CareersGiant

Places Running out for IT and Engineering Professionals [14th Aug 2013]

Even though the new migration program only commenced on 1 July 2013, places are already running out for IT and engineering professionals looking to apply for General Skilled Migration.

Statistics released by the Department of Immigration show that as of 5 August 2013, many Engineering and IT Occupations were close to meeting their occupational ceiling. As a result, the Department of Immigration has announced that remaining places in these occupational groups will be “allocated on a pro rata basis” for the rest of the program year. This means that only a few places will be given out each month in the highest demand occupations to make them last for the rest of the year.

Applicants with the highest points score will receive invitations in the high demand occupations. This may see the effective pass mark for these occupations rise from the current 60 to 65 or even 70 points. Most other eligible applicants with a score of 60 are currently receiving invitations through SkillSelect.

Six occupations will be affected:

Engineering

Overall, 11% of engineering places are filled after just 3 invitation rounds in the new program year:

 

ANZSCO Title Ceiling Invitations % Filled
2331 Chemical and Materials Engineers 360 181 50%
2332 Civil Engineering Professionals 2280 159 7%
2333 Electrical Engineers 1500 47 3%
2334 Electronics Engineers 420 164 39%
2335 Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers 2040 155 8%
2336 Mining Engineers 780 20 3%
2339 Other Engineering Professionals 300 107 36%
Engineering Overall 7680 833 11%

IT Professionals

23% of IT professional places have been filled – a summary of the situation as of 15 August is below:

 

ANZSCO Title Ceiling Invitations % Filled
2611 ICT Business and Systems Analysts 1380 918 67%
2612 Multimedia Specialists and Web Developers 720 1 0%
2613 Software and Applications Programmers 4800 1333 28%
2621 Database and Systems Administrators, and ICT Security Specialists 1920 74 4%
2631 Computer Network Professionals 1800 109 6%
2632 ICT Support and Test Engineers 300 0 0%
2633 Telecommunications Engineering Professionals 300 114 38%
IT Overall 11220 2549 23%

Which Visas are Affected?

All permanent and provisional General Skilled Migration visas are subject to occupational ceilings, including:

If the occupational ceiling has been reached for your occupation, you can still apply for employer sponsored visas such as: