Retraining for a skilled occupation?

[Jayyyy20]

Hey everyone,

Basically I've had the thought on my mind for a while of wanting to move to Aus but feel as though I've definitely taken the wrong route to achieve that so I'm just after some advice.

I'm 24 years old and in the final year of a generic business bachelors degree (finish in May), I've noticed that most business-type jobs on the SOL are either those that are very difficult to get (e.g. Management Consultant) or only on the SOL (e.g. Marketing Specialist) - which has recently been removed from any state's sponsorship list.

I'm still at a point of confusion on where to go with my degree by this point, and the idea of undertaking a Masters conversion course into Quantity Surveying has been quite appealing to me, partly because its on the MLTSSL but also because I feel as though I'll probably prefer this to a corporate-type career. The only issue I have is that I'll be tied to working in the UK for a few years following this and I'm worried it might be taken off the MLTSSL in that time and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot; I've noticed that its not on any state sponsorship lists at the moment but I'm wondering if I'm right in thinking that could be temporarily due to COVID? The maximum points I could probably get through this route is about 85 if I apply in my early 30's following 5 years of experience, or 80 in my late 20's following 3 years of experience, and I'm fully aware that for independent visas I have no chance unless I get 90 points so it seems like a bit of a gamble, does anyone have any advice or views relating to this?

Another option is to do an ICT conversion course which I'm aware is in high demand but there are no local universities to me in the UK that offer such a course, so I'd end up spending a lot on commuting which doesn't feel like it would be the most sustainable option.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Monster]

1 hour ago, Jayyyy20 said:

Hey everyone,

Basically I've had the thought on my mind for a while of wanting to move to Aus but feel as though I've definitely taken the wrong route to achieve that so I'm just after some advice.

I'm 24 years old and in the final year of a generic business bachelors degree (finish in May), I've noticed that most business-type jobs on the SOL are either those that are very difficult to get (e.g. Management Consultant) or only on the SOL (e.g. Marketing Specialist) - which has recently been removed from any state's sponsorship list.

I'm still at a point of confusion on where to go with my degree by this point, and the idea of undertaking a Masters conversion course into Quantity Surveying has been quite appealing to me, partly because its on the MLTSSL but also because I feel as though I'll probably prefer this to a corporate-type career. The only issue I have is that I'll be tied to working in the UK for a few years following this and I'm worried it might be taken off the MLTSSL in that time and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot; I've noticed that its not on any state sponsorship lists at the moment but I'm wondering if I'm right in thinking that could be temporarily due to COVID? The maximum points I could probably get through this route is about 85 if I apply in my early 30's following 5 years of experience, or 80 in my late 20's following 3 years of experience, and I'm fully aware that for independent visas I have no chance unless I get 90 points so it seems like a bit of a gamble, does anyone have any advice or views relating to this?

Another option is to do an ICT conversion course which I'm aware is in high demand but there are no local universities to me in the UK that offer such a course, so I'd end up spending a lot on commuting which doesn't feel like it would be the most sustainable option.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi,

This is a tough call to make. I understand where you're coming from but sounds like you are trying to predict the future. With the current and rapid changes in SOL, MLTSSL, state skills list, who knows by the time you are ready, none of the occupations you have in mind are still in the list.

Not a lot of options here but perhaps you can look at the historical skills list and you'll see the trend of which occupation is stable on the list. 

From my perspective here are some the occupations that are quite stable 

- trades

- health/medical-related occupations

-engineering (subject to CAP/quotas on some)

-education/ teacher

-ICT ( priority occupation for now due to pandemic but also remember, lots of ICT professional all over the world)

At the end of the day, it's up to you to decide.

 

[Jon the Hat]

There are no guarantees your choice will result in a move to Australia, so make sure whatever you pick it is something you want to do as a career regardless.

 

[Marisawright]

I agree with Jon.   Australia is no longer a young country, crying out for migrants.  It is slowly becoming like the UK or the US, very fussy about who it accepts, so I'd expect it to be much harder to get in by the time you've retrained. 

For that reason, I wouldn't be designing your whole career based on getting into Australia.   Choose a career you'll be happy to spend your life doing, wherever you are in the world.  And make sure you come to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa for a couple of years (once the borders open, of course).    

[Paul1Perth]

9 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I agree with Jon.   Australia is no longer a young country, crying out for migrants.  It is slowly becoming like the UK or the US, very fussy about who it accepts, so I'd expect it to be much harder to get in by the time you've retrained. 

For that reason, I wouldn't be designing your whole career based on getting into Australia.   Choose a career you'll be happy to spend your life doing, wherever you are in the world.  And make sure you come to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa for a couple of years (once the borders open, of course).    

It was hard to get in in 92, when we came. I did an apprenticeship as a mechanical fitter with the NCB when I left school. Worked as a fitter till I was 29, Thatcher was in and jobs disappearing fast. I went back to tech for a 1 year course in Computer Aided Engineering then went to uni at 30 to do a Computer Science Degree. Went into a graduate training scheme with Ferranti (great company that was) and was on a lot less than as a 19 year old who'd just finished an apprenticeship. Upside was though I wasn't putting on dirty overalls, clocking on at 8:00 am every day, working in dangerous, unhealthy conditions. I was in an office environment, interesting work, not dirty, few work trips where they gave you a decent expense account and put you in nice hotels.

When we applied for emigration I was surprised to find I would have got more points as a fitter and stood more chance of getting a job once here. Because I'd not worked as a fitter or in a trade for 10 years it wasn't an option to apply on my old quals and experience. Had to get a lot more paperwork together about my degree and experience to get accepted. As it turned out my fitting/mechanical experience helped me get a job in predictive maintenance for mining companies. Bit of a decent combination of my old skills and experience and my computer skills for analysis. I was out of work for 5 months when we arrived mind you. Once you have a job though I never looked back, never been out of work till retirement last year.

Great if you can finish your degree then think of something you'd enjoy doing that's likely to get you to Aus. You're still young enough to retrain into something and a generic business degree would go a long way to getting something else. I know a lot of software Engineers who did all sorts of daft degrees before software. Law, Geography, Fine Art, Economics. Software is always a good thing to have experience in and can be interesting.

[Jia]

Hi Jayyyy20, sounds like you need career advice more than migration advice (although I understand those two go hand in hand).

You may want to explore your career and course options on Australian careers websites such as:

https://myfuture.edu.au/

https://www.joboutlook.gov.au/

Perhaps research the Australian job market first before making any decisions. This might be a good place to start: https://www.employment.gov.au/lmip

Some Australian universities offer online courses for international students. You may wish to look into this option as well.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Jia

[Ausvisitor]

I'd disagree with the poster's original assertion. Most of the careers on the SOL aren't hard to get. The are generally really easy if you have the required experience to meet their description.

They made the specific comment about the management consultant role, which is the one I applied for, it was relatively painless, paid the vetassess money, never heard anything from them except for the positive outcome email.

If you've got the points and the experience you can get out to AUS, but if you are trying to get a Mgmt Consultant role straight out of uni (rather than with the minimum 8 years experience) then of course you will struggle

[Ausvisitor]

On 12/02/2021 at 14:39, Jia said:

Hi Jayyyy20, sounds like you need career advice more than migration advice (although I understand those two go hand in hand).

You may want to explore your career and course options on Australian careers websites such as:

https://myfuture.edu.au/

https://www.joboutlook.gov.au/

Perhaps research the Australian job market first before making any decisions. This might be a good place to start: https://www.employment.gov.au/lmip

Some Australian universities offer online courses for international students. You may wish to look into this option as well.

I'm not sure what point there is in looking at online courses at AUS universities, this doesn't contribute to the studied in Australia points for immigration (as you haven't studied in AUS)

[Ausvisitor]

On 10/02/2021 at 10:57, Jayyyy20 said:

Hey everyone,

Basically I've had the thought on my mind for a while of wanting to move to Aus but feel as though I've definitely taken the wrong route to achieve that so I'm just after some advice.

I'm 24 years old and in the final year of a generic business bachelors degree (finish in May), I've noticed that most business-type jobs on the SOL are either those that are very difficult to get (e.g. Management Consultant) or only on the SOL (e.g. Marketing Specialist) - which has recently been removed from any state's sponsorship list.

I'm still at a point of confusion on where to go with my degree by this point, and the idea of undertaking a Masters conversion course into Quantity Surveying has been quite appealing to me, partly because its on the MLTSSL but also because I feel as though I'll probably prefer this to a corporate-type career. The only issue I have is that I'll be tied to working in the UK for a few years following this and I'm worried it might be taken off the MLTSSL in that time and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot; I've noticed that its not on any state sponsorship lists at the moment but I'm wondering if I'm right in thinking that could be temporarily due to COVID? The maximum points I could probably get through this route is about 85 if I apply in my early 30's following 5 years of experience, or 80 in my late 20's following 3 years of experience, and I'm fully aware that for independent visas I have no chance unless I get 90 points so it seems like a bit of a gamble, does anyone have any advice or views relating to this?

Another option is to do an ICT conversion course which I'm aware is in high demand but there are no local universities to me in the UK that offer such a course, so I'd end up spending a lot on commuting which doesn't feel like it would be the most sustainable option.

Thanks in advance.

 

An independent skilled visa of a class beginning "4" (which is provisional) probably only requires a 75 points threshold in a lot of cases.

Equally a 190 can be acquired on a points tally way below 90 (mine was 70 last year)

Granted a 189 is a different beast and the higher the better

I'd be careful about an ICT career path if you are doing it just for migration. Whilst it is in demand, there are also many many more applications for the available slots in those careers than there are spaces.

Find a job you love, enjoy doing it, and hope one day it gets you a pathway to AUS (if indeed you still want it once you've made a career in the UK). As you are under 30 - once COVID is a memory - you can head over on working holiday visa and give AUS a try without having shelled out thousands and then finding out it isn't for you

 

 

 

 

 

[Domo]

You've got loads of time, that's your number 1 asset! If I were you, I'd make your way over to Oz on a WHV after you attain certification in a job you will use to enter the country in, and make sure you gain Oz experience in your chosen field while you're there. Otherwise retrain in Oz, which would work immensely in your benefit. I believe anything IT, medical, or construction will always be long term, no one wants to work hard anymore TBH, as currently everyone's ambition is to become a professional youtuber. Pick a decent job, with long term value and do your best to stick it out, let it be vocational and not neccessary your lifes' calling.

[Jia]

On 15/02/2021 at 10:09, Ausvisitor said:

I'm not sure what point there is in looking at online courses at AUS universities, this doesn't contribute to the studied in Australia points for immigration (as you haven't studied in AUS)

I was thinking the OP could get a head start on getting an Australian degree during the pandemic, before Australia's borders re-open (the latest I've heard on the news is that the borders will not re-open till mid-2022 but don't quote me on this). Points are not relevant if OP is hired by an Australian company and goes down the employer sponsored pathway to permanent residence (ie. 482/186 or 494/191).

Also, not necessarily relevant but Australia's digital technology industry is growing and will create a demand for more skilled workers in the next couple of years: https://www.hcamag.com/au/news/general/australias-tech-skills-gap-putting-10bn-economy-growth-at-risk/246503

Might be something OP could look into. Bear in mind that the occupation lists are going to be updated so I would not make a career choice based on the current SOL.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Jia

[Ausvisitor]

1 hour ago, Jia said:

I was thinking the OP could get a head start on getting an Australian degree during the pandemic, before Australia's borders re-open (the latest I've heard on the news is that the borders will not re-open till mid-2022 but don't quote me on this). Points are not relevant if OP is hired by an Australian company and goes down the employer sponsored pathway to permanent residence (ie. 482/186 or 494/191).

Also, not necessarily relevant but Australia's digital technology industry is growing and will create a demand for more skilled workers in the next couple of years: https://www.hcamag.com/au/news/general/australias-tech-skills-gap-putting-10bn-economy-growth-at-risk/246503

Might be something OP could look into. Bear in mind that the occupation lists are going to be updated so I would not make a career choice based on the current SOL.

I agree points aren't relevant if you have an employer sponsored visa (at least until you decide you don't like your employer and want to get a visa in your own right).

Getting a head start on a degree isn't a bad idea but if you are doing it online I'd certainly be choosing the US or the UK (where the OP is already based) rather than AUS. None of the top 25 IT courses are based in AUS, where as all of them are in the UK or US.