Top 10 tips for submitting an expression of interest (EOI) in SkillSelect
We’ve compiled a handy list of tips to help you submit your EOI in SkillSelect.
- Make sure you express an interest in the right visa for your circumstances. Skilled visa options are available on the SkillSelect website at www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect or you can use Visa Wizard to help you find out which visa is suited to you.
- Confirm if your occupation is eligible for skilled migration by checking the relevant Skilled Occupation List.
- Get to know the specific requirements for the visa you are interested in. Only certain skilled visa options are available through SkillSelect. The visa information booklets on our website will help you understand who qualifies to migrate to Australia. In particular, Booklet 11, SkillSelect includes information about how the system and process works.
- Ensure all your documents are in order before you start your online EOI. Until you provide evidence of all required documents, such as an IELTS test and skills assessment, you will have an incomplete EOI in SkillSelect. Detailed information about skills assessments can be found in a recent blog post.
- Read the ‘Getting started’ user guide on the SkillSelect support site. It has step-by-step instructions about entering your EOI details.
- Record the unique EOI identification number that is generated once you have created your EOI profile. This number will be your username when you log-in to SkillSelect. Most importantly remember your security question answers. If you happen to forget your password this will be the only way to reset it.
- When you fill out the EOI questions you should take your time and ensure you understand the questions. If you get stuck or don’t understand a question—use the question mark icons. They provide information to help you answer.
- Update your details in your EOI as soon as your circumstances change. This will ensure your updated details are considered in the next automatic invitation round. You also won’t be caught out if you receive an invitation before updating your details—SkillSelect automatically suspends access to an EOI when it sends an invitation.
- An invitation to make a visa application may be issued within a short timeframe after you submit your EOI. Remember, you must be able to support the claims you make in your EOI with documentation and have this ready to provide when making your application.
- Check the monthly reports tab on the SkillSelect web page. These reports indicate the number of invitations issued for the previous automatic invitation round. It also gives a breakdown of the number of invitation issued against each of the occupations on the Skilled Occupation List. If an occupation has reached its ‘ceiling’, or the maximum limit of invitations that can be issued for that certain occupation, then it is unlikely that any more automatic invitations will be issued for that occupation during that program year.
We’ll be covering skilled migration visa topics over the next few weeks.
SkillSelect—no better time to express your interest
Thanks to SkillSelect, skilled visa processing has never been faster, which is great news if you’re interested in working in Australia.
The system was introduced on July 1 last year and the first invitations were issued through SkillSelect in August, resulting in 2717 skilled visas granted five months later—processed well within the processing time standards.
If you receive an invitation through SkillSelect to apply for a skilled visa, you have all the details for your visa application ready in a complete EOI.
People who have had their visa granted through SkillSelect have contacted us to share their positive experience. Kapil, who submitted his EOI in October 2012 and was invited to apply for a skilled visa in November 2012 said:
‘I really appreciate the way my visa got processed so quickly. As promised the new streamlined visa processing using SkillSelect is very efficient. Another great thing to point out is that the website has all the required information for a candidate to process their application. I have done the visa processing all by myself and found all the relevant details from the official website.’
SkillSelect identifies overseas workers with the skills that are most in need in Australia. State and territory governments are using SkillSelect to search for overseas skilled workers. To date, they have nominated 3700 points tested skilled EOIs and 218 business innovation and investment EOIs through SkillSelect.
So if you have a skill Australia needs and meet the visa requirements, log into SkillSelect today and tell us about yourself and what you can bring to Australia’s workplace. You may be invited to lodge a skilled visa application sooner than you expect.
SkillSelect is an online system so you can start your EOI at any time. If you’d like to find out more about SkillSelect you can read previous blog posts or visit the SkillSelect website at www.skillselect.gov.au
The department welcomes all feedback, compliments and complaints. If you’ve been granted a visa through SkillSelect you can let us know about your experience through our website.
Stay posted for another blog post next week about top tips for submitting an EOI in SkillSelect.
Houston Skills Australia Needs event—more than 650 jobs on offer
American residents with skills and experience in the oil and gas, mining and construction sectors will be able to meet Australian employers with more than 650 jobs on offer at the Skills Australia Needs job fair in Houston, Texas on May 19-20.
Registration for this free event is through the department’s website and they close on May 11.
Skills Australia Needs events offer invited skilled workers the chance to talk to Australian employers and recruiters about jobs available ‘Down Under’ face-to-face.
As well as potential employers, Australian immigration officers will be on hand to talk to participants about skilled visa options to live and work in Australia, either on a temporary or permanent basis, as well as Australia’s new skilled worker registration system—SkillSelect.
Invitees can also meet representatives from several other Australian organisations and government agencies, including:
• Australia’s state and territory governments will talk about what it’s like to live in Australia, and state sponsored visas
• Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) will provide advice about the process for having your skills recognised and the new streamlined arrangements for licensing, which mean workers can start a job on their first day in Australia
• VETASSESS, a US trades recognition agency approved by the TRA to assess skilled workers in the electrical and plumbing trades will provide information about their services, and
• Future Skills International, approved by the TRA to assess electricians will be on hand to answer questions about their services.
This event is the latest in a series that the Australian Government has staged in several countries for many years. The job fair will help Australian employers and state governments fill critical skill shortages in areas of occupational demand in Australia.
Details including the full list of exhibitors, jobs on offer and how to register are available at www.immi.gov.au/skillevents/skilled-workers.htm
Attracting overseas skilled workers for the Mining and Resources Sector
SkillSelect presentation at the London Expo
We’re all familiar with media highlighting skills shortages, particularly in the resources sector where there are not enough Australian workers available. A blog post by Tom (June 7 last year) explained how the introduction of Enterprise Migration Agreements would assist employers to secure overseas skilled workers in order to support this important sector of the Australian economy.
Building on this, from July 1 the government will introduce a new method for selecting skilled migrants, called SkillSelect to further help employers seeking skilled workers.
SkillSelect will provide registered employers with access to high quality, pre-screened migrants interested in sponsorship under the subclass 457, ENS and RSMS programs.
It is an efficient and easy to use system that will record intending migrants’ qualifications, work experience, the visas in which they are interested and whether they are willing to work in regionalAustralia. They will have evidence of their English language ability and most will have already had their skills assessed. SkillSelect will bring potential overseas workers to employers and facilitate contact between the employer and intending migrants. In addition, by matching the number of migration program places to the number of visa applications SkillSelect will streamline processing times and speed up the migration program’s response to business needs.
At a recent Skills Australia Needs event we staged in London, 28 Australian employers met 878 pre-screened skilled workers. As many as 500 overseas engineers and tradies will be sponsored to positions which employers were previously unable to fill through the Australian labour force.
Other recent events we’ve presented in Germany, Greece and Dubai have attracted interest from high quality engineering professionals, tradies, and healthcare professionals. Further promotional events are planned for the USA in May. Details will be provided shortly on the department’s website at: http://www.immi.gov.au/skillevents/upcoming-events.htm
You can read more by also visiting the SkillSelect website.
Skills Australia Needs 25-27 February 2012 in London
This month the department is hosting a Skills Australia Needs event in London from February 25-27. It will be one of our largest. We expect around 1400 skilled workers as invited participants to attend.
Skilled workers in engineering and trades will be given the chance to hear from the department about skilled visa options for Australia and to discuss employment and sponsorship opportunities with 28 engineering and trades exhibitors on 25-26 February. The weekend will be followed by an information evening on February 27, featuring 17 exhibitors seeking medical and other healthcare professionals whose skills are also in high demand in Australia.
The department has successfully coordinated Skills Australia Needs events for a number of years in various countries to provide information to skilled workers about skilled visa options for Australia. The events recognise the important contribution of skilled migrants to Australia’s productivity and economic growth by helping to fill critical skill shortages in areas of occupational demand in Australia.
The events also help Australian employers to address specific skill needs they are unable to fill through the Australian labour market by matching them with pre-screened skilled workers in targeted occupations.
Interested skilled workers are invited to attend based on their qualifications and experience in these targeted occupations and their likelihood of meeting Australia’s skilled visa requirements.
More information about Skills Australia Needs events for both skilled workers and employers is available on the department’s website www.immi.gov.au/skillevents/
Skills Australia Needs events in Berlin and Athens
The Department will host Skills Australia Needs information sessions on October 6 in Berlin, Germany and October 8-9 in Athens, Greece.
These information sessions will provide an opportunity for skilled workers in Germany and Greece to hear about skilled visa options and possible sponsorship and employment opportunities in Australia.
Skills Australia Needs events help address current skill shortages in areas of occupational demand in Australia, particularly health care, engineering and select trade occupations.
The department has staged these events for a number of years in various countries to provide information to skilled workers about skilled visa options for Australia, with a focus on matching skilled workers with Australian state and territory governments and employers in target occupational areas.
To be eligible to attend these events, interested skilled workers must have qualifications and experience in one of the occupations targeted, a high level of English language ability and be under 50 years of age.
Australian employers in the fields of health care, engineering or specified trades with current job vacancies they are unable to fill through the Australian labour market, who are interested in attending are encouraged to visit the department’s website to register their interest.
More information about the Skills Australia Needs events for both skilled workers and employers is available on the department’s website: www.immi.gov.au/skillexpos/
Skills Australia Needs information evenings
Recognising the contribution that skilled migration makes to meeting critical skills shortages in Australia, the Department works with state governments and employers to promote skilled migration through events like Skills Australia Needs.
The event
The most recent Skills Australia Needs event was held in London in June 2011. The objective of the event was to bring together workers in areas of critical skills shortage with Australian state and territory governments and employers to facilitate employer sponsored migration.
The event was highly targeted towards critical skill shortages in Australia in the fields of healthcare, engineering and selected trades. Skilled workers were selected and invited to attend based on work experience and qualifications sought by Australian employers and state and territory governments. Australian employers attended the event and had the opportunity to talk directly with pre-screened skilled workers about job vacancies in their organisation where skilled Australian workers were not available to fill the positions.
An example of a skilled migrant bringing their skills to Australia after attending a Skills Australia Needs event is posted below on 27 June and shows the positive and real outcomes that come from events like these.
Why the UK?
In 2009–10, the United Kingdom was the largest overall source country for skilled migrants, accounting for almost 20 per cent of Australia’s skilled migration program. It was the:
• largest source country for construction tradespersons and nursing professionals
• second largest source country for automotive tradespersons, electrical tradespersons and medical practitioners
• third largest source country for science, building and engineering professionals.
State Migration Open Days
The event coincided with the State Government Migration Open Days held in Birmingham on 4 June and Bristol on 11 June 2011, jointly hosted by the ACT, NSW, SA, VIC, and WA governments. The deliberate ‘bundling’ of DIAC and state government events provided the opportunity for employers to access a larger pool of skilled workers across the United Kingdom, therefore maximising the value of their visit.
What was the result?
Feedback from employers, state and territory governments and skilled workers indicates that the London information evenings have been a success, with a considerable number of jobs and state sponsorships being offered as a result. Indeed, employers remain overwhelmingly supportive of future DIAC-led events, indicating that over 100 initial job offers were made during the event.
For Australian employers (particularly within the fields of engineering, health and trades industries) who are interested in attending future DIAC-hosted events, please contact your local Outreach Officer.
