tony_bezza Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 My girlfriend spoke to a migration consultant today and she was told that trades people struggle to get skilled migration visas. I am a lift mechanic and have worked in the lift industry for 10 years but have only been qualified for 1 year. I am qualified at NVQ level 3 but he said that I would have had to have done an apprenticeship as the dept of immigration only recognise this. Im not entirely sure he is correct in what he has told me. I did think I might struggle getting the skilled visa as I only have one years qualified experience but I have heard that if you have been in the trade for a while, there is something called a TRA. By the way he came across, even if I had 5 years experience I would not stand a chance because of my NVQ route. PLEASE HELP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug family Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 well Tony - bezza, your migration agent is talking out their a*s in my opinion, I'm no expert but I have been on this migration / visa train for the last four years and due to this site I have learn't a lot, I have 12 years experience as a metal fabricator but didn't possess any formal quals, so i was assessed by what is known as a RTO (registered training org) and passed a AQF III which is the Australian equiv of an NVQ III, this along with evidence of my trade, references etc was then passed by the trade recognition association (TRA) who are based in oz. once you have this you can apply for your respective visa, the visa process is a bit tough at the mo due to changes going on in Oz government and changes in visa priority (have a look for the SOL schedule 3/4 on the oz governemnt web site to see if your trade is listed), you also need to find out which assessing body caters for your trade mine was TRA yours maybe a differet one. As for your migration agent saying that trades people struggle to get skilled visa's is he / she saying trade's people are unskilled, because i would like to see them arc weld a structural connection whilst at 100 ft up in a moveing cherry picker! or in your case try and fix a faulty lift, I can say with some certainty that my our case (me + wife + little boy Daniel) are trying to get out to Western Australia (W.A.), where trades people are the most in demand. Anyhow their is much more to getting a visa than what i have mention and as I have said I am not an expert but some people on here are and they will help you no worrys! Good luck and I hope you and yours get your chance for a new life in Oz ... Regards the bug family:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_bezza Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 thank you so much for your reply that was a well thought out response and am quite taken by the time you have just taken to answer my question. Could you please tell me if i did need to get my skills recognised where would i get this done. You mentioned that the TRA are in AUS but is there a way i can get my skills assessed here on the job. Thank you so much again for your reply and good luck in getting out to the beautiful AUS. Me and Emma want to go to perth its beautiful, where were you thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pswebb38 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Hi Tony_bezza. Sounds like the agent you spoke to wasnt very helpful. We're currently in the early stages of applying for our visa at the moment, and my wife is in a similar situation to you in that she has experience in her job but no formal qualification. Our agent has gathered all the relevant information on her job experience, after which she will have an assessment which will give her an AQF III. Once she gets this qualification we will then be able to submit our full application. Hope this helps! If you want to know which agent we are using, PM me and I'll let you know. We're in Kent too! Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirlinny Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 My girlfriend spoke to a migration consultant today and she was told that trades people struggle to get skilled migration visas. I am a lift mechanic and have worked in the lift industry for 10 years but have only been qualified for 1 year. I am qualified at NVQ level 3 but he said that I would have had to have done an apprenticeship as the dept of immigration only recognise this. Im not entirely sure he is correct in what he has told me. I did think I might struggle getting the skilled visa as I only have one years qualified experience but I have heard that if you have been in the trade for a while, there is something called a TRA. By the way he came across, even if I had 5 years experience I would not stand a chance because of my NVQ route. PLEASE HELP! Tony, TRA is one of the skills assessing authorities in Australia for trade skills (the other is Vetassess). For lift mechanics, TRA does all assessments. The good news is that lift mechanics are on both schedule 3 of the new SOL and schedule 4 which is the list from which the states will prepare their forthcoming state migration plans (SMPs). And the skill of lift mechanic is worth 60 points. There is no qualification called a TRA-it is an assessing authority as I said. There are 4 pathways for having your skills assessed by TRA and most of them do require some kind of formal apprenticeship or traineeship. Pathway E though allows one to pass the assessment if you get an Australian trades qualification called an AQF III. There are private companies, some in England, who you can pay to have your skills assessed and this is based on a lot of paper evidence and then a practical assessment. Skilled Worker - Important Documents Take a look at the TRA website and the application criteria. Here is the document that explains the various pathways for assessment: http://www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Programs/SkillsAssess/TRA/residenceVisa/Documents/AssessmentCriteria.pdf The problem for you at the moment that I can see is that I don't know of any company that does AQF III assessments-most of them seem to do painting, tiling, bricklaying, electricians, plastering.I don't know if any of the TAFE colleges in Australia could provide an AQF III for lift mechanics for you. Gill/Gollywobbler may know. I will try to do some research and ask around about how one gets an AQF III for lift mechanic. How old are you please and where are you from? What does your girlfriend do? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_bezza Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Thank you so much for your reply. I will take a look at the links you gave me. I am 28 and live in the UK. My girlfriend is a Primary school teacher, she has a degree and a PGCE in Education. All of her experience is with what we call 'infant' school children which I believe to be the same as what the Australians call 'Pre-primary' (3-7yr olds). She was told by the migration consultant that once she has 12months experience she can apply for the state migration visa. We are trying to assess which route would be the best for us. I look forward to your reponse about the AQF and once again, many thanks for your help with my query. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris_mac Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Please check ou these links for more information. Mechanic Lift Mechanic – 341113 Primary teacher Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teacher - 241111 Finding the right visa Australian Visa wizard - Visas & Immigration Employer sponsored (best option at the moment) Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 121/856) Take your time and read all the web pages and links from within the web pages. There is a lot of information to take in so as i have said, take your time. You have the rest of your lifes to get it right! Good luck Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 My girlfriend spoke to a migration consultant today and she was told that trades people struggle to get skilled migration visas. I am a lift mechanic and have worked in the lift industry for 10 years but have only been qualified for 1 year. I am qualified at NVQ level 3 but he said that I would have had to have done an apprenticeship as the dept of immigration only recognise this. Im not entirely sure he is correct in what he has told me. I did think I might struggle getting the skilled visa as I only have one years qualified experience but I have heard that if you have been in the trade for a while, there is something called a TRA. By the way he came across, even if I had 5 years experience I would not stand a chance because of my NVQ route. PLEASE HELP! Hi Tony Your migration agent is sort-of right. Having an NVQ3 that you obtained as a result of years of practical experience is fine in itself. It is the only relevant qualification in the UK and its is respected and highly regarded in the UK, as I would expect. The problem is that for the purpose of migration to Oz, you would have to convince TRA that you obtained your NVQ3 as a result of either a 4-year formal apprenticeship (Pathway A) or that you obtained it as a result of an informal apprenticeship lasting not less than 5 years (TRA Pathway B.) Please see the link below: http://www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Programs/SkillsAssess/TRA/residenceVisa/Documents/AssessmentCriteria.pdf The Table in Section 8 is useful and please see the Index to the document above. It seems that your agent thinks that you would not be able to satisfy the requirements for Pathways A or B? If Pathways A or B would not work then the only alternative is TRA Pathway E, which you could do via proving that you have not less than 4 years' relevant experience and using your experience to obtain an AQF III. The problem with the Pathway E idea is that I am not sure where you could get your claws on an AQF III! ACTS UK | Contact Us I have just had a long chat with a guy called Jonathan on the first mobile number in the link above. ACTS is part of TradeTrain and they do deal with other skills besides construction industry ones. Jonathan said that he would ask his colleagues out in Australia whether any of them know where a Lift Mechanic might be able to get an AQF III via Recognition of Prior Learning. Cheers Gill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirlinny Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hi Tony Your migration agent is sort-of right. Having an NVQ3 that you obtained as a result of years of practical experience is fine in itself. It is the only relevant qualification in the UK and its is respected and highly regarded in the UK, as I would expect. The problem is that for the purpose of migration to Oz, you would have to convince TRA that you obtained your NVQ3 as a result of either a 4-year formal apprenticeship (Pathway A) or that you obtained it as a result of an informal apprenticeship lasting not less than 5 years (TRA Pathway B.) Please see the link below: http://www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Programs/SkillsAssess/TRA/residenceVisa/Documents/AssessmentCriteria.pdf The Table in Section 8 is useful and please see the Index to the document above. It seems that your agent thinks that you would not be able to satisfy the requirements for Pathways A or B? If Pathways A or B would not work then the only alternative is TRA Pathway E, which you could do via proving that you have not less than 4 years' relevant experience and using your experience to obtain an AQF III. The problem with the Pathway E idea is that I am not sure where you could get your claws on an AQF III! ACTS UK | Contact Us I have just had a long chat with a guy called Jonathan on the first mobile number in the link above. ACTS is part of TradeTrain and they do deal with other skills besides construction industry ones. Jonathan said that he would ask his colleagues out in Australia whether any of them know where a Lift Mechanic might be able to get an AQF III via Recognition of Prior Learning. Cheers Gill Thanks Gill. I was wondering if ACTS might know of anyone who could do the AQFIII for a lift mechanic but hadn't had a chance to call them. Since the girlfriend is a teacher that should be an avenue for getting a visa eventually if an AQF III for lift mechanic is too difficult to organise. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Thanks Gill. I was wondering if ACTS might know of anyone who could do the AQFIII for a lift mechanic but hadn't had a chance to call them. Since the girlfriend is a teacher that should be an avenue for getting a visa eventually if an AQF III for lift mechanic is too difficult to organise. Sandra Hi Sandra I agree with you. Jonathan said that lifts are made by the same companies all over the world - Otis, Schindler, Stannah etc. He said that the frames and machinery are the same all over the world. I wonder whether Tony should contact the makers and suppliers of the lifts in Oz because they might offer sponsorship schemes for visas if lift mechanics are in short supply - as presumably Skills Australia think that they are? I agree with you that Tony's girlfriend is the "fall-back position" for this particular couple. Cheers Gill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirlinny Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hope this post doesn't appear twice as something weird happened as I was writing this :-) I think that is true that lift companies are the same around the world. I've noticed on my travels that lift brands are the same. I worked on a legal matter here in the US with ThyssenKrupp and I know they are in Australia too. Here is their link: ThyssenKrupp Elevator Australia : Home It would be worthwhile for Tony to call someone in HR at these companies in order to get a feel for how hard it is to get a job there. It would seem to be a specialised field (and an important one!). Tony-if you decide to do that do some preparation before calling--have a very short introduction to get out before they cut you off. Something pithy like 'Hello. I'm a highly experienced lift mechanic with 10 yrs experience and have worked with your brand of lifts for x years...' I am moving to Australia and want to know if your company is interested in highly experienced, dedicated mechanics... Don't blurt out how you need sponsorship right away. It is hard to get a job from overseas but you could offer to do an interview on skype and to pay your own way to fly out there for an interview....One has to be prepared to make dramatic gestures like that (costly I know) if you want to get a job sponsor. Or offer to do that--making offers like that looks good. I did this with a job in the US -it was an interstate flight so less than a flight from the UK to Aus. But they took me up on it, i got the job and then they spontaneously offered to reimburse me. You do have your girlfriend's skill to fall back on too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug family Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 hello again Tony_bezza sorry I have take so long to reply went to bed after posting my message to you last night (have 6 am starts every day), anyhow I can highly recommend your choice of Perth (WA) that is where we are hoping to go to, we have visited twice (once to do my AQF III) and it is a wonderfull place, you will love it there i'm sure, I had every faith in the experts on here, i knew you would get help with your query, you will get there trust me! you are in safe hands good luck again :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_bezza Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Gill, chris, ps webb, bug family, sandra you guys and girls have been so nice and forthcoming with your comments and answers to questions. Me and my girlfriend Emma are truely taken back by the time and thought spent in trying to help us with the start of our migration process. We have explored the various links and info provided and are getting our heads around the process now. We are still looking at what way we should go about applying - which of us should be the main applicant etc. As we are not married and do not live together we are unsure if we qualify for spouse visa. We have been together for 3 years and have a joint bank account but thats the only proof we have of our relationship. Once again thanks alot to all of you for all your help and time spent replying to our thread. Best regards Tony & Emma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirlinny Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Tony, if you both want to migrate to Australia and do not want to have to apply for visas separately you will need to get married or be living together. Generally, one needs to be living together for 12 months. You need to show you are in a committed de facto relationship to the exlusion of all others. There are some ways to get around the 12 month living together idea but usually this requires fairly unusual circumstances eg you live in a country where religion prevents people living together. If you have some reason like this for not living together then you might be able to get a visa with one applicant and the other attached as the partner. If you want to discuss this privately, send me a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_bezza Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 Thanks for your reply Sandra. Do you know how much evidence we need to show that we have been living together for 12 months? We have a joint bank account registered to parents address'. Is this any good as proof or not? Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirlinny Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Tony, I suggest you have a careful read of the Partner booklet produced by DIAC. Here is the link: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1127.pdf Whilst you would not be applying for a partner/de facto visa, you would need to meet these requirements for one of you to attach to as a de facto partner to the other's skilled visa application. Having just a joint bank account is not sufficient to prove a de facto relationship. De facto relationship means it is like a married relationship except you are doing it in fact and not law. It sounds from what you've written so far that you and she are boyfriend and girlfriend and that is all at the moment. If you want to go into details please PM me. But read the booklet first as that will help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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