The Mechanical Engineer’s Guide For Emigrating to Australia
Welcome to our guide on the Australian skills assessment process for a Mechanical Engineer. Before we examine the skills required to be recognised as a Mechanical Engineer it may be helpful to explain that the skills assessment is the first step of the emigration process. The skills Assessment of a Mechanical Engineer determines their eligibility to emigrate and the visa options available. Ultimately, it will affect their employment opportunities once they are in Australia.
While we appreciate that each case is unique, we always strive to secure the best possible outcome from the Skills Assessing Authorities in Australia. Experience has proven that a positive accreditation result is an essential first step to a successful case.
Australia’s top employers and recruiters are increasingly turning to the UK for highly skilled workers to meet the demand in key professions.
Securing Employment in Australia
Sterling Migration works closely with many of Australia’s leading employers, connecting them with international candidates who possess the specific skills these Australian companies require.
To secure a job offer from a reputable Australian employer, candidates must first complete their skills accreditation, receive an invitation to emigrate from the government and be able to provide a potential start date.
Leading recruiters across Australia trust Sterling Migration to endorse and introduce only the best candidates who have been assessed and are ready to emigrate. We are always delighted when we can recommend a client for a role that we believe will be their ideal fit.
Ensuring Mechanical Engineers Are In High Demand
Every skilled migrant wants to know that they will be able to secure the best role that matches their personal requirements quickly and easily in Australia. The Australian emigration system ensures that they can.
Each year, State Governments and the two territorial Governments report to the federal government on their local demand for Mechanical Engineers and if they need to bring any in from overseas to fill potential shortage skills gaps. The report will provide the precise number of overseas a Mechanical Engineers required in the region during the coming year to fill any potential skills gap.
The Skills in demand are placed on priority lists. These lists range from those skills in high demand across the entire country to those skills with only limited demand within rural areas. Depending on the list a skill is on will determine which visa(s) are available to people within that profession.
Curently, Mechanical Engineers are on the MLTSSL skills shortage list. Being on the MLTSSL list means a Mechanical Engineer may qualify for the following visa streams:
190, 407, 491 (S/T), TSS (S), 494 Visa streams.
Skills and Experience Required To Be a Mechanical Engineer
Before a Mechanical Engineer can apply to emigrate as a skilled worker to Australia, their qualification, skills, and experience must be independently verified via a rigorous accreditation process. The process ensures all Mechanical Engineers invited to emigrate can do their job to the required Australian standards.
1. Defining the job title a Mechanical Engineer:
The profession “a Mechanical Engineer” can mean something slightly different in Australia to what is referred to overseas. In “official emigration terms”, this profession is aligned within the occupation category “Mechanical Engineer” and is uniquely identified by the code 233512. This registry system that has been in place since 2006 and has proven to work well for Australia.
2. Key Requirements for a Mechanical Engineer:
For a Mechanical Engineer to be deemed experienced to the Australian standard, here are the essential skills, tasks, duties and responsibilities they must be familiar with:
General Duties:
Human resources
Quality control and inspections
Production processes and machinery
Customer service
Communication and collaboration
Performance evaluation and efficiency improvement
Data
analytics
and databases
Environmental management
Safety and hazard management
Records
documentation
reports and research
Operating procedures and processes
Construction
Business operations and financial activities
Cleaning and maintenance
Sales and marketing
Digital technologies and electronics
Core Specialist Responsibilities:
Prepare forms
legislation or proposals
Operations research and management
Conduct sales and marketing activities
Manage operational budgets
Design or assemble equipment and systems
Direct operational or production activities
Review or prepare research or technical reports
Provide customer service and communicate information
Maintain facilities and conduct repairs
Collaborate and advise on educational and technical issues
Communicate and collaborate
Operate production equipment and make products
Improve operational performance
Develop and review technical designs and processes
Determining and configuring equipment and components
Monitor compliance with regulations
standards or procedures
Advise on environmental conservation
Manage or document operational procedure or process
Inspect
test or maintain equipment or systems
Plan
design or coordinate construction activities
Supervise staff
Investigate equipment and systems malfunctions and failures
ICT support
design and management
Research
evaluate or design new technologies
Develop or evaluate projects or designs
Specific Tasks Associated with the Role:
Implement design or process improvements
Create models of engineering designs or methods
Direct industrial production activities
Confer with other staff to resolve design or operational problems
Install production equipment or systems
Advise others regarding green practices or environmental concerns
Document technical design details
Select tools
equipment
or technologies for use in operations or projects
Test performance of electrical
electronic
mechanical
or integrated systems or equipment
Coordinate safety or regulatory compliance activities
Supervise production or support staff
Evaluate plans or specifications to determine technological or environmental implications
Determine operational methods
Investigate system
equipment or product failures
Direct installation activities
Recommend technical design or process changes to improve efficiency
quality or performance
Research industrial processes or operations
Design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation
Design industrial processing systems
Evaluate characteristics of equipment or systems
Design industrial equipment
Prepare proposal documents
Advise customers on the use of goods or services
Direct equipment maintenance or repair activities
Identify new applications for existing technologies
Analyse design or requirements information for mechanical equipment or systems
Estimate operational costs
Review technical documents to plan work
Perform marketing activities
Confer with technical staff to prepare designs or operational plans
3. The Australian eligibility criteria for a Mechanical Engineer:
Currently Mechanical Engineer’s are listed on the MLTSSL reflecting the demand for the profession within Australia.
Please note:
Even though Mechanical Engineer is on the MLTSSL shortage skills list, it does not guarantee that there are currently places available under any visa stream. The emigration selection process is a dynamic environment that changes continually as quotas for specific skills are met within each region and economic demands change. We provide an up-to-date report at the time of application to ensure our clients secure the best possible visa for their requirements.
Navigating the Skills Assessment Process
As part of the accreditation process, you will be required to provide:
- Relevant qualifications
- Detailed reports from previous employers
- Registrations and licences
Additional for specific cases:
- Video footage of your work
- Photographs
- Attend an interview
These additional items may incur further costs and will cause delays, so they are best avoided where possible.
Context and Function:
The primary purpose of the assessing authority is to protect their Australian Mechanical Engineers from migrants entering Australia and driving down standards or wages.
Therefore, they often look to delay, frustrate, delay or even reject cases preventing accreditations wherever possible with those aims in mind. They are also motivated by the additional fees they may charge when a person is required to resit an assessment.
The result of a candidate’s skills assessment is often a critical factor in their emigration success. It is vital that a Mechanical Engineer secures the highest possible skills accreditation possible. To have your own team of experts fighting for you provides a considerable advantage in preparing your case and maximising your credibility.
Points Test For Mechanical Engineers
Each candidate applying to emigrate as a Mechanical Engineer is assessed against a number of criteria set out by the Australian Department of Home Affairs. The criteria include:
- Age
- Qualifications
- Work Experience
- Partners Skills
- English Language Ability
- Miscellaneous
The candidate is awarded points accordingly. Those Mechanical Engineers who achieve the minimum points required will be eligible to enter the Expression of Interest pool. As with all legal processes, there are many ways to gain points and forfeit points, simply by how a case is presented. The Australian Immigration Authorities do not provide any feedback on the quality of a case once it has been presented and have no statutory obligation to do so. Therefore, if a case has an error that could be easily corrected, the candidate will not be asked to correct the mistake.
Expression of Interest
Once candidates complete their skills accreditation successfully and achieve the minimum points required for a Mechanical Engineer, they become eligible to enter the “Expression of Interest” pool.
The best analogy is that it is a recruitment process. Entering the Expression of Interest pool is like meeting the minimum requirements set out by the employer to be eligible to apply for a position. There is no guarantee of selection.
This is a competitive environment where Mechanical Engineers from across the globe are requesting one of the available visas to emigrate. Australia periodically selects those it deems to best meet its requirements for a Mechanical Engineer from the pool of available candidates. Those a Mechanical Engineers selected are invited to apply to emigrate.
Candidates who fail to be selected within two years are automatically removed from the pool.
Police and Medical Checks
The final hurdle to overcome is completing the Police and Medical checks. Assuming nothing is discovered that has not been previously disclosed, the visa will usually be issued within a few weeks.
From the date the visa is issued a Mechanical Engineer will have one year to enter Australia to activate the visa. It is during that time that it is best to reach out to potential employers and make all the necessary arrangements to begin a new life in Australia.
Once a visa is activated, the Mechanical Engineer may leave Australia for a few more months if they require extra time before emigrating permanently.
Find Out More
Emigration law is one of the most complex areas of legislation and is continuously being adapted. By definition, emigrating to Australia is a legal process where the individual must prove their case. The government is not responsible for assisting an applicant in that process. On the contrary, in legal terms, it is the government against whom a Mechanical Engineer must fight and win their case and the right to be hired by the best employers in Australia.
Once you have completed your skills assessment and been invited by the Government to emigrate, you will be ready to meet leading employers with vacancies that will fit your requirements perfectly.
To discover more, complete our online assessment form for your complimentary guide and to discuss your options with one of our friendly experts.
