Engineers urged to apply for Australian work visas before July

February 06 2012 by Helen Johnson

Thanks to a shortage of mining engineers to work in lucrative roles in Western Australia, there is still plenty of demand for foreign engineers to apply for Australian work visas under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) programme.

However, it is recommended that those who are interested do so before 1 July 2012, which is when changes will be introduced that may prolong the application process and reduce the number of work visas available.

Currently, engineers moving to Australia to work in the mining industry could be paid well in excess of AUS$100,000 per year, as this is the salary usually paid to new engineering graduates in Australia. Demand for foreign talent is still high as the industry finds it difficult to fill all vacancies with skilled people from Australia.

Those looking to apply for Australian immigration under the GSM program should have already completed their English language test and should submit their application for skills assessment as soon as possible.

There are several engineering roles included in the Skilled Occupations List, which immigrants can move to Australia to fill, providing they meet the requirements of the points-based system. These include electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, engineer manager and structural engineer.

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