Assessment of engineering qualifications by Engineers Australia
Assessment of engineering qualifications for migration purposes by the Institution of Engineers (Engineers Australia).
Something confusing to migrants is that the assessments of qualifications for eligibility for migration visas and for membership of Engineers Australia are made separately. It is possible to be accepted for immigration and refused membership of Engineers Australia. The reverse also applies. It is possible to be accepted for membership of Engineers Australia and not be accepted for a skilled migration visa.
The Institution of Engineers Australia, known as Engineers Australia, is the peak body for engineers in Australia, with more than 80,000 members. It is the national forum for the advancement of engineering and professional development of engineers. It accredits engineering courses, operates programs of continuing education and professional development, maintains a vigorous publishing and conference program, and involves itself in debate on national and community issues.
Skills assessment
Engineers Australia is the designated authority to assess professional and para-professional qualifications in engineering for the purposes of skilled migration to Australia.
The two pathways to recognition of your qualifications with Engineers Australia are:
• Recognised engineering qualifications
• A Competency Demonstration Report (CDR)
Recognition is the process of determining if the course you have completed at an overseas institution is equivalent to an Australian four-year engineering course. If your engineering qualifications are not recognised through any accredited course with one of the signatory bodies, you may seek recognition through a competency assessment process.
The Competency Demonstration Report gives you the opportunity to establish that your engineering knowledge and competencies are equivalent to those of the appropriate occupational category within Australian engineering. You can detail work and training you have done to establish that you have the skills and knowledge equivalent to an engineer with Australian qualifications. The Migration Skills Assessment Kit, available from the Engineers Australia website guides you in determining your occupational category and preparing your CDR submission.
To check a course is accredited, you need to know the university, particular course, and the years the course started and finished. You have to do this yourself as part of preparing your application for migration skills assessment to Engineers Australia. Information on both the Washington and Sydney Accords and the lists of accredited programs can be sourced from the following website: http://www.washingtonaccord.org/
Washington Accord signatories are Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Ireland, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States. Organisations holding provisional status at time of writing are Germany, India, Malaysia, Russia and Sri Lanka.
Sydney Accord signatories (for Engineering Technologists or incorporated Engineers) are Australia, Canada, Hong Kong China, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. United States holds provisional status at time of writing.
If you live in Australia, the state or territory Overseas Qualifications Unit (OQU) has educational assessment advice about overseas qualifications for free or a small fee. Applicants must be in Australia; you can’t have a contact in Australia make an application on your behalf if you are overseas.The Overseas Qualifications Unit’s addresses are available from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website: http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/os-qual-units.htm
An OQU or AEI-NOOSR assessment may tell you that you have engineering qualifications that are academically comparable to a qualification in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), however your qualifications may not be accepted for you to practice as a professional engineer in Australia. Professional recognition of engineers is solely assessed by Engineers Australia.
The bottom line:
An OQU or AEI-NOOSR assessment has no useful value for engineering qualifications.
Wait until you are in Australia to apply for membership of Engineers Australia.
For migration, get a Migration Skills Assessment Kit, available from the Engineers Australia website to make application for assessment of your qualifications for skilled migration to Australia.
This post is taken from Project Australia: Land That Engineering Job in Australia by Ian Little
Read More about Project Australia - The Engineers Australian Migrant Pack
©Ian Little. All rights reserved, no part of this may be reproduced without permission rights from the publisher. Contact us www.tribuslingua.com.au
I’m a gradute of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in Columban College, Philippines.I like to know if my school and country is recognized in Australia and If I’m accepted to practice my profession in Australia,If not what should I do? I’m in Australia now for holiday.Please reply on my e-mail.
Thank you very much,
Hi,
thank you for your nice information,
but the problem is writing a good CDR is very important and a little difficult.
what is your suggestion?
is there any example of CDRs?
Regards
Farhad
How important is the CPD ( Continuous Professional Development) requirement for positives skills assessment with Engineers Australia? And, isn’t the CDR and Qualifications more than enough to make it thru?
Engineering qualifications from the Philippines are not covered under the Washington Accord Agreement. You would need to complete a CDR (Competency Demonstration Report)
Please see the advice page under Migration Skills Assessment on the Engineers Australia website
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
If you are applying through a Washington Accord institution you do not need a CPD statement.
However if you are from a country or have studied in an institute not covered by the Accords you need to produce CDRs and also a CPD statement. Details are in the Engineers Australia booklet and application
The writing style required for a CDR report style is similar to that used for Career Episode Reports (CERs) when applying for chartered membership of Engineers Australia.
You can see a sample of a CER report in the Chartered Status Applicant’s Handbook. This is available online from the Engineers Austarlia website. Select the Education tab, then Chartered Status from the drop down menu. You can download the booklet. A sample CER report is in appendix D of the Handbook.
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
I am Msc civil engineers from Egypt and preparing my CDR. I got 5.5,5.5,6,6 in IELTS exam and have evidence from my college that my study was in English by 75%. I had presented technical papers in international conferences. Could I submit with this IELTS exam results. If it refused I will loss my fees and resubmit again or that can be solved with the assessor.? Please your reply is very appreciated to me.
Is it required to submit Police clearence to IEA to complete registration. When I got approval from IEA and I am working in Australia with 457 visa class, could I reside to RP.?
A major impediment for migrants getting a job is poor English. It appears you do not meet the criteria. This will make it very hard for you to get a job, even if you were accepted for immigration. Engineers Australia are unlikely to negotiate. Practice your English.
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We cannot comment on visa matters. Go to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for this information and advice.
www.immi.gov.au
i have done B.TECH IN ELECTRONOCS FROM INDIA LIVING IN AUSTRALIA .I WANT TO GET ASSES MY DEGREE WHAT SHOULD I DO?IS ELECTORONIC DEGREE IN DEMAND IN AUSTRALIA?
For assessment of your qualifications you need to go to the Engineers Australia website. For immigration purposes go to the Migrations Skills Assessment link from the left hand side.
The Migration Skills Assessment page has a link to the Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI) website. This tells you if an occupation is on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL), part of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENSOL) and on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL).
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Hello Ian,
You are doing some brilliant work on the forum !!! I am from India and want to apply for assessment thru Engineers Australia.I am a chemical engineer and have 5 years of experience .I am currently pursuing my MBA from a top college in India. My problem is my experience is in the field of Information Technology with a company called Infosys.I have eben worked in Australia for 6 months in Sydney. I want to apply as a chemical engineer. Though, I have presented some papers in some student conferences and did few projects during my engineering days. Is it OK if I apply thru EA ?
If you cannot get recognition of your engineering qualifications via the Washington Accord, you will need to produce Competency Demonstration Reports(CDRs) to demonstrate your engineering competencies. As your work experience is in IT you certainly have a problem. You can get your MBA assessed by AEI-NOOSR. An avenue you could look at is a Skilled recognised graduate-temporary visa to enable you to get some engineering work experience to give you a basis to generate CDRs. You need to contact the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) about the conditions of this type of visa.
Hello Ian,
Thanks a lot for your reply.I confirmed with a couple of consultants and got a reply that I can mention career episodes during my engineering education (i.e projects during the course , summer project etc )in the CDR which should be suitable for a favourable outcome.Now if I can get 120 points for 60 for degree in engineering, 30 for age , 25 for English and 5 for my experience (unrelated to my education),is it still possible that I may be questioned on my experience which is not related to engineering post assessment when I lodge my application. Do you think this will have a bearing on the final outcome of my immigration application.Can you please suggest a way out ?
hi .i m chemical engineer from pakistan.do i fall in engimeer australia acceptance r i have to write a CDR.
Unfortunately we cannot advise on visa matters. (only licenced migration agents can provide that advice within Australia) As I wrote in the article above, assessment for migration and accreditation for Engineers Australia are separate issues. Assessment of qualifications for entry to post graduate courses are also treated separately - these are assessed by AEI-NOOSR.
Abdul - I think you may need to work on your English. If you do not qualify under the Washington Accord you will have to write 3 CDRs.
For assessment of your qualifications you need to go to the Engineers Australia website. For immigration purposes go to the Migrations Skills Assessment link from the left hand side.
The Migration Skills Assessment page has a link to the Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI) website. This tells you if an occupation is on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL), part of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENSOL) and on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL).
You should be able to check this for yourself.
Good day.
I have a NTC-5 in Mech.Engineering and Im currently busy doing my National Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at a University of Technology. I wanted to know if my qualification is recognised in Australia and in the U.S.A. aswell??? How does it work in Australia and in the U.S.A? What are the differences? What will either of these qualifications be worth in Australia and in the U.S.A.?
Your reply will be much appreciated!…
Thank you…
G>>>>,[galito007@gmail.com]
South Africa is a signatory to the Washington Accord, along with Australia, the USA and several other countries.
This means there is mutual recognition of approved engineering courses between these countries. By going to the Washington Accord website you will be able to check if your course is recognised as being at engineer level by the Washington Accord. You need to visit this site and look up your specific institute and course.
If your course is not recognised at professional engineer level, it may be recognised at associate professional level under the Sydney Accord. You can look this up from the Washington Accord website. The USA is only a provisional signatory to the Sydney Accord.
For further information, go to:
www.washingtonaccord.org
I am a australian permanent resident and electrical engineer graduated from Bangladesh. currently am working as a technical design officer in one of the utility company in victoria. My degree is assesed as a advanced diploma in electrical engineering before I was migrated to australia. Its been almost 2 years I am in australia and working for 18 months. Now I want my degree assessed by the Institute of engineers Australia and would like to work as an engineer instead of just a technical officer. In addition to CDRs do I need a IELTS with a score of 6 in each band.
Your suggestions would be much appreciated.
Engineers Australia has developed a new Migration Skills Assessment booklet and series of application forms. These replace the previous and are now available from their website.
All applications received on or after 1 July 2008 must be in accordance with the new instruction booklet and on the new application forms.
The following is taken from page 5 of the May 2008 issue of the Engineers Australia Booklet - Migration Skills Assessment
4. English Language Requirements
All applicants applying to have their skills assessed by Engineers Australia are required to provide evidence of their English language competency. Applicants are required to have achieved a minimum score of 6.0 in each of the four modules of speaking, listening, reading and writing in either the ‘General Training’ or ‘Academic’ version of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) www.ielts.org.
Unless you can demonstrate that your native language is English you must comply with the requirement of an IELTS score of 6.0 in all categories. Project Australia The Engineers Workbook provides a range of exercise to help you improve your general and technical English.
Practice, using English at every opportunity, is the best way to improve your English.
I am mechanical engineer, i have finished mechanical faculty in Belgrade, Serbia (5 years). When I was coming in Australia on 457 visa it was required for me to pass IELTS test, which i did with marks (listening 6.5, reading 6.0, speaking 6.5 and writing 4.5), now I am working in Australia for more then 3 months and I was thinking to apply for permanent visa, but i was informed that I need to take IELTS test again.
For a skilled visa the requirement is to pass all elements of an IELTS test with a score above 6. So you did not pass the test. You have a temporary working visa that provides you with a good opportunity to improve your written skills to enable you to pass the test in all areas and be eligible for a skilled visa. If it suited you to move to a regional area, you may be eligible for a temporary regional skilled visa. To meet the elegibility requirements for qualifications recognition by Engineers Australia you need an IELTS score of 6 in all elements
I did Bachelor in Civil Engineerin in 2005 august(four years course).I have experience more than three years and befor that i did Diploma in Civil Engineering in 1994 and have experience about six years in the same field.I have score of IELTS as 6.5,5.5,6.0,7.0. I am 34 years old .Now i want your absolute suggestion that can i apply for Permanet Residence????
I hope you will reply it by understanding clearly
Rupak
Rupak - You need to improve you listening to get an IELTS score of 6 in that category. Project Australia provides exercises to help you. As you have not passed all elements of the IELTS test, you do not meet the criteria for accreditation of your qualifications by Engineers Australia. I am not allowed to comment on migration matters.
Hi ian,
I did my engineering degree in electrical & electronics engineer(Four years course).I have worked as an electrical engineer more than 5 years and now i am 30 years old.Currently i am studying MBA in USQ Sydney, Australia since July,2008. My IELTS band score is 6.0 but each band contains like 5.5,5,7,6. I heard that i can assess my engineering degree through engineer Australia.To assess my degree which steps should i have take first and how long does it take for me.Can you please advice me clearly, step by step process.
Waiting for your reply
Thanking you
Dyadav
See my comments on English requirements above, made on August 26.
For assessment of your qualifications you need to go to the Engineers Australia website. For immigration purposes go to the Migrations Skills Assessment link from the left hand side.
The Migration Skills Assessment page has a link to the migration Skills Assessment booklet. This tells you all you need to know.
The assessment of an application normally takes about 6 weeks, but may be a little longer at busy periods. If an application is incomplete it will take much longer.
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hi i have completed diploma and my trade has been acessed by TRA and its sucessfull, now im going to lodge my application for Permanent residence subclass175, but currently im pursuing a degree in australian instituion offfshore expect to complete next year. wheather this will affect my application status, coz im applying for skilled trades person..but i going to have a engineer qualification.. ur advice is appreciated
Unfortunately we cannot advise on visa matters. (only licenced migration agents can provide that advice within Australia) Your application will be assessed on the qualifications you have now. You could fail or withdraw from your course !
Hi Ian,
My self Balvindra and i have done my bachelor of mechanical enguneering from an Indian Univerisity in year 2006 and than after i worked for thermal power station for 16 months as mechanical engineer till Dec, 2007 and after i arrived australia and presently i m studying in rmit univeristy and persuing graduate diploma in system engineering and will be finishing by oct,08 and i have enquired about my permanent residency here and got the information that i am eligible for the same. So i want your advise that how should i proceed, should i do this process with the help of migration agent or may i do at my own. Please advise me.
One more thing about the book project australia, how can i get the copy of this book..is there any discount on this book.
Please give your response.
It is not compulsory to use a migration agent. There are clear instructions available from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website. For this information and advice go to:
www.immi.gov.au
To purchase Project Australia go to:
http://www.tribuslingua.com.au/products.asp?productID=28
No discounts, it is terrific value - the best investment you will ever make.
Hi i have complete my engineering degree in India and i didn’t have any work experience so can assessment my engineering degree in austrlia.Is it reconciling in australia..please send me the overall process.
Rakesh - You need to work on your English. You need an IELTS score of 6.0 in all categories as part of the qualification and skilled migration assessment.
For assessment of your qualifications you need to go to the Engineers Australia website. For qualifications assessment go to the Migrations Skills Assessment link from the left hand side. Page 14 and the pages following, tell you all you need to know. As your course will not qualify under the Washington Accord you will have to write a Competency Demonstration Report (CDR). Some of the competencies can be based on your university course.
If you don’t improve your English it will all be a waste of time trying to get qualifications recognition. In two lines of your writing, I can see that your writing skill is not good enough to get a job as a professional engineer.
Consider a visa to give youn time to help you improve your English. go to the DIAC website for this information.
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Hi i had completed my B.E in Electonic & Telecommunication in nagpur(India) in 2006 and after that i am pursing my dual degree at deakin University in melbourne and its my last semester. I want to know whether i can assessment my Engineering degree in australia.I didnot have any past experience related to my feild. For assessment purpose is there any requirement to have work experience related to your feild or whether it is possible for me to assessment my degree without any work experience.
You will find the answers to your question in the Engineers Australia Migration Skills Assessment Booklet.
If your current studies give you an Australian undergraduate engineering qualification, use the application form for Australian qualified engineers. This does not require a CDR. Note that you cannot use Australian post graduate bachelor level qualifications (post grad. diplomas, masters, or PhDs) for qualifications assessment.
For accreditation of your overseas qualification (not Washington Accord ) you will need to prepare a Competency Demonstration Report (CDR), comprising three career episodes.
As the Engineer Australia Booklet says:
“The purpose of the CDR is to demonstrate:
• how you have applied your engineering knowledge and
skills;
• that such application meets the competency standards
of the relevant occupational category in Australia”
Work experience is not mandatory - But it is highly unlikely you will be able to demonstrate the required competencies without work experience.
thanks for your guidelines but i have some query i have done only group project in my college and i didn’t have any other work experience because after my B.E i had came to Melbourne for my further Study so does it create any problem in my assessment level.
In my previous response I wrote “it is highly unlikely you will be able to demonstrate the required competencies without work experience.”
You have a problem. The University of Southern Queensland could help you. You could do a Masters of Engineering Practice by distance learning.
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Hi Ian,
I did my Bachelors in Electronics and Telecommunications (4 yrs) in 2005.I have 22 months work experience in the same field and was without any work experience for 11 months in between.
What will be the probable outcome of my skill assessment and do I need to submit my IELTS score while applying for skill assessment or can I arrange to report my score after applying for skill assessment.
Thanking you in advance.
I cannot predict the probable outcome of your assessment as I have no knowledge of the type of job and quality of experience related to your engineering discipline.
For any assessment purposes the only experience that counts is your relevant engineering experience. The period without engineering work experience is irrelevant. What matters is your competencies. These are obtained through your engineering course and your relevant work experience.
You can assess you probability of success by reviewing how well you meet the competencies. These are listed in the Engineers Australia Migration Skills Assessment Handbook. A detailed description of competency elements for professional engineers is given on page 28.
You must include an original English language test (IELTS) result with your application. You must arrange for this to be forwarded directly to Engineers Australia from the Test Centre.
Hi Ian,
First of all let me say thank you on behalf of everyone getting help and advise from your postings.
I am trying to get my skills assessed via CDR and compose the 3 career episodes and do the summary statement. I have BSc in Civil Engineering (obtained in Mongolia) and worked for almost 4 years in the UK as a Civil Engineer. I found quite a few posts saying their skill assessment was rejected so don’t want to end up in the same situation hence looking to hire Australian expert/professional in Civil Engineering who can help me construct 3 career episodes and summary statement by simply having a chat with me. I know I will mess it up so wouldn’t wanna be involved too much in the writing and would like to leave most of it to the professional.
Thanks
Munk
I cannot help you too much with this one. For ethical reasons I have deleted the second question of your post.
In the CDR assessment application you have to make a declaration:
‘All statements of fact in this report are true and correct, and I have made claims of acquired competencies in good faith.
The Report is all my own work, and is a true representation of my personal competencies in written English.
I confirm that I understand that members of the engineering team in Australia are required to display a commitment to exercising professional and ethical responsibility in all aspects of their work.
I also understand that documentation submitted in support of my application may be referred to the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for integrity checking’
So you cannot get someone else to write the CDRs for you.
The writing style required for a CDR report style is similar to that used for Career Episode Reports (CERs) when applying for chartered membership of Engineers Australia.
You can see a sample of a CER report in the Chartered Status Applicant’s Handbook. This is available online from the Engineers Austarlia website. Select the Education tab, then Chartered Status from the drop down menu. You can download the booklet. A sample CER report is in appendix D of the Handbook.
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
The skills you need for writing the CDRs are similar to those applying for a job. The Project Australia Engineers Migrant Pack takes you through the whole process of identifying and addressing competencies.
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Hi Ian,
Thankyou for your reply to my previous query.
Can you make it clear whether I have to submit the IELTS result while applying for skill assessment or can I take the test after applying for skill assessment and report the test result directly from test centre?
I came to know there are two types of IELTS tests (Academic and General ). Which one of these should I take? I am applying as Proffesional engineer for skill assessment and immigration under subclass 176 (skilled sponsored) .
You must do the test and submit the IELTS result with the assessment application.
Unless you are planning to go into teaching, you only need the general test.
HI Ian,
Thank you for your guidelines for my degree assessment i can give academic ielts test also because general test dates are not available so does it matter or not….
The academic tests for reading and writing will be more complex (harder) than for the general test. Here is an extract from the iELTS handbook.
“The Academic Module assesses whether a candidate is ready to study or train in the medium of English at an undergraduate or postgraduate level. Admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses should be based on the results of this module.
The General Training Module emphasises basic survival skills in a broad social and educational context. General Training is suitable for candidates who are going to English-speaking countries to complete their secondary education, to undertake
work experience or training programmes not at degree level, or for immigration purposes to Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The General Training Module is not offered at all test administrations.”
You can get more information from the IELTS website. www.ielts.org.
Hi,
Please advise me…
I am an Australian permanent resident (Class BN 136 Skilled Independent visa). I did my assessment through TRA at the time of immigration in electrical. After that I have completed my 4 years engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from India (Calicut University), I have never been to Australia and planning to go by December. I have a bunch of question in my mind which really worries me.
The questions are:
1. Can I apply for a job as a mechanical engineer and if I get a job, is there any restriction to do the job?
2. Is it a must to have my Mechanical Engineering degree qualifications assess by the Engineers Australia and have a membership to work in Australia?
3. Which is better, to do the assessment by the Engineers Australia from India or from Australia?
4. As of now I have a Permanent residence, which form do I need to use for degree qualifications assessment by the Engineers Australia?
5. Is IELTS applicable if applying from Australia?
Only registered migration agents can comment on visa matters from Australia.
It will be easier for you to do your assessment from within Australia because you can find more support.
Membership of Engineers Australia is not mandatory to work in Australia. However accreditation of your qualifications by Engineers Australia will make it easier for you to get a job, as their will be no doubt about the acceptability of your qualifications.
Your visa status does not affect the form you use for assessment of your qualifications. As your Indian qualifications are a non- recognised qualificatio you will need to prepare a CDR. Use the “Application for Migration Skills Assessment Competetency Demonstrat ion Report (CDR)” form
You will need an IELTS test as part of the assessment if English is not your native language.
The Engineers Australia Migration Booklet takes you through the whole process
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
The skills you need for writing the CDRs are similar to those applying for a job. The Project Australia Engineers Migrant Pack takes you through the whole process of identifying and addressing competencies.
LEARN MORE
www.tribuslingua.com.au/products.asp?productID=28
HI,
I am civil engineer having just about 1 year working experience. i have got 8,6,6,6 in ielts. will i be able to PR visa for australia. if yes, can you assist me in preparing CDR report.
More information is needed to assess your situation. Certainly you will meet the English level requirements for most visas.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship web site has a Visa Wizard. This asks you about a dozen questions, then provides details of visas your are eligible for, and the details of these visas. Note that this is only a guide as there are things like health and police checks which are taken into account when you apply for a visa.
Go to the Visa Wizard link - http://www.immi.gov.au/visawizard/
If you need further assistance you will need to contact a migration agent.
Note that only work experience relevant to your qualifications counts for experience. If you worked for 6 months selling cars and 6 months as a civil engineer, you would only be credited with having 6 months experience when your skilled migrant visa application was being assessed.
I will answer specific questions related to CDR reports. The CDR report must be all your own work.
‘Hello Ian,
“Thanks a lot for your reply.I confirmed with a couple of consultants and got a reply that I can mention career episodes during my engineering education (i.e projects during the course , summer project etc )in the CDR which should be suitable for a favourable outcome.Now if I can get 120 points for 60 for degree in engineering, 30 for age , 25 for English and 5 for my experience (unrelated to my education),is it still possible that I may be questioned on my experience which is not related to engineering post assessment when I lodge my application. Do you think this will have a bearing on the final outcome of my immigration application.Can you please suggest a way out ?”
Dear Balli,
My case is similar to yours. Pls update what happened in your case.
Ian, can you shed more light on this?
Sorry mate, I don’t know how Balli has faired.
If you can improve your English to a score of IELTS 7.0 this would give you 10 points. It would also help you get a job in a Australia. Poor English is a major reason migrants struggle to get jobs in Australia.
As you are claiming 5 points for your non engineering experience, it should not be a surprise that you may be questioned about it.
In a job we use many skills that are not directly related to our base discipline. These are called transferable skills. These are very much a part of you that you take to any job. This may be your management, problem soling, people skills, communication, problem solving, enthusiasm and business awareness.
Analyse what skills you have learned from you non engineering work which you can apply to engineering. This will enable you to justify your claims for the non engineering experience.
The Project Australia Engineers Migrant Pack takes you through the whole process of identifying and addressing competencies and skills. This will help you with your visa application and winning a job when you land in Australia.
LEARN MORE
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Ian,
I did my Electrical Engineer from Pakistan and later on did my M.Sc. Management from the UK. At the moment, I am working in the field of Information Technology, (Telecom/Networking to be correct).
Now, I have two questions.
a) Do I need to take IELTS, as I did my second degree from the UK?
b) Who will access my qualification and work experience, Engineers Australia or Australian Computer Society?
Thank You.
If you had done your Masters degree in Australia you would have been eligible for consideration for a waiver on the IELTS test. As your native language is not English it is likely you will need to do the IELTS test.
The Engineers Australia Migration Booklet provides information on this.
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
Who assesses you qualifications depends on the occupation you choose to apply for skilled migration. If you apply as an engineer your qualifications will be assessed by Engineers Australia. If you apply as an IT professional, your qualifications will be assessed by the Australian Computer Society.
Ian,
Thank you for your help.
HiI am Ravi here with u, I am a Mechanical Engineer, done my Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Followed by my Chartered Engineering from Institute of Mechanical Engineers (India)
I want to know under which accord I am falling? what should I do to get my assisment done.
I generally wants to have the assisment done for my PR
Cheers,
Ravi.
Ravi - Your diploma from an Indian institution does come under the Washington or Sydney Accords. You will need to prepare a Competency Demonstartion Report (CDR).
Go to the Engineers Australia website and obtain the Engineers Australia Migration Booklet. This takes you through the whole process
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
The skills you need for writing the CDRs are similar to those applying for a job. The Project Australia Engineers Migrant Pack takes you through the whole process of identifying and addressing competencies.
LEARN MORE
www.tribuslingua.com.au/products.asp?productID=28
Hallo Ian,
I study Mechanical Engineering (National Diploma) at a Technikon in South Africa. I think this qualification falls under the associate engineering section. I tried to open the Eduction tab on the EA site to see the career episode example. I can not open the handbook or see the CE because I am not a member. Can someone please assist me with an example. It can be from a different engineering field (Elec, Civil …). My skills assessment is the last step before I can apply for a Visa. My IELTS scores are 8,8,8 and 7.5. This is a great blog.
Strange Charles !! - I can get the handbook without logging in as a member: the path is Education, then Chartered Status. You should then have access to a range of .pdf documents, including the Chartered Status Applicants Handbook. This handbook has the example CER in the back of it in Appendix D. You have to be an IEAust member to access the CER Registry, but you should be able to download the Handbook.
Have another try and let me know if you have any success.
I would have thought your South African qualifications would be assessed under the Sydney Accord. Have you checked this out ? Go to the Washington Accord website to check this out:
www.washingtonaccord.org/
I have done Thee year Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and i have 07 year and 08 month work experience related to my qualification my IELTS band score is 5.5 from each module.Can i appy for Mechanical Engineer for SRS VISA.My age is 29 year.
You need an IELTS score of 6.0 in all categories for skilled visas.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship web site has a Visa Wizard. This asks you about a dozen questions, then provides details of visas your are eligible for, and the details of these visas. Note that this is only a guide as there are things like health and police checks which are taken into account when you apply for a visa.
Go to the Visa Wizard link - http://www.immi.gov.au/visawizard/
If you need further assistance you will need to contact a migration agent.
You need to work on your English. This will make it easier for you to get a job.
Hello Ian,
Would like to thank you for the excellent assistance offered through this blog.
I’m Anthony from India, I have completed BE in Mech Engg, Bangalore, India. (Aug ‘99- July ‘03) and pursued MS in Mech Engg from Texas, USA. (Jan’05-Aug’06). Currently I’m working for a Construction firm in the Middle East (Jan 08- till date). Kindly help me clarify certain doubts mentioned below-
1- I have just have 1 year Work Experience as an Design Engineer, am I eligible to apply for immigration?
2- I have gained very good experience in 3 different projects in this one year, and I’m confident of preparing a detailed CER about the same, however could you tell me how many pages should a CER contain? Is there any limit.
3- Is it a must to be recognised as a Professional Engineer by EA, for immigration purpose. What if we fall under catergories of Engineering Technologist/ Engineering Associate?
G’day Anthony
I cannot advise on immigrations matters. I am not a licensed migration agent. The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship web site has a Visa Wizard. This asks you about a dozen questions, then provides details of visas your are eligible for, and the details of these visas. Note that this is only a guide as there are things like health and police checks which are taken into account when you apply for a visa.
Go to the Visa Wizard link - http://www.immi.gov.au/visawizard/
If you need further assistance you will need to contact a migration agent.
That said, I would expect that their is a visa to meet your situation.
Engineers Australia deliberately do not provide a lot of guidance on writing a CDR. Part of the exercise is to to assess your ability to understand the instuctions and your wirtten expression in English. There is no set length. Engineers Australia will be looking for a concise writing style. Do not write something like War and Peace (a very long book) hoping that there will be smatterings of evidence somewhere that the reviewer will pick up.
It is not essential to apply for immigration as a professional engineer. If you meet the educational requirements for a technologist or associate you could apply in that category if you meet all the immigration requirements (SOL, ENSOL, MODL)
I am a graduate Bachelor of Electronics and Communications Engineering in the Philippines.
I understand that I need to prepare a CDR because my school is not accredited by neither Washington or Sydney Accord.
However, I learned from a migration agent that providing a CDR may not be a guaranteed way because my degree as an Engineer in the Philippines may be considered as a DIPLOMA Level in the point of view of Engineers Australia. Therefore, preparing a CDR is meaningless too.
The weird part is he mentioned that he can check for me if my degree as a Electronics and Communications Engineer is recognized if I pay him some amount of money.
I never read anything like this from Engineer Australia’s documentation. Can you confirm if there is any truth on this?
G’day Peter
This is new to me. Don’t go to someone else to get ripped off; come to me!
What the migration agent has said is correct. Qualifications are assessed by institution and course on whether the course is equivalent to an Australian course. For professional engineer level, this must be a 4 year course. You can have this checked by Australian Education International (AEI) for a AUD400 fee ! A migration agent should be able to do it for much less than that. Here is the link to the AEI website.
http://aei.gov.au/
If you are residing in Australia the State Oversaes Qualification Units (OQUs) provide this service free of charge. You cannot get someone living in Australia to do this for you!!
Engineers Australia do not mention this as the qualification checking is part of the checking they do is part of their assessment. It is included in their price.
I don’t think it is worth doing this before submitting an application to Engineers Australia. The cost of an applicant for assessment by Engineers Austarlia is AUD450. This is only AUD50 more than getting a separate qualification assessment. Your qualification is likely to be accepted as equivalent to an Australian degree if the course was a 4 year course after 12 years of general education. A University of the Philippines degree is also highly likely to be accepted.
The decision for you is whether to risk doing a lot of work preparing a CDR (no cost, but your time and effort) or to pay more up front for an AEI check. What you are risking is AUD50 plus the time and effort writing a CDR. If you are prepared to migrate as an engineering technologist, the work you have done in preparing the CDR will be useful for the assessment as a technologist.
On top of all this there will be additional translation costs to translate your documents into English., but you will need to pay these at some time anyway.
Hi Ian,
I am a Civil Engineer from the Philippines and I am currently here in Australia for a month now on a 457 Work Dependent Visa. I am fully aware that I can’t practice being a Professional Engineer here in NSW without being assessed by EA. I just want to ask if there is a possibility that I could get a job in the construction industry even though I haven’t been assessed? Do I need to have my education recognise by OQU before I could apply for any civil engineering jobs? I have almost 8 years of experienced and had work as a Project Manager, QS, Contracts Administrator, Estimator to name a few.
As of now, I’m thinking of getting a job first even on an civil engineering entry level before getting the IELTS and the CDR. Hoping to hear from you soon.
Best regards
Hello again Ian,
What i meant of the “OQU” was do I need to undergo the State Overseas Qualification Units assessment in NSW? Because I have seen in AEI website that there is no legal requirement for licensing or registration for this occupation in New South Wales. Please enlighten me of this one. Thanks in advance.
Hello, hello Francis - I cannot answer specific questions related to visas and the eligibility to work under specific visa types. For a general skilled migrant visa you will need Engineers Australia assessment. You must seek advice from a registered migration agent.
www.themara.com.au/
The requirements for immigration and professional accreditation are assessed separately by Engineers Australia. This is covered in detail in Project Australia. See an extract from Project Australia - Land that Engineering Job in Australiain this this blog of May 5 2008
www.tribuslingua.com.au/blog/assessment-of-engineering-qualifications-by-engineers-australia
If you are employed in a state and area of engineering that does not require formal accreditation. you may be able to get a job with an AEI assessment. Engineers Australia accreditation leaves no doubt about your qualifications. You have to sort out whether this is legal or not. I am sure any prospective employer will need you to assure them that you can work legally under your visa.
Hi, I got a 5-year engineering degree from a good Brazilian university about 8 years ago but I never actually worked with engineering (though my work experience can fit on other “skilled” categories). I am wondering how IEAust will analyze my CDR if it is based only on projects developed during the graduation and with no engineering related CPD. From your experience of rejected CDRs, or reports from people on similar situations, do you have an indication of the likelihood of getting a positive assessment? I guess the key thing is really how much emphasis the IEAust gives to the actual graduation curriculum rather than to post graduation experience. Cheers,
Cesar - As you have no engineering experience, your CDR will be based on your university experience. In theory this could work as ther is no strictly defined experience requirement for a general skilled migration visa as an engineer. In practice, highly unlikely. The assessment is based on demonstrating competencies via a CDR. This can be done through your course or through work experience.
The visa would be the easy part. You are highly unlikely to be able to get an engineering job with no engineering experience. You would be competing against recent graduates who have demonstrated an interest in engineering. You would struggle to convince a prospective employer that your real passion is engineering after 8 years doing other things.
Hi Ian,
I have completed my B.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering (4 years engg. degree). Now i am working as a Microwave & Fiber Transmission Engineer in a telecom company from last three years. If i would score 6 in all parts of IELTS exam, can i proceed for Migration to Australia as an Electronic Engineer though my qualification is B. Sc. in C S E. Will Engineers Australia assess my working experience & Engg. degree under Electronic Engineer (ASCO Code : 2125-13).
I will be grateful to you if you give me a suggestion.
Regards
MAK
Without full details of the course and institution I cannot comment on the likelihood of the course being acceptable to IEAust. I would expect with three years relevant work experience, if the course was any good you should be able to provide a credible CDR to Engineers Australia. It may depend on the ratio of computer science to engineering subjects you have done in your course how acceptable your qualifications are. There are other hurdle besides IELTS and qualifications recognition to be eligible for, and be granted, a general skilled migration visa. Go to the Engineers Australia website and obtain the Engineers Australia Migration Booklet. This takes you through the whole process
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
Hi Ian,
Thx for your reply and I understand the concerns in regards finding an engineering job. However I didnt understand very well your comment “In practice, highly unlikely” as you worite later that “the visa part would be the easy one”. Did you mean the CDR approval be highly unlikely to happen with no experience?
Cesar - Let’s put it this way. If I was to lay bets, I would say the odds of you getting a succesful engineering assessment would be 1,000:1. The odds of you getting an engineering job would be 10,000:1.
I do no think you will be able to successfully complete a satisfactory CDR with no relevant work experience and an eight year old qualification.
My advise would be to look at possibilities more relevant to your work experience.
Dear,
I am an Electronics Engineer from India with an experience of 7+ years in embedded domain. While preparing my CDR, I read that I must provide reference letters from my original employer(p15, Migration Skill Assesment Booklet). I am little confused about this. Is my appointment letter enough for this purpose but it doesn’t contain my job objectives or activities? If not, asking to the current employer for a reference letter stating my job activities is not possible or very difficult.
Thank you in advance on clearing this subject.
Regards,
PB
PB - The original appointment letter is a start, but is not sufficient as you may have been terminated in a short time. There are a couple of ways to go about this: (a) you could draft a reference letter for the employer including the appropriate dates and employment duties and details of episodes, or (b) provide a copy of your CV and CDR and request the employer to certify the parts relevant to them. They will have to sign all relevant pages aof all documents.
I can understand that some employers will not want to provide any detail. The letter may simply be “PB was employed as a professional engineer by ABC Engineering from April1, 2001 to May 24, 2004.”
This will require the necessary approval certification, including translations by an authorised translator. Include all signatures, status, names and dates -om every page.
Hi Ian,
Thank you very much for your quick response.
Is a letter just stating my name, job title and employment dates prepared by company enough?
If it is so, then it’s not difficult from the current employer.
Best Regards,
PB
PB - It is important the letter is clear that you have been working as a professional engineer. If the job title does not make this clear push as hard as you can to get more detail - it could be simply a few words extra such as ” - preparing technical specifications” after the job title. You have to work with what you can get from employers. Australian employers is unlikely to give any details, so Engineers Australia should not be surprised by a minimal statement.
Hi,
Myself Tanvir Vahora from India. Basically I have completed my 4 year Degree in Computer Engineering from Gujarat University in june 2005. Than I went to UK for further study (MBA) in Sept 2005. Now I am confuse here whether I can apply for assessment as an engineer for Australia. One more thing as an engineer I have only 7 month work full time experience and nearly 2 and half year part time.
Will you please suggest me whats the real solution to this?
Kind Regards
Waiting for your reply…
Tanvir Vahora
Tanvir - You look very much like a computing professional rather than an engineer. Software and systems engineers are treated as computing professionals by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Occupations are listed in the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) dictionary. To assist with searches on the Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI) database, follow the link below. This gives details of eligibility and experience required for the different job classifications.
http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/index.htm
Note that there is no classification for computer engineers.
Get yourself a copy of the Australian Computing Society (ACS) Guidelines from their website.
The requirements for skills assessment differ for Engineers Australia and the Australian Computer Society.
http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/
http://www.acs.org.au/
There is no time requirement for engineering experience for immigration qualifications assessment. It is just harder to demonstrate the competencies if you have anly your course and practical projects associated with your course to write about in your CDR.
Your part time work will be calculated to equivalent relevant full time experience based on a 40 hour week. So six months experience of 20 hours a week is equivalent to three months full time experience. NOTE: The experience must be relevant to the classification you are applying for.
Hi,
My girlfriend has a civil engineering degree from Czezh Republic, her university has an agreement with Oxford. Is it possible that the degree could be recognised as a British qualification and perhaps fall under the Washington Accord? I have visited the Accord websites and their guidlines seem quite general, i.e have a degree from these countries or you are not recognised. Is there more to it? Are there other universities, courses, that are also recognised and is there somewhere where I can find out?
I might add for all those with scores under 6 for some of there IELTS units that after speaking with EA it would appear that you can get a conditional pass in the following circumstances:
Sit the test again and if you get >6 for the subject you originally failed and not nessearily the ones you originally passed they will still see this as a pass. I.E you dont have to pass all 4 at one time,
Ian did make a good point in that getting a job with poor english could well be harder than getting a visa in the first place,
Regards,
Tristan
Tristan - I am not confident you have been to the correct website. See the link below.
The Accord requirements are specific - down to institution, course and year of commencement Engineers Australia want to review course details for the start and completion years of the particular course taken. The institutions and courses can be found from links from the Washington Accord website.
http://www.washingtonaccord.org/
Here is a list of the Accredited Programs taken from that website:
* EA - (Engineers Australia)
* Engineers Canada - (Engineers Canada)
* IEET - (Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan)
* HKIE - (The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers)
* EngIRE - (Engineers Ireland)
* JABEE - (Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education)
* ABEEK - (Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea)
* IPENZ - (Institution of Professional Engineers NZ)
* IES - (Institution of Engineers Singapore)
* ECSA - (Engineering Council of South Africa)
* ECUK - (Engineering Council UK)
* ABET - (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology)
By following links to each of these organisatiopns you can track down to individual courses, years and institutions in the specific countries. There is a search option for overseas qualifications..
You will need to check from the ECUK site if the Czech course is covered under the specific equivalent Oxford course. The wording on the transcript of results may be critical. It will probably be necessary to go to the ECUK to get validation that the Czech degree is recognised as equal to its Oxford counterpart. It certainly is worth doing a bit of legwork. Good luck.
Hi!
I have done bachelors in electrical engineering and am planning to apply for Australian immigration. Since I have done my graduation from Pakistan, I have to submit CDR for assessment. I don’t have much work experience. I am working for the last 5 months. So, what shall I write in CDR? I mean one career episode can be about my current job, but what about the other two episodes? Can they be a semester project? I will also like to mention here that my IELTS score is 7.5 and I have a cGPA of 3.98/4.00.
Thanx alot for your help.
Regards,
zunaira
Zunaira - You have a flying start with an IELTS of 7.5 (in all categories I hope). Not sure your cGPA has any relevance here ?
You can write career episodes about project work during your undergraduate studies. The key is to demonstrate you have the competencies listed by Engineers Australia - how you have applied the engineering knowledge and skills taught during your course.
You may be able to write more than one episode from your work experience if you have worked on different projects or have performed different engineering tasks in your work.
The CDR episodes are not about your job or position - they are about what you have done. When writing about what you have done, have a copy of the competencies beside you. Continually check that you are writing sentences that tell the reader how you have done things that demonstrate you have the competencies. There is no point in demonstrating one competency five times and missing others out.
hi Ian
I have done elctronics & communication engineering i have more then 3 years continous experience in field operation engineering related to microwave & bts & other transmission equipments , I am elegible to fall in category of electronics engineer, will i get modl points for that.
Harry - You need to go to the Depatment of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website to get the answer to this. My aim is to help you help yourself. Australian employers want engineers who can work things out for themselves. Here is a chance to start practicing.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship web site has a Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI) page. This page tells you the eligibility requirements for each occupation.
Go to the ASRI website - http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/
If you need further assistance you will need to contact a migration agent.
I have just seat for IELTS exam, The online result showed I have got 5.5 in writing whereas my overall band score is 6. How this will affect in my migration to Australia as a B.Sc. Engineer (Chemical).
Maruf - You will not be eligible for skilled migration until you have Passed aech element with a score of 6.0 or more. So get practicing on your writing and resit the test. To have the best chance at getting a job, set yourself an IELTS target of at least 7.0 in all categories.
I have completed my B.Sc in Industrial and Production Engineering in 2004 From BUET. Now I am working in a knit composite industry. I like to immigrate to Australia. I shall write down three career episode. But my occupation is not included in the list of migration occupation in Demand. Shall I be eligible to apply for immigration to Australia.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship web site has the Australian Skills Recognition Information (ASRI) page. This page tells you the eligibility requirements for each occupation.
Go to the ASRI website - http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/
As production emgimeering is not on the MODL you have to consider other visa types you may be eligible for. For example: if you have a spouse who is eligible, you may be able to gain entry as a spouse. Could you qualify as a production manager ?
If you need further assistance you will need to contact a migration agent.
Hey Ian,
I graduated as a civil enggr from Delhi ,India.My 4 yr B.E. program started in 2000 and ended in 2006 (technically shud have completd in 2004) as i had some supplimentary exams left.Meanwhile i also started working in 2004 as a site engineer till the end of 2006.will this experience be considered as full time/part time or something as a part of college studies???
does my inability to complete the degree within the standard 4 yrs weaken my argument to obtain a positive assessment from E.A??
i have been in melbourne and have also completed my MBA frm Deakin.Does this help somehow???
thanks fr devoting precious moments of ur time towards our queries.
ciao.
Roger - Your MBA does not help. Engineers Australia assess your undergraduate engineering qualification. What matters about your degree is that Engineers Australia assess the course as equivalent to a 4 year Australian engineering degree. Engineers Australia want to know you have passed and been awarded a degree.
The main thing your MBA study will have done is help you improve your English and get used to the Australian ways. A very expensive way to do it !
You will have to do a competency demonstration report (CDR) which includes three CERs. Your work experience as a site engineer should have provided you with some good material to write career episode reports (CERs). There is no work experience requirement for engineers. You can check this up on the ASRI page. Go to the ASRI website - http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/
In theory you could write your CERs from your undergraduate studies without any work experience - highly unlikely though.
You need to work more on your written English. There are a large number of errors in your comment !
Sir iwant to study bachelors of engineering in AUSTRALIA. Sir i have no ielts but i can speak and understand english. Please lead me to a university which does not required ielts or tofel.
Sir please help me in my admission process
Awais - The real proof of your English language skills is the IELTS test. If you cannot pass this and you do not have enough money to pay for it, it is highly unlikely you will be able to successfully complete an engineering course in Australia.
I suggest you search the web to find a site where you can buy a degree so you do not have to do any work. that will be your lowest cost and easiest option. Just joking! Your question does not seem serious.
Khashayar - Correct . Iran is not a signatory to either of the Accords. So your qualification is considered non-recognised by Engineers Australia. You will need to do a CDR with 3 career episode reports. I suggest you go to the home page and register so that you get updates from this site. We will be providing additional information to help people writing CDRs .
Hi there,
Thank for your useful post. I have an associate degree in the field of Industrial Electricity from Iran. Apparently there is no chance for me to apply through Sydney or Washington accord (is it right?)
So the only way in front of me is going through Competency Demonstration Report? correct?
Thanks
Hai ian,
i have completed my B.Tech 4yr Engineering in india 2003… after that i am in australia to study masters from 2004 to 2007 & back to india and working as a Electronics Engineer in a small organization. Now i got a chance to migrate to Australia because the profession in MODL… the thing is do i come under Washington Accord or do i really need to prepare CDR’s, please let me ASAP
Uday - You do not come inder the Washington Accord. Your qualification assessment will be based on your bachelor degree. so you will need to prepare a CDR.
See Section B1 on page 10 of the Engineers Australia Handbook - Migration Skills Assessment regarding Australian post-graduate level qualifications.
“Please note that if your Australian qualifications are at the post-graduate level (eg, Postgraduate Diploma, Master of Engineering, PhD) but your undergraduate engineering qualifications are from overseas you cannot apply using this pathway.”
Thanks, I will sure do that. Happy new year by the way