woodymcfc Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hi Just wondering how you went on with your ARTC? We are still waiting to hear from our appeal. All is not lost though, because if it isnt successful, a local college will carry out an RPL with my OH. It involves and interview and 2 days of practical work at a local college. The tutor is confident this wont be a problem based on my OH experience and the evidence he has seen to date. Since my OH lost his job, he has gone self employed and is doing extremely well. Such a shame he didnt do it earlier. So things have worked out so much better than we could have imagined, with him holding just a split license. We will see what happens with the other :cute: Hope your assessment brought you good news! Hi Joanne, well I got my assessment back on the last day of september but it wasn't what I was hoping for. I thought I provided enough evidence to get the dual trade Electrical mechanic and fitter but TRA for some reason only gave me the Fitter title which entitles me to a restricted license only, I can get the full license eventually but have to do gap training. With 20 years experience in Installation, which gets you the mechanic license, I really dont want to do this so I have put together a more detailed 'further evidence' installation document that I'll be sending in the next few days. Not sure if I mentioned but an ex-colleague is over in WA and went through the same process for his ARTC, he had a look at mine before I sent it and said that it was almost identical to the evidence he submitted and he got the dual trade title !!!!! Does it depend on who assesses the application on the day ?? thing that gets me is that Oz is desperate for trades but the Government assessment bodies make it very difficult for genuine applicants to get the necessary licenses, hope everything goes well for your OH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radlam Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I looked into the RPL route at my local tafe in WA as this ARTC from tRA is holding up my 856 being granted here, nightmare! They told me it would take me about 2 months and $6k to transfer my UK trade to Australia equivalent, not the news I was hoping from them! Apparently I had to fill in the gaps to meet Australian standards, HA! Have they actually been out in the field and seen the tradies over here?? As above, they cry they have a skills shortage but make it so hard for us to work and live over here. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joanne C-D Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Hi Joanne, well I got my assessment back on the last day of september but it wasn't what I was hoping for. I thought I provided enough evidence to get the dual trade Electrical mechanic and fitter but TRA for some reason only gave me the Fitter title which entitles me to a restricted license only, I can get the full license eventually but have to do gap training. With 20 years experience in Installation, which gets you the mechanic license, I really dont want to do this so I have put together a more detailed 'further evidence' installation document that I'll be sending in the next few days. Not sure if I mentioned but an ex-colleague is over in WA and went through the same process for his ARTC, he had a look at mine before I sent it and said that it was almost identical to the evidence he submitted and he got the dual trade title !!!!! Does it depend on who assesses the application on the day ?? thing that gets me is that Oz is desperate for trades but the Government assessment bodies make it very difficult for genuine applicants to get the necessary licenses, hope everything goes well for your OH. You seem to have been shown as much respect for your experience, as my O/H was with his. It is very poor, that they accept people into the country based on the evidence provided, then refuse to give a trade certificate based on the same. I just wonder what goes through their minds, when they feel that 20 years experience isn't sufficient or 15 in my O/H's case. I think there should be more of a warning for trades people, that passing the initial stage isn't the end of the process, more the beginning. The whole system needs to be looked at, because we are not the only ones to have had these problems. My O/H has spoken to the lecturer at TAFE, after we enquired about an RPL. We sent to him my O/H's references covering the past 15 years, these are the tip of the iceberg as to what we have to support his application. The lecturer was amazed the references alone were not enough to substantiate his claim, as they do go into great detail. We will wait to see what happens with the appeal, if that fails then we will go down the RPL route. At least he is getting work with his split license, so it could be much worse. Ill keep you posted, let me know how things work out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joanne C-D Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I looked into the RPL route at my local tafe in WA as this ARTC from tRA is holding up my 856 being granted here, nightmare! They told me it would take me about 2 months and $6k to transfer my UK trade to Australia equivalent, not the news I was hoping from them! Apparently I had to fill in the gaps to meet Australian standards, HA! Have they actually been out in the field and seen the tradies over here?? As above, they cry they have a skills shortage but make it so hard for us to work and live over here. Rick Hi Rick Have you applied for your ARTC? Are you a permanent resident? When we approached our local TAFE, we were given costs considerably cheaper than that, hence my question about your residency status. My husband has had first hand experience of shoddy workmanship. Quite often clearing the mess and correcting the faulty installations. However these "trades people" who hold the license are the ones responsible for the mess that is created. It is so frustrating for him, because he is the one working on a split license, yet they hold the fridge license. It makes absolutely no sense! There is a shortage, the reason being they have encouraged tradies to this beautiful country, then deny them their license. So although they have made the first step to correct the shortage, they will never bridge the gap, whilst they have these policies and practices in place. I hope you get sorted one way or another soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derren7 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Hi Derren. Just a quick update. My husband has sent his appeal to the TRA on the 20/09 and we are still waiting to hear back from them. We have since found out, he could have obtained a RPL, this is done at a local college and involves an interview and some practical work over 2 days. It is such a shame this information isn't given to tradies, when they get accepted for immigration. Had we have known this when we arrived here, then he would have had his license 18 months ago. This is the route Paul will go down, should the TRA be unsuccessful again. Since Paul was made unemployed for the 2nd time in less than 12 months, he decided to go self employed. He is now subcontracting to the company he lost his full time position with. He is doing extremely well and is earning 4 times what he was, which has delighted us and relieved so much pressure, as you can well imagine. He is working under his split license, which he obtained in November through RPL. The gamble paid off and should he not get his Refrigeration license on the appeal, it isn't the disaster we thought it would turn out to be. How has your TRA gone? Did you get your reply and was it what you wanted? Hi Joanne, I'm still awaiting an outcome, fingers crossed. RPL seems to be a good plan B, should I need it, hopefully not. kind Regards Derren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest joannesolomon Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi there Ive just come across this thread as my OH is having difficulty with TRA at the moment. It took us ages to get all the evidence together and nearly 10 weeks to get a response from them. The application has not been granted and they have advised us on the outcome letter that he needs to give more evidence (statements) from his employers even though he has given references. The problem he has is all his electrical work has been contracting through agencies so they are unable to give a detailed description of his work. They have given a brief description ie his job title, dates of employment and his salary and he wrote a detailed description of his duties but thats not enough. He is going to write up a reference himself and ask his current team leader to sign it and use that. Has anyone had to reapply to TRA with more evidence? I'm wondering if its going to take another 10 weeks to be looked at or if the ones re applying will get a priority seen as though we are having to fork out another $300!!! Many thanks Jo ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Druid Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 You can go down the Statutory Declaration route in lieu of refs and have it witnessed by a JP or similar, TRA accept these, but only have 1 or 2 stat decs, they fail you if you have too many stat decs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodymcfc Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi there Ive just come across this thread as my OH is having difficulty with TRA at the moment. It took us ages to get all the evidence together and nearly 10 weeks to get a response from them. The application has not been granted and they have advised us on the outcome letter that he needs to give more evidence (statements) from his employers even though he has given references. The problem he has is all his electrical work has been contracting through agencies so they are unable to give a detailed description of his work. They have given a brief description ie his job title, dates of employment and his salary and he wrote a detailed description of his duties but thats not enough. He is going to write up a reference himself and ask his current team leader to sign it and use that. Has anyone had to reapply to TRA with more evidence? I'm wondering if its going to take another 10 weeks to be looked at or if the ones re applying will get a priority seen as though we are having to fork out another $300!!! Many thanks Jo �� I have just submitted further evidence to TRA for my ARTC as Electrical Mechanic. I had initially applied for dual trade Electrical fitter and Electrical Mechanic but TRA decided that I had not supplied enough evidence to award me the Mechanic title and gave the fitter title only. I was surprised because I had more or less submitted the same sort of documents that an ex-colleague submitted a few year back and he got his Mechanic/fitter title. This is a problem when it comes to licensing because you can only get a restricted license with a fitter title. I am a time served maintenance spark and have been doing installations for over 20 years but I think my mistake was that I didn't really explain in detail the installation work that I carry out. Although my reference from my employer where I did my apprenticeship mentioned every installation technique known to man !!! My initial application explained more about the specialised stuff that I work on like PLC's, VSD's, AC/DC motors, industrial PC's etc.... with all respect I think that one installation job is just like the next, if you know what I mean ?? Anyhow, the further evidence I submitted goes into detail about the installation work that I do, from design to install to test. I have submitted another reference from my employer, who I asked to look on the job description website, thats linked to the ARTC page, and explain to TRA that my job is equivalent to that of a electrical mechanic. I have also supplied a statutory declaration from my ex-colleague, who is now the electrical maintenance manager at a large firm in Perth WA to which he has explained that the work I carry out is that of an Electrical mechanic....All these are attachments to a statutory declaration that I have submitted explaining that installation is approximately 80% of my workload etc..... If this doesn't award me with the Mechanic title then I really don't know what TRA expect, I am no rocket scientist but a time served electrician who wants the best start in his new life for his family..........Not sure of the turnaround but another poster on here got his ARTC back within 6 weeks just recently so they must be clearing the backlog.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derren7 Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi there Ive just come across this thread as my OH is having difficulty with TRA at the moment. It took us ages to get all the evidence together and nearly 10 weeks to get a response from them. The application has not been granted and they have advised us on the outcome letter that he needs to give more evidence (statements) from his employers even though he has given references. The problem he has is all his electrical work has been contracting through agencies so they are unable to give a detailed description of his work. They have given a brief description ie his job title, dates of employment and his salary and he wrote a detailed description of his duties but thats not enough. He is going to write up a reference himself and ask his current team leader to sign it and use that. Has anyone had to reapply to TRA with more evidence? I'm wondering if its going to take another 10 weeks to be looked at or if the ones re applying will get a priority seen as though we are having to fork out another $300!!! Many thanks Jo ? Hi Jo, I recently got my ARTC granted after 6 weeks so it appears they are clearing their backlog as woody has stated. I worked for a few agencies and I submitted 5 statutory declarations because of that and because companies that I worked for could not provide a detailed reference for various reasons. If you follow this LINK then it shows you the evidence I provided in my application to the TRA and includes a couple of stat decs and a couple of employer references. Hope this helps. Regards Derren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest joannesolomon Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Thanks Driud ill tell him to get a couple of stat decs to back that up then fingers crossed Woodymcfc - if they dont grant your application with all that evidence ill give up now!! Haha. My OH has applied for the Mechanic so knowing out luck they will grant him as a fitter. Its crazy how much info they need, you would have thought a few years of references and apprenticeship certificates would do it as no work can be carried out until a license has been obtained anyway. Is there any wonder they have a skill shortage there haha Thanks for your help guys ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 You can go down the Statutory Declaration route in lieu of refs and have it witnessed by a JP or similar, TRA accept these, but only have 1 or 2 stat decs, they fail you if you have too many stat decs I did 5 stat decs and it was fine !? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radlam Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi Rick Have you applied for your ARTC? Are you a permanent resident? When we approached our local TAFE, we were given costs considerably cheaper than that, hence my question about your residency status. My husband has had first hand experience of shoddy workmanship. Quite often clearing the mess and correcting the faulty installations. However these "trades people" who hold the license are the ones responsible for the mess that is created. It is so frustrating for him, because he is the one working on a split license, yet they hold the fridge license. It makes absolutely no sense! There is a shortage, the reason being they have encouraged tradies to this beautiful country, then deny them their license. So although they have made the first step to correct the shortage, they will never bridge the gap, whilst they have these policies and practices in place. I hope you get sorted one way or another soon. Nope, on a 457 at the moment, the ARTC is for my PR. The case officer at immigration has asked to see my licence before he grants PR. I have completed a skills assessment with TRA for migration purposes but thats not enough for him. I've decided to wait for TRA now as I didnt want to spend the 6k and 2 months of further training by which point I may have had a reponse back from TRA. Although now im worried I won't get it from them either having read some stories on here! Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joanne C-D Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Hi there Ive just come across this thread as my OH is having difficulty with TRA at the moment. It took us ages to get all the evidence together and nearly 10 weeks to get a response from them. The application has not been granted and they have advised us on the outcome letter that he needs to give more evidence (statements) from his employers even though he has given references. The problem he has is all his electrical work has been contracting through agencies so they are unable to give a detailed description of his work. They have given a brief description ie his job title, dates of employment and his salary and he wrote a detailed description of his duties but thats not enough. He is going to write up a reference himself and ask his current team leader to sign it and use that. Has anyone had to reapply to TRA with more evidence? I'm wondering if its going to take another 10 weeks to be looked at or if the ones re applying will get a priority seen as though we are having to fork out another $300!!! Many thanks Jo ? Hi Jo Unfortunately I have found your/our case is soo typical. We sent very detailed references, from all of my O/H's employers over the last 15 years. They described what he did on a daily basis, what equipment he used, his position and salary etc... yet they still turned him down. On the "Not Granted" letter, they asked for evidence about his training. Even though, the reference from his first employer clearly states, that he worked and trained with them. It state's my O/H started as an engineers mate and worked his way up to engineer. I don't know what more they want. When I spoke to the officer who was dealing with the case, he was baffled as to why the application had been turned down by the panel. He asked me to get in touch with the first employer again, asking them to go into further detail about his training. Baring in mind this is now 16 years ago, I find it absolutely ridiculous. Apart from that, the business has also ceased trading. I managed to get a copy of the company documents confirming this from companies house in the UK. I have sent this back to the TRA, with yet another Stat Dec stating "we would obtain further information, if it wasn't for the company having ceased trading" and included the Company's House documents. I also pointed out the reference from the same company clearly states "trained and worked for". I asked them to read our application in its entirety, as I don't believe they did the last time. There are around 50 pieces of evidence relating to his experience. Including: a copy of his UK Skillcard showing he is an experienced worker, P60's going back 15 years-confirming he worked for all the companies that have provided references, payslips going back 15 years, certificates from training courses for brazing and working at heights etc... Our company accounts with a letter from his accountant-confirming his line of work for the last 4 years as he was self-employed in the UK, VAT registration in the UK, Public liability insurance (4 years worth) showing him as an Air-con/Refrigeration engineer, VAT returns, letters from suppliers he used in the UK-confirming all the items he purchased were in relation to that of an Air Con/Refrigeration engineer, along with copies of some invoices, amongst other pieces... yet it still isn't enough :arghh: We waited 3 months for their last decision and our appeal was lodged and recorded on the 25/09/11 and we still have not heard anything. The officer asked us to re-submit, addressing it to him with urgent all over it. He was going to try an get it pushed through for us, but we are still waiting. I have written to Julia Gillard and my local MP expressing my concerns, regarding our future here. I have not had a reply of either. The system needs to be looked at, because they should not be accepting people for immigration purposes, if there isn't a chance of them getting their licenses. Are you currently living in australia? If so, which state? I have found out since we sent our appeal, that we can apply for an RPL "Recognition of prior learning". This is much easier to get accepted, as it involves practical testing at a local college/tafe. It costs around the same as the ARTC as well. You need to find the college that would normally train in the field of Electrical and ring them and ask about your O/H being assessed for an RPL. They should be able to assist you. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joanne C-D Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 You can go down the Statutory Declaration route in lieu of refs and have it witnessed by a JP or similar, TRA accept these, but only have 1 or 2 stat decs, they fail you if you have too many stat decs Hi We have sent a Stat Dec with all 3 of our applications, along with a stack of other evidence. I don't think they are worth the paper they are written on. Our last one was 4 pages long, detailing daily routines, what equipment he used and detailed how he would carry out repairs/maintenance/installations on refrigeration plant and A/C. Their reply was as though they had not read, or not taken into account anything he had declared :sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joanne C-D Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I have just submitted further evidence to TRA for my ARTC as Electrical Mechanic. I had initially applied for dual trade Electrical fitter and Electrical Mechanic but TRA decided that I had not supplied enough evidence to award me the Mechanic title and gave the fitter title only. I was surprised because I had more or less submitted the same sort of documents that an ex-colleague submitted a few year back and he got his Mechanic/fitter title. This is a problem when it comes to licensing because you can only get a restricted license with a fitter title. I am a time served maintenance spark and have been doing installations for over 20 years but I think my mistake was that I didn't really explain in detail the installation work that I carry out. Although my reference from my employer where I did my apprenticeship mentioned every installation technique known to man !!! My initial application explained more about the specialised stuff that I work on like PLC's, VSD's, AC/DC motors, industrial PC's etc.... with all respect I think that one installation job is just like the next, if you know what I mean ?? Anyhow, the further evidence I submitted goes into detail about the installation work that I do, from design to install to test. I have submitted another reference from my employer, who I asked to look on the job description website, thats linked to the ARTC page, and explain to TRA that my job is equivalent to that of a electrical mechanic. I have also supplied a statutory declaration from my ex-colleague, who is now the electrical maintenance manager at a large firm in Perth WA to which he has explained that the work I carry out is that of an Electrical mechanic....All these are attachments to a statutory declaration that I have submitted explaining that installation is approximately 80% of my workload etc..... If this doesn't award me with the Mechanic title then I really don't know what TRA expect, I am no rocket scientist but a time served electrician who wants the best start in his new life for his family..........Not sure of the turnaround but another poster on here got his ARTC back within 6 weeks just recently so they must be clearing the backlog.... Good Luck with your appeal Gary, let us know how you go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joanne C-D Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Hi Jo, I recently got my ARTC granted after 6 weeks so it appears they are clearing their backlog as woody has stated. I worked for a few agencies and I submitted 5 statutory declarations because of that and because companies that I worked for could not provide a detailed reference for various reasons. If you follow this LINK then it shows you the evidence I provided in my application to the TRA and includes a couple of stat decs and a couple of employer references. Hope this helps. Regards Derren Hi Derren... I am delighted you have not got your RPL. It proves the system works when it wants to. I think it very much depends on the panel you get on the day. We are still waiting... Really pleased for you an your family, well done!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodymcfc Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Good Luck with your appeal Gary, let us know how you go on. Sure will but not holding my breath for a result..The panels are meant to made up of local employers, how can they not see that the skills that we have obtained are not sufficient ??? The ex-manager that I've mentioned advertised for a sparks position about 12 months ago and stated that it was a shame I wasn't in Perth then, apparently I would have stood out from the standard he interviewed because the majority really didn't have a clue !!! If WA really are crying out for Electricians then surely some things have to change....WA government, I believe, have recently done a recruitment drive for trades people in the UK...Maybe if they knew the difficulty in getting their licenses to work they would think twice before uprooting their family............we had similar problems with the OH's nursing registration.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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