Can anyone help?

[Guest snow white]

Hi snow white,

 

I was just wondering who you are? Are you an agent? Also i think i understand it all now, it seems that regardless of the nvq level 3, you have to of been trained under somebody at work for about 4 years. Which basically means that you have to of started as a junior stylist and worked your way up while being trained.

 

Hope this helps.

me an agent no but if that is the case it means after 3 years of doing her nvqs she will be 45 in march which means she has no chance of getting a visa as she will have to work for at least 4 years after quals this seems all a bit unfair and you should be able to count your work experience whileyou trained and to have to pay someone to do an AQFIII to pass with tra to then pay an agency who should know when they take you on and take your money that your capable of passiing tra already!

i dont know mooney, money, money

lesley x

[Guest AustralianTradeAssessment]

Hi Darren

 

The story I am hearing about your Hairdressing assessment is, frankly, alarming.

 

It is always entirely possible that the feedback I have heard is mistaken. That must be borne in mind.

 

Gill. The feedback you have heard is utterly wrong and I will answer this on a point-by-point basis.

 

However as reported to me the thing is not at all satisfactory either, my friend. The gist seems to be:

 

1. Fork out a lot of money up front despite no fixed date for the assessment.

 

The cost of the assessment is £1490. This is broken down into 2 streams.

£250 is payable upfront for the initial assessment. This is essentially required to cover costs involved in receiving the paperwork, scanning, emailing, assessment by the Australian-based assessors, approval and then further correspondence to the client. In addition, the main purpose of obtaining this initial payment is to ensure the assessors approve the applicant to proceed. Weak cases will be refused and this saves the client from forking out more money then they need to upfront.

The following £1240 is payable for the competency profile and practical skill assessment.

 

Compared to others in the market offering the same assessments for £3000 - £4000, this is obviously a lower cost and represents value for money.

 

2. Fork out another £1,000 - I beg your pardon? - on top for somebody associated with your company to help to put the whole thing together and get it through TRA????

 

I am concerned with the way that this additional and completely optional service has been addressed in your point. Essentially this optional service has been derived from multiple requests from potential clients contacting Australian Trade Assessments on their own accord through Google searches and without any form of referral by migration agents. As I know that you are familiar with the migration process, you will know the complications involved in preparing suitable applications for TRA and DIAC. In fact, I am aware that this forum actively promotes the use of agents for complicated cases, which is entirely correct. My line to all clients is the same – if you are not utilizing professional assistance, I strongly recommend that you consider contacting suitable agents in the market. Many of those individuals have indicated their concern with agents that they have spoken with and asked if I could offer any form of assistance in preparing for the AQF III assessment and in deed, the TRA application itself. On this recommendation, I decided to implement a completely optional service where clients could engage us to assist in the case preparation of the AQF III and the TRA application for a flat fee of £1,000. This case preparation is offered through an ex-TRA assessor himself who is now based in the UK. This price is necessary as the £1,490 for the assessment covers the assessment only and no support in reviewing any evidence supplied prior to submission. In addition, those applicants choosing to undertake the Australian Trade Assessments process to obtain an AQF III on their own must also be aware that they may in deed pass the AQF III process, however they could actually fail their TRA application if they lodge a weak application that has been poorly constructed. The AQF III is one part of an assessment under Pathway E of the UAC.

 

It is also prudent for me to note at this point that this additional service has been implemented at the request of potential clients. I have spoken to many individuals that have very little understanding of the TRA process and I have been spending considerable time trying to educate them. Should these types of responses continue to be received, I will have little option but to consider removing the ability of individuals applying to Australian Trade Assessments that do not have appointed professional representation as I know that agents will only refer clients that a) Need to complete the assessment to progress with their migration plans for Australia, and b) are eligible to apply. Should this be necessary due to comments like these, it will be a great disappointment to those applicants that are prepared to run their own case and opt for no professional assistance at all – these applicants will be left with the option of only using services that cost between £3000 and £4000 or fly to Australia to have their assessment which often results in a higher cost again. What a great disappointment to these people should I need to implement such restrictions.

 

3. A flakey suggestion that on some unspecified date the Hairdressing assessment will take place via some sort of video link instead of the assessors being in the UK in the flesh in accordance with the original promise.

 

One of the major frustrations in the current marketplace is related to how regular assessments take place – Vetassess is a prime example if this. In relation to the Hairdresser assessments, I have a contract with the Queensland Hairdressing Academy (QHA) – an RTO and CRICOS registered organisation that is probably the most reputable organisations in the market. It is run by Jon & Cheryl Le Court who have run up to 50 of their own branded salons in Australia and have over 75 years of experience in the industry between them. In 2009, assessors from the QHA will be in the UK in March, May and August at this point.

 

The point that you are raising here relates to video conference assessments. These have been implemented so that Australia Trade Assessments can be flexible in its approach with candidates. It is an option that can be exercised to benefit the candidate. The reason why I cannot advertise fixed dates for these is simply because I accommodate applicants. For example, it is shaping up at present that I will be running two assessments at the end of Jan/start of Feb – one in the Manchester area and another in Southern Scotland. These will be dependent on how soon the applicants can build their competency profiles to prove their experience on paper. If they are slower than expected, the assessment could go ahead later in February. This service has been created with the client in mind. Should an applicant not want to sit a video conference practical, then they can simply sit the test when the assessors are here in March in a central location – no problem.

 

It is important to note that the video conference solution is only applicable to Hairdressers as all Master Builder assessed trades are done in person as the assessor is based here in the UK and Ireland.

 

I cannot support any of this, bluntly. If the person travels to Melbourne the whole thing will definitely happen and it will happen on the date which has been pre-set for it. There will be no queries about whether a video link arrangement is legally acceptable either.

 

Gill. At the end of the day it is the RTO, which determines whether or not they have seen adequate evidence to award an AQF level III. If this can be partially facilitated through video conferencing, all the better. Australia Trade Assessments is setting up the video assessments at the request of QHA. They are the RTO and maintain complete accountability to their regulators. It has even been suggested that the video conference can be recorded and held on file of which is a stronger audit trail than anything else currently available.

 

It is also important to outline the fact that the video conference is only one piece of the puzzle that builds the case for awarding an AQF III in Hairdressing. It is a combination of a 5 factors;

A high level overview of the case (initial assessment that costs £250);

A detailed competency profile. This includes reference letters, evidence of supervision, evidence of a skills transition, evidence of remuneration etc

A written multiple-choice test

A practical assessment (via video conference or in the flesh)

An interview (conducted via telephone or in the flesh) to discuss the results of the multiple-choice test amongst other things

 

AQF III’s aren’t handed out like pieces of candy. They are hard to earn and require LARGE amounts of evidence. This is why we encourage all clients to use professional representation.

 

Do you have PI insurance for your enterprise, please?

Yes.

 

Where is the client's money beng held pending an as-yet-to-be-arranged assessment?

We operate a client account and can provide you with bank statements if necessary. Money that is received goes in to the client account ready to be transferred to Australia to cover the assessors costs.

 

The whole thing is completely outside of the MARA's already incompetent and discredited remit so where are the safeguards for the consumer?

 

It is not good enough for the market as it stands currently if what I have been told is somewhere near true. It lacks credibility, my friend.

 

Gill. Again you are missing the point. We are not the RTO. We are the facilitators of the RTO process. The Master Builders and the Queensland Hair Academy are the RTO’s – Australian Trade Assessments is simply the facilitator. They are our credibility. Without us, clients would be stuck once again with little or no hope of migrating. These are two of the most famous organisations in their respective professions – the Master Builders have been around for the past 125 years!!. Its their (and my) reputation on the line here. They will not hand out AQF III’s to people who do not meet the requirements.

 

In relation to your MARA comments, I am concerned with your words. There are many agents in the industry, some good, some bad, some MARA registered and other not registered. Although I do not accept individual clients for visa advice, I am still a MARA agent myself and I am proud of the knowledge that I have. Comments such as yours will only have the impact of unnecessarily concerning individuals who are considering using an agent and cause them to believe that if they can not rely on a MARA agent, who can they reply on. I dare say, your comment may also have legal ramifications and I would encourage these types of comments to stop, especially since DIAC themselves will be assuming direct control of the regulation of the industry very soon.

 

Who, exactly, is in charge of assessing whether the prospective visa applicant is actually eligible for a visa in the first place provided that s/he shells out somewhat more than the amount originally under discussion?

 

It is vital to note that Australian Trade Assessments have nothing to do with advising the client on their actual eligibility for a visa to Australia. I simply offer two services. The first service is the core service and is applicable to all Australian Trade Assessment clients – I arrange for the candidate to be assessed for an AQF III. This does not involve advice, assistance or anything else – it is merely the process and opportunity to be assessed. The second service is an optional service for those clients who do not have professional representation and need assistance with the ACQ III competency profile requirement and also assistance in preparing and lodging a TRA application. It is this simple.

 

Right now, Pivot Point & Go Matilda sound safer to me.

 

Many thanks for your personal view here. Australian Trade Assessments also prefer clients to use agents and Go Matilda is an agent offering professional assistance. In relation to the Pivot Point assessment process, candidates are free to use this service - competition is healthy for every business. Judging by the Hairdressing clients that have already signed, it is apparent that Hairdressers need to be assessed now for all kinds of reasons and Australia Trade Assessments can accommodate this requirement. My understanding is that Pivot Point are only in the UK on a periodic basis and this approach does not meet the needs of all hopeful Hairdresser migrants in the market.

 

By all means ring me and I will thrash this out with you. You have my number. However I will not endorse this without guaranteed consumer protection, my friend.

 

Best wishes

 

Gill

 

Following this post, I will call you to discuss in greater depth.

 

As a closing comment, you have said that this whole thing sounds flakey, however I couldn’t disagree more.

 

Australian Trade Assessments have the most reputable names in the industry working with us.

Australian Trade Assessments also has an ex-TRA assessor helping people with the paperwork (and only those who are not using an agent and opt into the service).

The Master Builders (in the flesh) conduct the assessments.

The Queensland Hairdressing Academy (in the flesh) conducting the assessments (however a video conferencing solution can be used for the PRACTICAL component of the assessment if requested).

A registered migration agent coordinating the assessments.

 

ALL at half the cost (or more) of the other RTOs currently in the UK and Ireland – what more can I offer.

 

This is exactly what everyone who has been affected by the TRA Pathway D debacle has been crying out for, and now that it finally arrives you are saying its “flakey”.

 

I invite you to come and participate in some of our assessments. To meet the people involved, watch the assessments take place and speak to the RTO’s directly. As we get positive work place assessments through, I will encourage all applicants to come on to this site and to blog their experiences.

 

Quite frankly I cannot see how I can be more transparent, however if you have any further suggestions I am listening with open ears.