The TRA Job Ready Program could be the best way to get a skills assessment in a trade occupation

For most nominated occupations including trade occupations, getting a skills assessment, and the right skills assessment at that, is one of the first and most important steps to pursuing a skilled migration pathway to permanent residency in Australia. A positive skills assessment outcome may allow you to:

• Lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the:

  • Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) visa

  • Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa;

  • Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visa; and/or

• Be eligible to be sponsored for employer-sponsored visas such as the:

  • Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa

  • Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Subclass 494) visa

  • Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa

Without a suitable skills assessment, you may not be able to claim points for your occupation, be invited to apply for a Subclass 189 visa, be nominated by a State/Territory Government for a Subclass 190 visa or a Subclass 491 visa, or satisfy the regulatory criteria for a Subclass 482 visa, Subclass 494 visa or Subclass 186 visa.

The process of obtaining a positive skills assessment can often be difficult, including for trade occupations assessed by the Trades Recognition Australia (TRA). Unlike some other skills assessing authorities which may not require any post-qualification work experience to issue a positive skills assessment for certain nominated occupations, TRA generally does require evidence of at least three (3) years of work experience under the Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) and Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP) pathways. This means that if you do not have at least 3 years of work experience in a trade occupation, you may not be eligible for a skills assessment under TRA’s MSA and OSAP pathways.

So what happens if you have less than 3 years of work experience in a trade occupation, such as where you are a recent Vocational Education and Training (VET) graduates? Fortunately, TRA’s Job Ready Program (JRP) offers an alternative pathway specifically designed for persons who have recently graduated with Australian trade qualifications, and who may not have much skilled employment in their nominated occupation.

Why the Job Ready Program may be better for you

The standard TRA pathways, i.e. the Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) and Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP) are generally aimed at applicants who already have:

• A relevant qualification*; and

• Around 3 years of relevant employment experience.

*Applicants who do not have a relevant qualification may be required to demonstrate even more than 3 years of work experience in their nominated occupation to substitute for the lack of a formal qualification.

This means that recent graduates who have recently completed their studies in Australia and are only just beginning to work in their nominated occupations are not eligible for a skills assessment under the MSA and OSAP pathways.

On the other hand, the Job Ready Program (JRP) specifically targets international student graduates who have obtained an Australian trade qualification and will continue to work in their nominated occupation in Australia. Rather than requiring any prior work experience upfront, the JRP allows eligible graduates to progressively build their skills assessment eligibility while gaining Australian work experience, usually while they remain in Australia on a Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa.

The JRP program is commonly used by graduates are commencing their careers in trade occupations such as:

• Chef

• Motor Mechanic

• Carpenter

• Electrician

• Cabinetmaker

• Plumber

• Welder

• Bricklayer

• Hairdresser

-and many other trade occupations assessed by TRA.

Stages of the Job Ready Program

The Job Ready Program consists of several stages, each with its own requirements and evidentiary obligations.

1. Provisional Skills Assessment (PSA)

The first step to becoming eligible for participating in the JRP is usually obtaining a Provisional Skills Assessment, which most Subclass 485 visa holders in the Post-Vocational Education Work stream would already have.

To be eligible for a PSA in a trade occupation, you will generally need to have completed an accepted qualification that corresponds with your nominated occupation. For instance, if you are obtaining a PSA in the trade occupation of ANZSCO 331212 Carpenter, you would need to have completed at least a Certificate III in Carpentry (Qualification Code CPC30220).

2. Job Ready Employment (JRE)

Once you have received a positive PSA, you can move on to the Job Ready Employment (JRE) stage, which involves obtaining and maintaining relevant employment in your nominated occupation, and submitting the relevant documents to TRA for assessment.

TRA will generally assess whether:

• your employment is closely related to your occupation;

• you are undertaking genuine skilled duties;

• your hours meet minimum requirements (usually full-time); and

• your employment is with an approved employer.

  • In this regard, each employer you work with must be registered in the JRP, through an Employment Verification Report and other pay evidence.

You usually need to accrue at least six (6) months of paid employment with an approved employer before progressing to the next stage of the JRP.

What if I work as a subcontractor using my own Australian Business Number (ABN)?

Pending assessment of additional documentary evidence such as:

• Business names and ABN registrations for all parties to the subcontracting arrangements;

• Invoices and payment records showing hours billed for each job and total amount of hours billed;

• Contracts with clients;

• Business bank statements showing deposits for invoices;

-TRA may accept subcontractor arrangements for the purposes of the JRP.

3. Job Ready Workplace Assessment (JRWA)

Once you have worked in your nominated occupation for at least 6 months with an approved employer, you may proceed to the Job Ready Workplace Assessment (JRWA).

This stage typically involves a practical assessment of work you have been doing in your actual workplace environment. For instance, a TRA assessor will usually travel to your workplace or an alternative location to examine:

• the identity of you and your employer;

• the practical skills being performed;

• whether your duties align with the nominated occupation;

• whether you are working at the right skill level;

• your overall trade capability and competence, e.g. taking into account factors such as:

  • your role in the workplace

  • the language/terminology used in the workplace/industry sector

  • relevant Australian Standards, legislation and/or regulations

  • solving problems

  • asking directions

  • working well with others

  • using resources safely and effectively.

TRA will then advise you of the outcome of the JRWA, which will either be “Job Ready” or “Not Yet Job Ready”.

If the assessment outcome is “Not Yet Job Ready”, TRA will provide you feedback prepared by the assessor, to help you identify the areas you need to further develop.

4. Job Ready Final Assessment (JRFA)

If your JRWA outcome is “Job Ready”, once you have completed at least 12 months of equivalent full-time paid employment with an approved employer, you can then update the TRA about this and provide the necessary documents for verification, such as your employment agreement(s) and/or payslips(s).

Once TRA has reviewed and accepted your employment evidence, TRA will notify you when you are eligible to apply for the final stage of your JRP, which is the Job Ready Final Assessment (JRFA).

You will then need to maintain employment arrangements until you have at least received your official JRFA outcome letter, which confirms your successful JRP Skills Assessment outcome. This positive skills assessment outcome can then be used for skilled migration and/or employer sponsored visa purposes.

How the Job Ready Program helps with your long-term migration prospects

One of the most overlooked benefits of the Job Ready Program is that it effectively puts you on the forefront of gathering and maintaining documentary evidence of your skilled employment right from the start, as you are required to continuously provide evidence of your employment to TRA, such as through:

• Employment contracts;

• Payslips;

• Tax records;

• Superannuation records;

• Employer references;

• Workplace evidence; and

• Proof of duties performed.

This creates a highly organised evidentiary trail of employment documentation which helps minimise the chances of a future skilled or employer-sponsored visa application being refused on the basis that you are unable to substantiate your claimed work experience.

It also raises less questions about whether your previous skilled employment was undertaken at the right skill level for your nominated occupation, as this would have already been assessed by a TRA assessor during your JRP.

Overall, applicants who obtain their skills assessment in a trade occupation through the Job Ready Program are often in a much stronger position because much of their documentation has already been reviewed and accepted by TRA throughout the process, which can help reduce the likelihood of evidentiary issues, improve the quality of your visa application and promote faster processing times.

Need help with working out your immigration options in Australia?

Our immigration lawyers at Inclusive Migration have extensive experience in advising prospective migrants to Australia about their employer-sponsored, skilled migration and family migration options in Australia. Should you wish to discuss your eligibility for employer-sponsored and/or general skilled migration pathways in Australia, or your eligibility for a skills assessment, please email info@inclusivemigration.com.au, submit an enquiry using the contact form on our website or send us a message via WhatsApp at +61 490 704 775.