Qualified Occupational Therapist without post grad experience

[Sun Shine]

Hi there

 

As the title says, I'm a qualified OT (since 2007) but unfortunately I have not been able to secure an OT job for various reasons, ie, my location in the UK, lack of opportunity, etc. I am currently employed in a job that does utilise some of my OT skills and have been in this role for nearly a year. I have also kept up my HPC registration.

 

My question is, because I have not been employed as an OT in the true sense here in UK, is this therefore a non-starter to be considered for OT positions in Australia and ultimately for a visa application (not sure which visa would apply in my case)?

 

Many thanks for reading.

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Sunshine

 

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

 

I have moved this thread into the Migration Issues section because I want to make sure that the agents who help out with the forum in return for free publicity for their firms will see it.

 

Occupational Therapist 2383-11 - Australian Skills Recognition Information

 

This occupation has very peculiar skills assessment arrangements, as you can see from the above link.

 

All that I can really tell you about it myself was that on the recent Wanted Down Under series one of the episodes featured an Occupational Therapist. She was about 35. She had plenty of experience in the UK but the TV people took her to Darwin and it was the usual case of an employer-sponsored temporary 457 visa, which is all that the TV people ever seem to suggest.

 

To be eligible for recognition by COTRB you must have an appropriate degree which is approved by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) and is equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree, be officially recognised and of good standing as an occupational therapist in the country in which you were educated or practiced and, meet English language requirements as determined by COTRB. If you are found suitable for practice/migration in Australia following successful completion of the Stage I - Desk Top Audit you will generally need to undergo a practice audit of six months duration (Stage II).

 

 

I haven't a clue what they are on about because I have not had time to read the COTRB website and I have never heard of WFOT. Do you know who they are? Do you have a degree which is approved by WFOT?

 

I have no idea what this practice audit thing is either. Does it make sense to you?

 

My concern is that skilled independent migration (ie without the involvement of a sponsoring employer) is impossible unless the visa applicant first has a positive skills assessment from the relevant authority - which is COTRB in your case apparently.

 

Finding a sponsoring employer is not necessarily out of the question but I do not know whether a temporary 457 visa would be possible for an Occupational Therapist with no post qualification work experience.

 

With the lady on the telly, she opted for a day's work experience in downtown Darwin. According to the lady running the clinic in Darwin, a large part of her clinic's work is looking after people who have been mauled by crocodiles. I am not kidding. This is what the Clinic manager said and she proceeded to produce pix of horrific injuries, mainly to hands as far as I could gather from half-watching the program. She said something about the croc grabs the victim's arm and then the croc goes into a death roll. Apparently this does very, very serious harm to the limb in particular and I shouldn't think it does the rest of the victim any good either.

 

At the end of the trial day the TV presenter asked the Clinic Manager about the British girl's prospects of getting a job in the Northern Territory. The Clinic lady said she did not have the right sort of work experience for a clinic which does highly specialised work involving injuries inflicted by crocodiles. (Surely they could have worked that out before anyone left the UK?) The Clinic lady was of the view that the Brtish OT would have a better chance of securing work in the hinterland of the NT. All very well but the hinterland of the NT is no nonsense Outback Australia.

 

Plainly iin other parts of Oz there would be less specialised OT work. The program did not reveal whether the Registered Migration Agent who works out the visa possibilities for the candidates was of the view that the only possibility of employer sponsorship would be somewhere as extreme as the NT. I can't remember which RMA it is but they put him on the box periodically and I have checked his name on the MARA register. He is one of the ones in London - might be Andy Harwood from Visa Bureau but I am not sure.

 

It could be nothing more than the dumb visa formula that the BBC seem to like plus a bizarre idea on their part to drag this single Mum and her son of about 11 to the NT of all places. Outback Oz might be great for some things but I would need convincing of its usefulness as an educational centre of excellence for a bright child.

 

The TV program could be a complete red herring. It simply sticks out in my mind because it all seemed so strange.

 

But now the skills assessment arrangements look strange as well so my instinct is to ask the agents to look at it and to offer some informed comment.

 

Best wishes

 

Gill

[Guest angel41080]

I am an OT working in the UK and waiting (never-ending) for my 175 visa to be processed. It sounds as though your are working as an occupational therapist but your job title is not "occupational therapist". Do you use OT assessments, maybe standardised? OT work in non-traditional settings is becoming more and more common in the UK, think of all the condition management practitioners around. The COTRB are looking to make sure that your degree was WFOT approved, that your HPC registration is current with no issues of malpractice, and you can speak english!

 

I would suggest that you ring them (much quicker than email in my experience) and double check. So long as you are using core OT skills and you would have references to support this I would imagine you would meet the criteria. Maybe be explicit in a covering letter with application that whilst your title is not OT, your practice is underpinned by OT principles and within limitations you use your OT skills, and highlight the benefits to yourself, your employer and profession of working in a role emerging setting.

 

In relation to the crocodile rehab stuff - this is probably one of the most specialised roles ever known!! But it really is a role for rehab following trauma, afterall similar disabilities can occur after RTA's etc. I have a few links with OTs in Oz and work is readily available in the cities, suburbs and rural in most health and social settings. It is probably fair to say that healthcare in Oz is behind the UK which sometimes can be frustrating.

 

I'm not sure of you're age, if you're under 30 and you're seriously thinking of trying it, maybe go over on a working holiday visa, which can then lead to sponsorship if an employer wants to keep you on.

 

But first things first suss stuff out with the COTRB, I'm no expert but I reckon you can argue that you're doing a damn good job of being an OT in an economic climate where there isn't always much OT work around for new grads.

 

Hope this helps somewhat. Good luck.

[RueA]

Hi Sunshine,

I'm an OT and just getting my bits together to apply to COTRB there seems to be a few OT's on PIO. There was a thread named student OT with some info and contacts which might be useful.

On the COTRB application form it asks for the following,

 

Two official certified references from employers attesting to your

professional competence. If recently graduated these references may

be from practical placement supervisors, or, if self-employed, they may be

 

 

from professional colleagues.

 

This would suggest that you can apply to COTRB but not sure how the experience side of things impacts on points for visas and sponsership. My hubby is the main visa applicant and gained state sponsership for Victoria (he's a teacher). We are waiting to hear about our visa 176 but still early days yet.

 

All the Best,

Ruth