Unfortunately even locals find it tough. Accountants are dime a dozen, engineers - lack of projects, IT - outsourced more and more.

In my personal opinion, health care, aged care, child care, trades (plumbers, electricians etc) will continue to be in demand.

Even with all the above, the qualifications will need to be local.

I don't know what Auslife can tell u. Since they also hv to follow the guidelines issued by the Immigration Dept. every year.

Words of wisdom: forget the typical accounting/business/IT/engineering route. Try nursing, childcare, physiotherapy, chiropractics, trades. Should try to aim for Oz qualification (otherwise not recognised). No need a degree, even a diploma is enough.

And learn Mandarin. It'll be an advantage. The PRCs are buying property and moving in like mad.

Get PR as early as possible. It'll make it easier 4 yr son to get his career started. Let me stress, extensive working experience in MY DOES NOT HELP.

This post has been edited by shazam7: Apr 10 2015, 01:45 PM

Afterall, maybe your son don't like Australia life as well. Australia experience during vacation and Australia experience when you have to work here could be very different.

If your son used to the lifestyle where shops are open after 5pm, then he probably dont like the life here.

agreed MY work experiences is useless. best to do a trade qualification in australia and try to gain PR thru that

It will be a tough transition. Diff environment, no 24x7 mamak stalls, leaving behind friends, family, familiarity.

As a youngster he will not like it. But he has to see things long term. Don't have to explain what things r like in MY now and what the future prospects are like. We all know. If he waits and waits b4 deciding, he will find it x-tra tough to move across as time goes on.

Why Australia? Study something that he likes, don't do that just to get a PR. Your questions sounds like you gave up on yourself and you are giving up your son's future too, all these just so your grand children can start a life in Australia. I promise you, you'll live to regret and your son will live to hate you if you made him do that.

Get him to study something he likes and something he can excel in. If he is good, and he still wants to move here, it will happen. There are also plenty of opportunities elsewhere, don't just look at Australia & the migration policy now, both are subject to change even in the near future.

Sorry but I believe you need to check with your son's interest as well as what does he want to do with his life. Seriously to study a particular course for the sake of migration purpose it is already flawed in the first place. Why do you want your 18 year old son to migrate in the first place ? Let him strike it out here in our own country land first before one even talks about the idea of migrating.

I think you are doing nothing wrong, trying to pave a way for your son to get a PR. However, you must ensure that he is okay with it. I have friends who are fresh grad here and with no support from parents, it's hard for them to start out in life. They are earning RM 2k+ and needing to pay for room rental, it's really tough for them, moreover, everything is expensive in Malaysia these days.

What he can do is to do an Australian degree in Malaysia. However, whatever he studies must be on the SOL list in the Aust Immigration site. The downside is the SOL list is updated yearly. So, there is possibility that his chosen course/ profession may be removed from the SOL in future. One way is to gauge what are the professions that will most likely to not be removed from the SOL list such as healthcare professionals or trades professionals like electrician, chef, plumbing. Learning is lifelong, if your son's choice of course now is just for a PR, he can just take the course for PR's sake and once he has obtained his PR, he can always learn a new course and pursue his area of interest after he go over to Australia. It's always depending on your will, if you have a will, you will have a way to get there.

The fastest route i'd say is , to take an australian pre-u course (1 year), then take an aust degree (3-4 years). IF he doesnt have enough points, he may need to work few years here to get more points or try to get a band 8 for ielts for each component. Then again, these rules may change from time to time and you need to yourself uptodate with the changes.

You can definitely see a migration agent to get free consultation. They normally give the 1st consultation free.

This post has been edited by evieta: Apr 12 2015, 12:49 PM

TS says he cannot afford a degree. A diploma maybe? There are a few institutions offering Aust TAFE courses in M'sia.

If TS is able to read & understand the info on the immi websites, I really don't know what seeing a migration agent would achieve, unless the mig agent has a crystal ball and is able to predict what the oz immi policies will be like in 3-4 years time.

i think this statement is rather useful ... accountants and engineers are usually part of the 'in demand' job list .. these are the normal job routes for us malaysians anyway in general

but health care, aged care, child care, trades (plumbers, electricians etc) is not something common that we get here and i believe it is somewhat a specialty. i'm not sure about the qualifications of ... a plumber or electrician .. usually this one call the shop punya appointed person to come fix my stuff. so perhaps a bit difficult to find a recognised qualification here to start with.

having said that ... i believe singapore's work experience weighs a lot more than malaysia.

lol dont be surprised if PR migration scheme is suspended till further notice. it can change anytime

1. The government doesn't really give a shit as long as it is accredited and recognized by the assessment body for the occupation your son will nominate (Read the SOL list to find out)

2. No, see answer number 1.

3. I'd say medicine to be honest but even with a medical degree and 2 years worth of housemanship you still need to score 8s on your IELTS in all bands. You're better off being an electrician/instrumentation techie or plumber.

4. Don't bother, immi.gov.au has all the answers and they won't sugar coat it.


I think they've recently mooted removing accountants, and that engineers might be next on the list.

Remember that trade qualifications are assessed by the TRA which will take into context work experience, certificates, skills and licenses. They aren't as rigid as a professional body.

Singaporean experience is not viewed any differently than Malaysian exp to be honest with you.

A very good answers..

haven't updated myself on the list but was lucky enough to have gotten PR based on accountant job skill. possibly my malaysian experience isnt widely recognised as my industry experience has mostly been palm oil

It is pretty hard to predict what will be on the SOL because the requirements will evolve and change by the time our kids graduate. by that time probably just hope what he studies can get him on that SOL

Where did you get the info that accountants may be removed? Reliable source anot? What I know is, this has been an ongoing rumour for years…

Dear All,

Thank you for your kind input. I will take your advise and decide carefully. Just wish to give my son a good future , that's all. Thanks again.

Who knows the SOL might not even exist soon due to the lagging economy these days.


Usually the AWPA announces the occupations they're assessing as "borderline" by asking for extra submissions from interest/professional groups before they finalize the list every year.

The SOL doesn't really reflect reality anyways., but as a PR applicant that is what you need to abide by.

Either that or have a couple of mil AUD to invest in Oz. That'll buy u a PR (like a lot of our friends from the North.)

I way I see it more and more professional jobs are being outsourced to cheaper countries. IT, call centre, back of house etc.

Hi guys, market pretty tough here. Very quiet too. If you're having good source of income back home better don't come here....yet.
Job opportunity is scarce yet the gov dun give a shit bother as long you guys bringing in $$. Sounds like scam aye?Engineers & accountant everywhere.

Yeah...times are bad... engineers from the Mining & Manufacturing Sector is flooding the job market now... they had been laid off quite badly.

But as for the ppl that need to come over to fulfill their residence requirement in order to continue their PR have to brave on with a positive mindset.

Sometimes, being successful is a matter of timing.

Guys hope it is ok i ask this here bcs i cannot find any working in England thread.

Anyone working in England or work there b4? Wta every time you come back to renew your visa how long will it take???