If you are a welder, electrician, plumber, mechanic or construction worker and are considering working in Australia, the current labor market has a very interesting point: occupations that require technical skills. Practical skills and work experience continue to be among the groups with high human resource shortages in Australia.
According to Jobs and Skills Australia, the Australian Government agency in charge of analyzing the labor market and skills needs, the 2023Skills Priority List recorded 36% of the 916 occupations assessed as being in labor shortage nationwide. In particular, the Technicians and Trades Workers – technicians and skilled workers group has a shortage rate of up to 50%. In this group, all occupations belonging to Construction Trades Workers – group of construction workers and Food Trades Workers – group of workers in the food sector are assessed as being in shortage.
However, it should be noted that these are data from the Skills Priority List 2023. Results published in 2024 show that 303 out of 916 occupations, equivalent to 33%, are still assessed as shortages. The Technicians and Trades Workers group continues to have a high shortage rate, at 50%. This shows that the shortage of skilled manpower is not a short-term phenomenon but has lasted for many years.
More notably, Jobs and Skills Australia also noted that the shortage of human resources is particularly evident in Australia’s regional and remote areas. These are areas that often have high recruitment demand but it is difficult to find local workers with enough skills and willing to work long-term.
Why is the profession of a craftsman advantageous in Australia?
Unlike some jobs that can easily supplement human resources through short-term training, occupations such as electrical, mechanical, welding, construction or pipeline systems often require workers to have practical skills, experience and the ability to meet Australian occupational standards.
This is the point that makes it difficult for the labor supply in this occupational group to increase rapidly. A person can learn some office skills in a relatively short time, but to become a worker who can truly work independently, meet labor safety requirements and implement correct techniques requires a long process of training and accumulating experience.
Jobs and Skills Australia also points out that shortages may stem from the market not having enough people possessing the necessary technical skills, or having people with the skills but not being willing to apply for positions with current working conditions. For Vietnamese people who already have professions, qualifications and practical experience, this can be a significant advantage when exploring the Australian labor market. But there is one thing that needs to be clearly understood: Australia’s shortage of workers does not mean that just working as a worker will definitely be granted visa.
Job opportunities and visa opportunities are two things. Related but not identical problems.
Which way can welders, electricians, and plumbers go to Australia?
One of the directions that skilled workers are interested in today is Visa 482 – Skills-on-Demand Visa, sponsored by Australian businesses.
This visa allows an approved Australian business to sponsor workers with suitable skills to fill positions where the business has difficulty finding suitable Australian workers. For the Core Skills category, the nominated occupation must be on the current Core Skills Occupation List.
Workers must also prove they have skills and experience appropriate to the nominated occupation and meet English language requirements, unless exempted. For the Core Skills category, current regulations require at least 1 year of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation or related field, accumulated in the last 5 years; Experience can be counted as full-time, part-time or seasonal if the corresponding conversion conditions are met.
The important point is that not all craftsmen have the same skill assessment requirements. The agency that assesses skills depends on the specific occupation and visa program. For many technical and trades occupations, Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) is the relevant skills assessment body. Workers need to check the correct occupational code, assessment agency and assessment program applicable to their situation before starting their application.
Assessing skills – a step workers should not take lightly
For people in Vietnam, the hardest part is often not finding a suitable job name, but proving that your experience and qualifications are actually equivalent to the requirements of the job in Australia.
TRA has many different assessment programs depending on occupation, nationality, experience and visa application purpose. Programs may include 482 Visa skills assessment, skilled migration skills assessment programs or programs for people who have studied a trade in Australia.
Therefore, a person who introduces himself as “a welder with 7 years of experience” is not necessarily enough to meet the assessment requirements.
The TRA may considerqualifications, employment history, documents proving experience, actual work content and the degree of compatibility between the work held and the nominated occupation. TRA’s Migration Skills Assessment program is designed to assess a worker’s qualifications and employment history against the standards of the nominated occupation. Especially for technical occupations, realistic job descriptions are important. Two people write the same title “electrician” but if the actual job, qualifications, experience and range of skills are different, the evaluation results can be completely different.
This is the reason De1 recommends that workers check their occupation and evaluate their skills before leaving money for the next steps, instead of just relying on the occupational title currently used in Vietnam.
From Visa 482 to Visa 186: can I go to permanent residence?
This is the part that makes the career path in Australia interesting for many workers.
After obtaining a 482 Visa and working for the sponsoring business, workers can consider switching to Visa 186 – Employer Nomination Program Visa, under the Transition from Temporary Residence category if all conditions are met at the time of application. Under current regulations, applicants under this category must normally have at least 2 years of full-time employment in sponsored employment, within the 3-year period preceding the application date, while holding a 457 Visa, 482 Visa or certain qualifying bridging visas. At the same time, you must be nominated by a suitable business and meet other requirements of Visa 186.
A very important point to note is that you should not understand that if you work for 2 years you will automatically receive permanent residence.
Visa 186 still has its own requirements regarding occupation, skills, age, English, nominating business, job position and other conditions. Therefore, right from the moment of choosing a job and sponsoring company, workers should consider the possibility of developing a long-term profile instead of just looking at “going to Australia in the short term”.
Is working in a regional area a better choice?
For tradespeople, regional areas can offer many job opportunities because the shortage of human resources is often more pronounced in these areas. Jobs and Skills Australia has noted the shortage of Technicians and Trades Workers is particularly notable in regional and remote areas.
However, regional does not automatically mean visa ease.
Workers must still meet the requirements of visa type, occupation and sponsoring company. Some occupations may also require professional licensing or professional registration depending on the state or territory. Australian Immigration also states that if registration or licensing is required for the occupation where the worker intends to work, the worker must meet that requirement.
So, if you are an electrician, plumber or have a profession in the construction field, determiningwhich states are hiring, whether your occupation requires licensing and whether the business is able to sponsor is just as important as finding out the salary.
Not every “lack of people” means you will definitely have a Visa
This is something workers need to be especially alert to.
Jobs and Skills Australia’s shortage occupation list reflects the labour market, while the migration occupation list used by the Australian Department of Immigration for each visa program is a different matter.
Australian Immigration currently uses an occupation listing system that is relevant to each visa program and provides information about the skills assessment agency, the occupation code and whether the occupation is on the Core Skills Occupation List. For Visa 482 and Visa 186 Direct Nomination, the system currently uses the ANZSCO 2022 occupation classification. In particular, for Visa 186 Transition from Temporary Residence, Australian Immigration clearly states that a separate list of occupations is not applied in the manner of some other visa categories; Occupational conditions are linked to the occupation that the worker has been granted a temporary work visa to perform. Therefore, if you are working as a welder, electrician, plumber or construction worker and want to find a way to Australia, you need to evaluate the entire profile, not just look at a “vacant occupation” line. If you already have a profession and experience in Vietnam, De1 believes that the first step should be to accurately identify the nominated occupation and check the corresponding skills assessment agency.
Then evaluate qualifications, experience, proof of work, English, ability to meet licensing requirements in Australia and opportunities to find a sponsoring business. If your profile is suitable for the 482 Visa direction, the goal should not just be to find a job to get to Australia. More importantly, it is necessary to build a continuous roadmap: skill assessment → find a suitable business → Visa 482 → maintain work and sponsorship conditions → consider Visa 186 when eligible.
If you are a welder, electrician, plumber, construction worker, mechanic or another technical profession, this is the time to seriously check your documents instead of waiting until you want to go to Australia to start preparing.
Reference source: Jobs and Skills Australia; Australian Department of Immigration
