Note : there are some major changes underway in the General Skilled Migration program.The following information is of a general nature only and does not constitute legal advice. Always check the latest information on the official Department of Immigration web-site:

Department of Immigration & Citizenship

Trades Recognition/Skills Assessment

You will need to have your qualifications or skills assessed to determine if they are the equivalent to Australian standards for the nominated occupation.

Note : The relevant Assessing Authority has different work experience requirements than the Department of Immigration.

The Assessing Authority looks at the work experience you gained as part of your training and the obtaining of your qualification.

The department of immigration looks at the work experience* you gained after you reached the skilled level for your occupation.


The Australian Skills Recognition Information web-site provides an easy look-up for all the requirements, which is the assessing body, how many points etc. You will find ‘tiler” under ‘wall and floor tiler”.

(Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI))

Wall and Floor Tiler 4416-11

Job description
Lays ceramic, clay, slate, marble and glass tiles on external and internal walls and floors to provide protective and decorative finishes.

Skill Level:
The entry requirement for this occupation is an AQF Certificate III or higher qualification. Registration or licensing may be required.


Tasks Include:

• examines plans, measures and marks surfaces and lays out work
• prepares wall and floor surfaces by removing old tiles, grout and adhesive, and cleaning and dry polishing
• spreads adhesive onto prepared surfaces and tiles, and sets tiles in position
• ensures tiles are aligned
• grouts tiles and cleans and removes excess grout
• may lay floors of granolithic, terrazzo, cement or similar composition

Applicants must have formal qualifications and work experience to pass skills assessment through TRA. The application is paper-based and does not involve trade testing. Formal qualifications can include apprenticeships or vocational qualifications. Written references must be provided to evidence work experience and must contain a very high level of detail, including tasks and duties, equipment or items worked on, tools and equipment used.

Trades Recognition Australia (TRA)
You must apply to TRA for assessment of your qualifications and work experience to establish whether you are capable of undertaking the full range of tasks expected of a tradesperson in Australia.
TRA’s uniform assessment criteria requires you to demonstrate skills, knowledge and experience equivalent to an Australian apprenticed-trained tradesperson.
You must be capable of performing your work in a safe and acceptable manner and demonstrate that you have adequate theoretical knowledge for the occupation.
If you are seeking to have your skills assessed as a supervisor you must first satisfy the assessment requirements for your trade and have been working as a supervisor for three or more years after becoming fully qualified in your trade.
You can find all the details here :

Trades Recognition Australia - Home

*Recent work experience.

This is a "threshold" requirement for most General Skilled Migration visas.

You must show that you have been in in paid employment,at a skilled level, full time in a skilled occupation (which is on SOL) for at least 12 of the 24 months immediately before you lodge your application.

For your employment to be considered at a skilled level you must meet the entry-level requirements listed for each occupation in ASCO.

ASCO stands for Australian Standard Classification of Occupations.

The entry-level requirement usually include the completion of a certain level of study or a certain number of years of on the job training or experience.

Therefore only work experience gained after you met the relevant entry-level requirements can be counted as employment at a skilled level.

do i contact tra after i get my aqf3 or before ? is it a separate test to the aqf3 ?

You need your AQF III in order to be able to apply for Skills Recognition by TRA. It is not a test. You supply paper based evidence (references,trade certificates) etc.in order to demonstrate your level of formal qualifications and experience.

Hi
The department of immigration looks at the work experience* you gained after you reached the skilled level for your occupation.

I am going to do the AQFiii next month as then I will be a wall and floor self employed tiler for four years. Does the above statement means that I still need to work another 12-24 months before I will have 'work experience' that will count? Does those questions of 12 out of 24 and 36 out of 48 months earn you extra points in the points test system?

I will be very glad of any info on this as this will obviously plays a very big part in making decisions for our immediate future.

Boesman

Originally Posted by Boesman

Hi
The department of immigration looks at the work experience* you gained after you reached the skilled level for your occupation.

I am going to do the AQFiii next month as then I will be a wall and floor self employed tiler for four years. Does the above statement means that I still need to work another 12-24 months before I will have 'work experience' that will count? Does those questions of 12 out of 24 and 36 out of 48 months earn you extra points in the points test system?

I will be very glad of any info on this as this will obviously plays a very big part in making decisions for our immediate future.

Boesman

Hello Boesman,

The skilled work experience is from the date that you were regarded to be fully skilled. Tiling apprenticeships in Australia are competency based and typically take 3 to 4 years.

If you can demonstrate that you were carrying out the full range of duties as a wall and floor tiler on a skilled level at a certain point in time, then that could be your starting point for work experience on a skilled level.

Unless you have very good evidence, it might be safer to obtain additional skilled experience, once you receive your AQFIII certificate.

Under the old point system you could get 5 or 10 points for specific employment, as you mentioned.We do not know yet what the new points test will look like once the new system kicks in (supposedly on 1 July).

I will update the requirements as soon as they are confirmed.

Regards,

Nick

iam confused ?? so just to clarify things ive been tiling for over 6 years and have a nvq 2 certificate for wall and floor tiling, and iam currently at stage 2 with my aqf3 via Australian skills assessments. so iam i right in thinking they only take in to consideration the information i provide AFTER i have my aqf3 ?? or iam a right in thinking ive have 4 years experience plus documentation/references etc then get my aqf3, apply to tra ,find a job via employer sponsorship ,apply for visa then get to oz ?

-You could argue that you were working at a skilled level after the first 4 years and that you therefore have 2 years skilled experience. If they accept it will depend on the quality of your evidence. Otherwise you have to get your AFQIII first and then gain additional experience.

-You have 2 visa options :

1) GSM (175/176), but we don't know yet what the new requirements are.

2) Employer sponsored (119/121.) With ENS (121) there is a requirement for skilled experience, with RSMS (119) there is not, but the employer has to be in a regional area.

Hope this helps..

Cheers,

Nick

Hi, was also wondering how on earth do people manage to find employer sponsored or state sponsored job offers? I thought wall and floor tilers are self employed and that it is impossible to find a sponsored job. If any one has a contact or info on this, I will be very glad to hear about it.

Not all tilers are self-employed. Many of the bigger tiling companies employ gangs of up to 20 or 30 tilers on wage and/or contract basis. I have had my own (small) tiling company for about 20 years and usually employ between 4 to 6 tilers and apprentices.
I do not know how easy it is to find an employer to sponsor you at the moment and maybe others can come up with some suggestions, but last year one local company in Cairns was sponsoring many tilers from Korea on 457 visas, many of whom went on to PR afterward .

Hi can anyone suggest the best visa option and tips for emigrating to Oz with my family? Im a self employed tiler, been fixing for 9 years now, but I have no relevant qualifications or certificates, as I learnt my trade from a tiler friend over a 9mth period on site,(still learning now as we all are) Heard about AFQIII, but unsure where i stand without certificates of my own. Can get plenty of recomendations off customers and suppliers etc..
Im 40yrs old, wife 37(Recruitment agent) kids 12 & 18(18 yr old still at college) Goin to Oz at xmas for holiday and research. We scored enough points when doing the asessment online about 2yrs ago but I know things have recently changed.
Any advise or tips would be very much appreciated.

John Newland
www.newlandceramics.co.uk

Originally Posted by Nuddy

Hi can anyone suggest the best visa option and tips for emigrating to Oz with my family? Im a self employed tiler, been fixing for 9 years now, but I have no relevant qualifications or certificates, as I learnt my trade from a tiler friend over a 9mth period on site,(still learning now as we all are) Heard about AFQIII, but unsure where i stand without certificates of my own. Can get plenty of recomendations off customers and suppliers etc..
Im 40yrs old, wife 37(Recruitment agent) kids 12 & 18(18 yr old still at college) Goin to Oz at xmas for holiday and research. We scored enough points when doing the asessment online about 2yrs ago but I know things have recently changed.
Any advise or tips would be very much appreciated.

John Newland
www.newlandceramics.co.uk

Hi John, the easiest and fastest way is through Employer Sponsored, but then you have to find an employer who is willing to sponsor you and who can meet all the requirements for sponsorship. Next best thing is through General Skilled Migration, with or without State Sponsorship. Tilers are on the new Skilled Occupation List, but we are still waiting to hear about possible changes to the points test.

Either way, you will require an AQF III certificate and possibly Skills Recognition by Trades Recognition Australia. if you wish, I can refer you to several companies that do the AQF III assessment. Feel free to contact me directly on ccms@people.net.au

Regards,

Nick van Voorst

Thanks Nick,

So is this AQFIII the first port of call or do i contact an agency to get the ball rolling? Also how long does the AQFIII take to complete and at what cost? What is a realalistic timescale for getting a visa for me and my family? if all goes to plan...

Cheers John

Hi Nuddy,

The AQF III is a must. Check your private message for further info.

Regards,

Nick van Voorst

Hi Nuddy
If I were you when you go to OZ i'd take my portfolio ect and get myself rounnd every tiling contractors / builders and just generally make a nuisance and convince them to sponsor you . What have you got to lose?
Sponsorship can get things happening very quickly .
Good luck mate , you won't look back.

Hi guys. I am in the process of gaining my NVQ2 and intend to get to oz sometime next year all going well. Does anyone know if NVQ2 is enough? I understand its the equal of AQF3 which is the minimum requirement.

Also i have seen that now perhaps my best chance is to try and get a sponsor when i get to oz.

Can anyone give me any clarity please

The Aussie equivalent of NVQ

AQF
vs
NVQ

Certificate I
NVQ 1/GNVQ Foundation

Certificate II
NVQ 2/GNVQ Intermediate

Certificate III
No Equivalent

Certificate IV
NVQ 3/Higher National Certificate

Diploma
NVQ 4/Higher National Diploma

Advanced Diploma
Equivalent

Bachelor Degree
Equivalent

Graduate Certificate
NVQ 4

Graduate Diploma
Equivalent

Masters Degree
Equivalent

Nick van Voorst

Originally Posted by nvoorst

The Aussie equivalent of NVQ

AQF
vs
NVQ

Certificate I
NVQ 1/GNVQ Foundation

Certificate II
NVQ 2/GNVQ Intermediate

Certificate III
No Equivalent

Certificate IV
NVQ 3/Higher National Certificate

Diploma
NVQ 4/Higher National Diploma

Advanced Diploma
Equivalent

Bachelor Degree
Equivalent

Graduate Certificate
NVQ 4

Graduate Diploma
Equivalent

Masters Degree
Equivalent

Nick van Voorst

Hi Nick

I was looking on this site Offshore qualifications vs Aus standards - Country specific information - how does your qualification compare to the Australian qualification ? that shows the NVQ2 as being equivalent to AQ111 ?
I just wondered as i'd like to think my nvq2 would help me get work in Aus when I begin the search . I already have citizenship so i'm not asking for visa reasons just working out whether NVQ2 holds any merit in my portfolio over there?

Thanks for any help

Originally Posted by Davesax

Hi Nick

I was looking on this site Offshore qualifications vs Aus standards - Country specific information - how does your qualification compare to the Australian qualification ? that shows the NVQ2 as being equivalent to AQ111 ?
I just wondered as i'd like to think my nvq2 would help me get work in Aus when I begin the search . I already have citizenship so i'm not asking for visa reasons just working out whether NVQ2 holds any merit in my portfolio over there?

Thanks for any help

Hi Dave, There is no English equivalent to AQF III, that's why so many people are doing the AQF III courses/trades recognition. NVQ2 is not equivalent to AQF III. However, this is really only important for migration purposes.

As far as employment goes, most employers (incl. myself) do not really care if someone has formal qualifications as long as the person has the skills and experience. Any type of overseas qualifications (especially an English one) would have some added merit.

In some states you will need to be licensed, if you want to be a self-employed contractor. In order nto get a license you will need to have formal qualifications, but it is not too difficult to get assessed on the basis of experience and prior knowledge once you are in Australia and get your skills recognition that way.

so i take it if you dont have any qualifications you cant get into aussie land to do tiling

Originally Posted by gizzy2007

so i take it if you dont have any qualifications you cant get into aussie land to do tiling

You will have to get assessed to AQF III standards.

Originally Posted by gizzy2007

so i take it if you dont have any qualifications you cant get into aussie land to do tiling

If you are in Australia on a valid visa( e.g. a partner visa, working holiday visa) that allows you to work, then you don't necessarily need any qualifications to work as a tiler.

If you want to apply for a temporary or permanent employer sponsored or general skilled visa, then you MUST have acceptable qualifications and/or experience to meet the requirements for those visas.

So even I can come over on a working holiday visa?
Stop for the winter - fix a few tiles, watch the cricket, and get me head burnt - sounds good.

PS - love these posts - Thanks Nick.

Please do come. You're most welcome !!

alright i have family over in melbourne not seen them for a while its just trying to talk the misses into going over

Hello, Would a level 2 diploma and 12 months experience be enough to gain AQF 3 certificate, A diploma is not an apprenticeship and takes 12 months, 2 days a week college

I suggest you talk to the people who do the AQF 3 certificates, to see what they accept in the way of prior learning and/or experience.