The TRA Job Ready Program

Trades Recognition Australia’s (TRA) Job Ready Program came into effect on 1 January 2010 and affects all residents in Australia who wish to obtain a skills assessment for a permanent visa, mainly international students completing their qualifications in Australia and wanting to apply under the General Skilled Migration category.

The program covers four essential steps:

  • Provisional Skills Assessment
  • Job Ready Employment
  • Job Ready Workplace Assessment
  • Job Ready Final Assessment

Provisional Skills Assessment

The first step of the process allows students to apply for a Skilled Graduate subclass 485 visa. To be eligible, applicants must:

  • Hold a current and valid Australian visa
  • Have an Australian trade qualification
  • Have relevant work experience
  • Achieve a score of six or greater in all four bands of IELTS, or, alternatively, a passport from UK, US, Canada, Ireland or New Zealand

The cost of the Provisional Skills Assessment is $300.

After the initial launch of the Job Ready Program, the following clarifications have been made by TRA, regarding this step:

  • Applicants must have worked for the equivalent of two days per week over a six-month period
  • Work can be counted if it is part of the course – for example, an industry placement – providing it is in a commercial environment rather than work on the premises of an educational institution
  • Overseas work experience does not count
  • Unpaid work can count, providing it is legally conduced
  • The level of work experience expected is at about the 1st/2nd year apprentice level. For example, work as a kitchen hand may be counted for a skills assessment as a cook
  • IELTS results up to two years old can be submitted
  • If you had your skills assessment prior to 1 January 2010, you can provide the old assessment and IELTS results. In this case, you would lodge electronically and the fee would be waived

Job Ready Employment

At this stage, applicants must have at least 12 months of work experience. Additional criteria are as follows:

  • Employment must be full time
  • The employer must register with TRA within 30 days of commencement of employment
  • Employment must be paid
  • Both parties must sign a contract of employment within TRA’s format and provide it to TRA within 30 days
  • A workplace log must be completed throughout the employment period
  • Over the period of employment, the applicant must also undertake additional training provided by a training organisation authorised by TRA

The cost of the Job Ready Employment process is $750 for the assessment of employment, in addition to approximately $1,200 for workplace training fees.

In February 2010, TRA has made some further clarifications regarding this step of the process:

  • Full time work experience would usually mean 38 hours per week. Part-time work experience will not be accepted
  • Salary must be paid in accordance with industry awards
  • The “contract” would more accurately be described as an agreement signed by the employment to participate in the program
  • Change of employer is possible during this period
  • A monthly logbook will need to be completed by the employer – this will be done online
  • Monitoring will be conducted on a risk assessment basis – to determine whether the workplace and the employment are genuine
  • Self-employment will not satisfy the requirements

Workplace Assessment

The Workplace Assessment can be conducted once the applicant has reached six months of continuous employment in their trade. It is conducted at the workplace, with a practical test in applying trade skills in the Australian workplace. The assessment costs $2,000.

Further to this, TRA has added that:

  • A workplace assessment will generally take about one day to complete. In some cases, a second day may be necessary, if a review is required
  • You will be expected to be able to show the full range of duties involved in the trade in the test

Job Ready Final Assessment

The final step can be lodged electronically with the TRA. This final assessment can be used as the skills assessment required to apply for permanent residency in Australia. The Job Ready Final Assessment step costs $300.

What if I am not in Australia yet?

Requirements are essentially the same for offshore applicants, with the exception of the Australian trade qualification.

For offshore applicants, the requirement is that you show at least four years of work in the specified trade. You will also need to have at least 12 months out of the last 24 of work experience in your occupation.