Skills Assessment
Skills Assessments are a mandatory requirement for all applicants who with to pursue General Skilled Migration, either Independently or through State Sponsorship. You could also be asked to complete a Skills Assessment if you are from nominated countries and professions for a 457 visa and one pathway of the Employer Nomination Scheme requires a Skills Assessment and 3 years of work experience.
Every nominated occupation has an “Assessing Body” that will determine if the qualifications that you currently hold automatically make you eligible for registration or licensing within Australia or whether you need to obtain further experience or study in order to raise your occupation standards to those accepted as the minimum standard within Australia.
A completed skills assessment is required at the time of application for General Skills Migration (189/190 applications). For a 485 application you only need to have applied for a Skills Assessment at the time of application.
Many skills assessments require a higher IELTS score in English than the minimum required under General Skills Migration and some Skills Assessments require the Academic IELTS test results.
Job Ready Program
Applicants who have studied trades in Australia are now required to complete the Job Ready Program in order to gain a Skills Assessment. To enrol in the Job Ready Program you must have some work experience in your field of study and once you have enrolled you will need to get an employer and work with them for 12 months. The costs of the Job Ready Program are over $4500. On completion of the job ready program you’ll be given a Skills Assessment and will be able to apply for permanent residence.