Electrician Vetassess Logbook and 175 Visa Query

[dellboy45]

Hi Guys,

Ive been reading this forum very intently for the past year or so before I made the move to Oz from the UK. Im currently in VIC , working as a sparky. I am close to completing my final exams as part of the Licensed Electricians Assessment with just the practical component to complete. I came here with an OSTR through Vetassess and applied for my provisional license straight away on arrival, which was July 2011. I am here as a dependant on my partners 457 visa. i was lucky to gain employment as VIC is notoriously difficult for unlicensed sparkys to find work. As part of the requirement for Vetassess electricians in VIC , I have to complete an eprofiling logbook to gain my A Grade License. This facility is not set up yet through the training provider (EPIC). I have been querying this through one of the tutors at the TAFE I attend , who has been very helpful, although they keep saying it will be set up soon. Has anyone gained their license this way? Im curious to know if anyones in the same boat. I think the logbook may have been hand written before and maybe this is a transition.

 

Ok so that brings me on to my next question. We want to gain PR eventually and I made a few enquiries today from Immigration. I must say that im totally bemused after the conversation. So we want to apply for the 175 visa before July 2012 as the whole system changes then. The application will be through me as an Electrician. Now I know there are lots of different routes guys are taking to gain their license through TRA , ARTC and Vetassess like myself. As part of the 175 there needs to be a skill assessment to show that you have knowledge/skills in your trade. I hope to have my A Grade Electrical License within the next couple months before we lodge our application. So i explained this to Immigration and she insisted that even if I am a FULLY QUALIFIED , FULLY LICENSED , A GRADE ELECTRICIAN , I will need to have my skills assessed by TRA! This is totally absurd. I asked her 3-4 times over and over if she was mistaken but apparently not. Am I missing something here?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated