Product Quality Assurance Engineer

[jayrich89]

Hi all, 

Lengthy post but I hope somebody may be able to provide some advice.

 

I am currently employed as a Product Quality Assurance Engineer within the Space industry in the UK. My current employer, ABSL Space products UK, are owned by the Enersys group, the largest provider of batteries worldwide from medical and industrial applications to Lithium Ion space batteries working inline with the largest space agencies in the world.

 

I lived in Melbourne during 2014/2015 on a temporary working holiday visa and have been set on returning permanently since the day I left. Enersys have several manufacturing facilities within Australia and I am strongly hoping to arrange some form of transfer to the Melbourne facility when the world resumes some form of normality. I have been researching Visa classification for quite some time to weigh up the best options for the relocation of my family and I, to which I feel the 186 Employer Nomination scheme may be our best chance due to my current employer owning several Australian facilities.

 

FIRST QUESTION- Does anyone know if this visa allows an option to work towards permanent residence?

 

My main enquiry is in regards to the classification of my engineering job title within Australian standards. My issue lies with the skills shortage lists and the engineering roles they contain, I have researched extensively but do not seem to be able to find any Quality based roles within the lists, I would simply assume it is not a required skill, however almost every other type of trade, skill and engineering role is stated on the skills list from metal work, to a multitude of technical engineering roles, up to Manufacturing Managers. I struggle to believe Quality engineers are not required if all others classifications are in demand with quality and safety being the core of most businesses, unless there are a shed loads of Australian Quality Engineers maybe.

 

SECOND QUESTION- My hope is that someone may be able to shed some light on the classification of Quality engineering roles and wether or not they are grouped with such titles as Production Engineer or Engineering Technologist? I will be approaching an emigration advisor to gain further clarification of our eligibility for emigration, however I have previously found the emigration lawyers to have a lack of knowledge within the engineering industry and therefore unable to give specific advise in the subject. I understand that different countries group Quality assurance within other engineering categories, so hoped that Australia may adopt a similar system meaning I will fall within another category.

 

I am happy to provide a job description or some Australian Job Vacancies that match my skillset if it would help give further detail as to my current capabilities. 

 

THIRD (final) QUESTION- My current highest level of qualification is a HNC in Mechanical Engineering, with 4 years of experience as a Quality Assurance Inspector and I will have 2 years experience as a full engineer and a multitude of space engineering based side qualifications by the time we would like to apply to emigrate.

 

WILL MY HNC BE A HIGH ENOUGH LEVEL OF QUALIFICATION TO APPLY as an engineer with this experience, or is my only hope to complete a bachelor's in engineering alongside my current role? 

 

I doubt anyone made it through this far, but if you did, you're probably as boring as me and work in compliance   but seriously I'd be extremely grateful of any advice or contacts for an emigration lawyer who specialises in engineering. 

 

Many thanks, 

 

Jason 

 

[Marisawright]

I suggest you take a shortcut and book a consultation with a good migration agent.   Try Suncoast Migration or Go Matilda.  They will give you an honest opinion of your chances of qualifying for a visa, and what the chances are of eventually gaining permanent residency.

 

[jayrich89]

On 14/06/2021 at 00:21, Marisawright said:

I suggest you take a shortcut and book a consultation with a good migration agent.   Try Suncoast Migration or Go Matilda.  They will give you an honest opinion of your chances of qualifying for a visa, and what the chances are of eventually gaining permanent residency.

 

Thank you Marisa, have you used these migration agents yourself? I was going to check on here for recommended agents to try as I could really use an agent that has engineering knowledge. We paid an agent in the UK a couple of years back but they didn't really have much knowledge in the engineering  industry 

[Marisawright]

6 hours ago, jayrich89 said:

Thank you Marisa, have you used these migration agents yourself? I was going to check on here for recommended agents to try as I could really use an agent that has engineering knowledge. We paid an agent in the UK a couple of years back but they didn't really have much knowledge in the engineering  industry 

Both those agents post frequently on these forums and many members have used them, so I'm sure we would have heard if there were any problems.

I'm somewhat mystified why your agent needs engineering knowledge?  To decide what category you're eligible for, you will need to look at the duties and responsibilities listed in each category.  Job titles are not really relevant. You should be able to assess those yourself, surely?  

As for equivalence of qualifications - again, that is not a case of the agent needing engineering knowledge, because it is not his job to judge.  The requirements are  usually spelled out.  An experienced agent will have had previous clients with non-standard qualifications and will have an idea of the chances of success.  However, Immigration is usually fairly inflexible in accepting alternative qualifications if a degree is specified.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Marisawright

[Marisawright]

I've just read your post again and frankly, I think you are approaching the process back-to-front.

Owing to the very specialist nature of your work, I'd say you are right in targeting an employer-sponsored visa.  However the clue is in the name - it's employer-sponsored, meaning it will be up to the employer to decide what job they are prepared to offer you, and that will determine what category they are sponsoring you under.  They will hire a migration agent to handle the  complex and expensive processes they must undertake in order to be allowed to sponsor a foreign worker.  Note that these can take a year or more, depending on the visa chosen.

If Enersys is in the habit of sponsoring foreign workers, then it's likely their usual migration agent will be familiar with the job roles within the company and how they map to Immigration categories. Therefore I think approaching them to see if they do have a regular agent, and also checking their policy for sponsorship of foreign workers, would be worth doing.  Some multinationals have very strict rules limiting sponsorship to certain types of jobs or levels of seniority.  

While the employer has the most work to do, you will have paperwork of your own to complete, of course, and you can either piggy-back on their agent, or use your own.  If there are problems, using their agent can be a bit like both parties using the same solicitor for a divorce, so bear that in mind. Applicants who use the employer's agent often find they are left in the dark as to progress - which doesn't affect the outcome but can be frustrating at the time.

The main thing to note is that they must first prove the position they offer you is a genuine position.  So really, you can't get far, unless and until Enersys agree they are willing to transfer you to Australia.  

You may need registration of some kind to practice in Australia so that would be something you could investigate. 

https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Engineering-Registers/Statutory-Registration