Your new potential employee is from overseas and needs qualifications assessed and – hopefully! – recognised in Australia. How do you help this person? And how do you do it quickly? Read on.
Find out whether the applicant has already been assessed
For some visas, such as 457 Temporary Work visas, applicants can be required to have a skills assessment completed. This must happen before the visa is granted. In this case, get a copy of the assessment for your records, so that you know that you (and the applicant) are compliant.
Additionally, there is an offshore skills assessment program for certain workers who are not on a 457 visa. Check before you ask your applicants to run the treadmill all over again.
If you’re not sure, the Australian Government has skills recognition help
At the Australian Government website there is a page filled with links designed to help you.
If you go to Qualifications and Skills Recognition, you will find links to assessment for teachers, licenses, vocational qualifications and trades recognition.
Some of the sites, like Trades Recognition Australia, have an online portal where you can go through a migration skills assessment protocol.
Overseas Qualification Units are not for employment skills assessment
An Overseas Qualification Unit can help your employees understand how their qualifications compare to an Australian qualification. This isn’t suitable for occupation-specific requirements, so don’t recommend it if your prospect needs qualifications in order to work. It can however give someone an idea about how their study compares.
To find out how to do that go to this site here.
Skills and trade recognition is possible without a qualification
If your employee has trade skills, and has experience, but doesn’t have a formal qualification, they might still be able to work with you. In these situations, people can have their skills formally recognised as a tradesperson through trades assessments. Each state may have its own requirements; but in Queensland, you can go to this page for more information.
If you would like specific guidance on how to help your migrant employees, we can help. Contact us today »
