims, Yes i am the same i have been self employed for the last 6 years so submitted all Tax returns etc as evidence. I have had a look on the Vetasess site and it shows something like Key guides or fact sheets, but i tried downloading them but won't let me, not sure why it won't? I hope you guys get your Visa early next year, then all of your hard work would of been paid off. Doing my practical when i'm over is not a bad idea but ill be in holiday to much to attempt it, haha. I stayed in Perth as well, love it there. been there twice, both for 6 months. I think the weather is the best there all year round, all though it does get a little chilly in the winter nights. I just may well get the IELTS out the way first, like you said it will only delay me submitting an expression of interest. Pearson test i will look into that. Yes i was thinking the same about having a private tutor that specialises in the IELTS test think that would really help a lot. Glad Steven got the help he needed sounds really positive. If you have any information on the DOWNLOAD for the Vetasess guide that would moist appreciated. Yes police checks and medicals are definitely mandatory. Sounds like you got everything pretty much in place, fair play guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mims Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 http://www.vetassess.com.au/portals/0/downloads/trade_assessment/cpc32413%20pst%20candidate%20guide.pdf Yeah it's the practical assessment candidate guide you need, link above, strange it won't work for you, copying and pasting the info into here didn't work unfortunately...I'm on iPad, when I next get the laptop out i will try and attach it to a private message. Yeah, first thing Steven will be doing is installing heating for us for those few weeks of winter, it does feel cold when you've had it hot for months on end! Yeah Stevens got the skills and I'm organising everything, very much a team effort! Good luck with the English and the practical, give us a shout if you need any advice on anything else further down the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewib85 Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hi Mims, ok thank you. Let me now how it goes for Steven in his assessment. speak to you guys soon. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.