Getting your PR – A Guide for International Students (Part 4) Choosing the Right Course for your Occupation

If you are studying in Australia, it is important to ensureequipment used
that your qualification will be suitable for skills. Teaching - 60 Points, MODL, CSL (Secondary
assessment – preferably in a 60-point occupation.School)
Below are some tips for selecting a course whichYou will need to have either:
gives you a good chance of passing assessment in- 4-year bachelor of education; or
the most common 60-point occupations- Bachelor degree, plus one year of specialised
1. Accounting – 60 Points, MODL, CSL (if 7 min inteacher education
IELTS)If your teaching qualification is completed in Australia,
If you wish to pass assessment as an accountant, youyou are exempt from the usual English language
will need a degree, masters or graduate diploma whichrequirements for teachers (7 minimum score in
covers at least 9 of the 12 core accounting subjects.Academic IELTS).
The core accounting subjects cover topics such asIf you already have a bachelor degree, it may be
accounting theory, financial accounting, cost andpossible for you to complete a 1-year graduate
management accounting, auditing etc, but also morediploma in education and so pass assessment as a
general topics such as business law, informationteacher. Most Masters qualifications are not suitable
systems, statistics, economics and finance. This meansfor assessment, as they do not have the required 6
that even if you do not have a major in accounting, itweeks of supervised teaching practice.
may be possible to pass assessment as an4. Information Technology - 60 Points, MODL, CSL (if
accountant.12 months experience in MODL area)
Choices for courses in Australia will depend if youIf you complete qualifications in Australia, you would be
already have a bachelor degree from your homeexempt from the usual 4-8 year work experience
country:requirement for IT professionals. You will need one of
- Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting): would take 3the following Australian qualifications:
years3-year degree majoring in IT; or
- Graduate Diploma or Masters: would take 12-183 Semester Masters or Graduate Diploma in IT; or
months if you already have a degree2 Semester advanced Masters or Graduate Diploma
2. Trades - 60 Points, MODLin IT (if you already have a degree in IT)
Trades commonly studied in Australia include cooks,5. Nursing and Allied Health - 60 Points, MODL, CSL
bakers, hairdressers, carpenters, horticulturists andOccupations in this category include Nursing,
graphic pre-press. You would need to have anPharmacists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists,
Australian certificate III in the trade, along with 900Radiographers. Unless your qualifications are from
hours of work experience to qualify for assessment incertain countries, it is very difficult to pass skills
the trade. In practice, the 900 hours of workassessment in these occupations – they also
experience is the most difficult aspect:require very high levels of English. However, they are
- Relevant experience can count, even if it is not at theoccupations in which it is possible to find employment
fully skilled level (eg kitchen hand experience can berelatively easily in Australia as there is a severe
counted towards the assessment as a cook)shortage.
- However, by the end of the 900 hours, you must beIt is much easier to pass skills assessment by
working at the fully skilled level. This is particularlycompleting Australian Qualifications:
difficult for some occupations, eg hairdressing, where it- Bachelor degree: generally 3-5 years of study
may take many years to reach the skilled level- Bachelor conversion course: common particularly in
- The work experience cannot form part of yourthe case of overseas trained nurses
course requirements- Master degree: generally 2 years of study and a
- Voluntary or unpaid work experience can countvery good option for pharmacists and occupational
towards the 900 hours, but it is difficult to evidencetherapists
- Payslips are the best evidence of work experienceIf you have questions about which course is right for
hoursyour occupation please contact us for more
- You will also need a detailed reference which givesinformation.
exact details on tasks & duties and tools &