Here is an update following a migration agents' seminar I attended in Melbourne last weeks at which the Director and Assistant Director of TRA presented the new MAP, and responded to questions and "observations" from the floor.
I also took the opportunity to ask questions directly of the presenters afterwards.
For those in the UK I fear we are not going to achieve a great deal more certainty than we have now, beyond it being made quite clear at the presentation that an application based purely on work experience is a non starter.
In other words those applicants who have been hoping for a return of Skill Pathway D or an equivalent should reconcile themselves to the fact that they will now need to have a suitable qualification or licence that will validate their competencies.
Importantly, there is not going to be a list of "formally recognised qualifications" (at least not in the foreseeable future - see the definition of "formally recognised qualifications" in TRA's new MAP), so applicants are left with the question of whether to go with an application based on a UK qualification or licence, or to incur the costs of a workplace assessment leading to an AQF Certificate III.
I quizzed the TRA people on NVQ2s (a subject dear to my heart), and was advised that "each case will be looked at individually and on its own merits".
The reality borne out of our own experience though (and I left the presentation with the view that this will not change under the new Skills Streams) is that a well documented application from a UK based individual with a NVQ2 (or indeed some other related licence/qualification - so long as supporting documentation is provided that evidences the technical requirements that had to be satisfied to attain the licence/qualification), together with related documentation that evidences skilled employment and/or a skills transition is likely to be successful.
Finally, trade skills applicants that have undertaken formal training, have attained some form of qualification outside Australia, and who want to optimise their chances of a successful application to TRA without committing to a reasonably expensive UK workplace assessment should consider engaging a competent agent who has lodged a significant number of applications with TRA in the past. For example, Veronika on this forum, George Lombard, Ian Harrop/Tony Coates. Or us:
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Best regards.