Irish tradesmen hoping to secure a visa on the basis of work experience have been dealt a heavy blow by the government body charged with skills recognition.

Trades Recognition Australia, (TRA), which assesses the skills of migrants workers for visa applications, has removed valid work experience as a means for proving their ability in the workplace.

The decision could scupper the plans of several Irish tradesmen who have applications lodged with migration agents around the country. The shock decision was announced on September 4, without any warning, posted as a one-page bulletin on the TRA website.

The statement said that any applications received before September 30, and based predominantly on work experience rather than formal training, will be returned to the applicant with the fee.

Applications received after October 1 will be assessed according to the new criteria, and applicants basing their claims on experience will risk forfeiting their assessment fee.

One migration agent said that she expected between 15 and 20 applications from Irish workers to be returned to her by the end of the month.

She sad that it would be particularly harsh on trades for which there were no formal qualifications in Ireland, such as drainers and pipe-layers.

“It’s really going to affect a lot of people. There’s no formal training for a drainer in Ireland, so it can’t be assessed now.

“If you’re a drainer you’re buggered.” She said.Another agent with many Irish clients told the Irish Echo:

“This will have a dramatic effect on many self-employed tradies and skilled tradesman who have not completed any formal qualifications.

“I think it’s a disgrace, and can not comprehend the rationalisation of this action.”

Other experienced tradesmen will now have extreme difficulty in proving they have the necessary skills, despite having years of experience in their trade.

The Migration Institute of Australia, the registered body for migration agents, is up in arms that it was not warned or consulted about the change, and had no opportunity to pass on the information to its members and their customers.

One member told the Echo that it flies in the face of labour demand in Australia.

“Here’s Australia complaining about a lack of skills, and then we go and prevent people from coming in, who have experience which is invaluable.”


Courtesy of  http://www.irishecho.com.au/