Expansion of Scheme to Help Skilled migrants

QUEENSLAND will join a scheme to fast-track foreign technology graduates into Australian workplaces and help them gain permanent residency.

The one-year Information, Communication and Technology Professional Year program (PYear) was launched in May by federal education and immigration agencies in conjunction with the Australian Computer Society.

The program enables up to 10 points to be awarded under the general skilled migration points test. Brisbane North Institute of TAFE and Central Queensland University are the first education providers in the state to offer the PYear program, with the first intake due in November.The program is also offered in Victoria, NSW and the ACT, and plans are under way to extend it to Western Australia and South Australia.

Brisbane North TAFE business development manager Jenny Salonen said there had been strong interest among graduates from countries such as India. "The idea of the program is to make graduates more work-ready, so a lot of the classes are about Australian workplace culture, and it helps them with their English language, as well as providing an internship for 16 weeks," Ms Salonen said.

To qualify, students must have spent at least two years studying in Australia for a technology degree. They will qualify for ACS student membership.

The PYear Program is offered by five other education providers: Victoria's Swinburne and Monash universities, Navitas, Education Centre Australia and Canberra Institute of Technology.Monash University's Professional Program has had three intakes since May 2008 and another three are expected by the end of the year. Swinburne University, Navitas, Education Centre Australia and CIT will begin PYear intakes this month.

"It fast-tracks people into the industry," Ms Salonen said. "It is not only graduates who need this, there are skilled migrants who have come to Australia and been under-employed because they haven't been able to transition into the workplace."

Brisbane North TAFE is expecting about 20 people at each enrolment, with four intakes planned each year.ACS chief executive Kim Denham said the PYear program was designed to help minimise the skills gap and increase the skills and number of technology professionals in Australia. "We hope that after a successful year of the program, and as more students learn about the benefits of it, the numbers of students and education providers participating will increase in 2009," Ms Denham said.It is expected that by the end of 2009, 200 participants will have graduated from the program.

The ACS recently released the ICT Skills Forecasting Report, which highlights an expected growth in skills shortages to 14,000 by 2010 and 25,000 by 2020.
The PYear program is also available to domestic graduates who wish to improve their work-readiness. "Ultimately, we would like to have at least one education provider in each state offering the program so students across Australia have the opportunity to participate in it," Ms Denham said.

By: Jennifer Foreshew
Source: www.australianit.news.com.au/