Hi Najah, i dont know enough about your case to usefully comment on your
options now, but here are some general points to consider
1. from the look of the EA letter it appears that they are saying that
your assessment was successful only on the basis of completion of your
degree in July 2009. so then it is possible/likely that a case officer
may say that your skilled experience in this occupation was only
starting from the date you completed your degree. prior to that date
you may not have met the skill requirements for that occupation. below
i have extracted some relevant policy for you in this regard.
2. have a look at whether there is any other skilled occupation you
could claim points for or meet threshold employment criteria. Depending
on whether you are applying on the basis or recent australian study or
recent work experience, the threhold criteria will require you to
either be employed in a skilled occupation for 12 months or have
nominted an occupation which is closely related to your study. For work
experience points then you will need to establish a closely related
occupation to get 10 points (assuming you are elible for 10 points) or
a skilled occupation for 5 points (again assuming you are elible).
the point is that sometimes you might not yet have the experience
required for the higher occupation but may have the experience for the
lower skilled occupation and this experience may also have some
relevance.
I raise these arguments because you might be in a difficult position.
You ask if you should withdraw your application but I dont think there
is anything to be gained by doing that. If you planned to relodge again
in the future and it is a PR visa, there is nothing stopping you
relodging after you have your 12 months experience (or however much
experience you need in terms of points) without withdrawing your prior
application. It is possible to have more than one application on foot
at any time (as long as you meet the relevant criteria on the second
application and no bar applies).
It may help if you see a local agent who can assist you in your
decisions. I do think you have a problem you will need to consider. AS
promised, below is some relevant policy concerning skilled employment.
9.8 Employment must be skilled
For employment to be considered skilled it must meet two requirements:
• that it was undertaken after the applicant met the entry
level requirements for that occupation (ie completed a sufficient level
of study or amount of on-the-job training); and
• that the work involved duties at the level of depth and
complexity expected in Australia.
In assessing both factors, case officers should have regard to the ASCO
Dictionary. For occupations where the ACSO Dictionary does not provide
adequate guidance case officers should consider the requirements set by
the relevant assessing authority.
9.9 When is an applicant skilled?
Skilled on basis of educational qualifications
An applicant is taken to be capable of undertaking work at a skilled
level, only after they have met the entry level requirements for that
occupation.
If the entry level prescribed for the applicant’s nominated
occupation is a certain qualification only work undertaken after the
applicant has completed that qualification will be counted as skilled
employment.
For example to be a Systems Designer, the ASCO Dictionary states that
the entry level requirement is a Bachelor degree or higher or at least
5 years relevant experience.
If an applicant had worked in a systems design role while completing
their Bachelor Degree and while studying a Masters in IT, only the work
undertaken after the academic requirements of the Bachelor Degree had
been met would count as skilled employment see: section 9.11 Working
while studying
Skilled after on the job training
The three main occupations where on the job training can be used to
obtain a suitable skills assessment are the trades, management
positions and IT professionals. As these applicants do not have an
identifiable date of registration or completion of their formal
studies, the assessing body will normally prescribe a date as of which
the applicant is assessed as meeting the Australian standard for the
occupation. Where this date has not been identified by the assessing
authority, a case officer should have regard to ASCO in the first
instance, or where ASCO is silent, the guidelines used by the relevant
assessing authority to determine how long a person would need to work
in that occupation before they would be considered to meet the
Australian entry level requirement.
9.10 Importance of this date for visa purposes
The date an applicant met the Australian entry level requirement for
their occupation, as prescribed by the assessing body or determined in
accordance with the guidelines above, is the date from which an
applicant can acquire skilled work experience in that occupation. Until
that time, the applicant is in fact learning the job, albeit while
on-the-job. They cannot therefore normally be assessed as performing
the job at a skilled level.
For example, ASCO provides that in relation to Computing Professionals,
the entry level requirement is either a bachelor level qualification or
5 years work experience. If an applicant applied for a GSM visa and
nominated Computing Professional as their occupation, but had no formal
qualification, the case officer would, on the basis of ASCO, only
consider work after the applicant had been working in that occupation
for 5 years to be at a skilled level. This means only work undertaken
after working in that occupation for 5 years would be considered
towards meeting the threshold requirement that the applicant has been
employed for at least 12 of the last 24 months in a skilled occupation,
or towards the award of points for employment related factors.
9.11 Working while studying
It is possible for student visa holders to meet the definition of
‘employed’. However care should be taken in determining
whether this employment was at the skilled level. Applicants must meet
the entry level qualification as specified in ASCO eg. a Certificate
III for a Carpenter, or a Bachelor degree for an Accountant, before any
work undertaken in that industry is considered to be skilled.
Where a student has been undertaking part-time work experience while
completing an entry level qualification the work experience would
generally be at the “semi-skilled” rather than the
“skilled” level.
Example:
A person who worked in an architect’s firm for ten months during
the course of their undergraduate architecture degree and continued in
that role for two months after the degree was completed, has worked at
a skilled level for only two months. The applicant’s experience
as an architect employed at a skilled level is limited to the two
months after obtaining the entry level qualification.
By contrast applicants pursuing advanced studies in Australia, may be
able to use work undertaken using their lower level qualification
gained either in Australia or overseas to obtain additional points
related to employment.
Example:
A person enrols in a Masters of Accounting course in Australia. While
completing their studies they work in an Accounting firm using the
skills they have gained in their overseas bachelor degree. This would
be considered ‘skilled’ work.
Example:
A person completes a Certificate III in Cabinet making, before going on
to study a Certificate IV in that field. If the person works using the
skills gained in their Certificate III while completing their
Certificate IV, this would be considered ‘skilled’ work.
In all examples above, the applicant would also need to be:
• paid;
• working at least 20 hours a week;
• performing tasks that correspond with the ASCO descriptor
for the occupation in question
before they would be considered to have been ‘employed’ in
a skilled occupation.
9.12 Postgraduate work placements
The question may arise as to whether an applicant would have been
‘employed’ while undertaking work experience as a component
of a postgraduate course. In particular, cases may arise where students
have completed an undergraduate degree and go on to undertake a
graduate course that is practically-oriented and requires the student
to work in a standard work environment on a daily basis.
The critical issues are:
• whether the student was paid;
• whether the work was undertaken for at least 20 hours a
week; and
• whether the work experience was after completing the
relevant qualification and is at the skilled level (as required by the
various employment factors).
Example:
An applicant with a degree in physiotherapy and a suitable skills
assessment from the relevant assessing authority is undertaking a
graduate course that is practically oriented. Because the applicant has
completed the entry level qualification for their nominated occupation
their graduate course work experience would be regarded as skilled, if
the applicant was remunerated and working (as opposed to undertaking
course work) for the minimum period of 20 hours each week.
--
Jason Cameron RMA 0107604
Posted via the forums at http://www.gettingdownunder.com
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