Project Australia Media Release
Migrant engineers are driven to despair, disbelief and driving taxis when they are unable to get a job in Australia where the news media continually lead with headlines of a skills shortage!
You have been in Australia six months, have applied for over fifty jobs and have not even got one interview. Thoughts of a job in engineering seem totally out of the question. So you move to the country, to cheap accommodation, willing to do anything to earn enough to feed your family. Marin Sorescu, a Romanian mechanical engineer with fifteen years experience designing portable oil drilling rigs came to start a new life for his family in Australia in 2002.
Four years later he was driving a tractor and picking up potatoes as a farm labourer. He had almost lost hope of getting an engineering job. The Australian job market is a minefield to newcomers. Many have poor English, all have no established networks, and they are trying to find jobs when only 20% of the jobs are advertised.
Project Australia – Land that Engineering Job in Australia is by Ian Little, a veteran engineering manager with Worley Parsons, a major Australian owned multi-national engineering company.Ian has over 40 years in the engineering industry. As a young man he was so impressed by the migrant engineers and supervisors he worked with in the Latrobe Valley power stations he learnt German and went to work in Switzerland and Germany.
With WorleyParsons he has worked in Australia, China and Saudi Arabia managing engineers from a wide range of countries of origin. Ian has been there and done it! Ian is clear and direct – as engineers can be. Migration and getting a job are dealt with as a project. Make a plan and budget, and follow it!
In Project Australia, Ian covers the demographics of the Australian engineering industry, the labour market, an overview of visas, accreditation, planning, improving English, engineering organisations, sources of assistance, the hidden job market, CVs, selection criteria, and job interviews. There is a chapter devoted specifically to issues for international students.The first hand accounts of successes from migrants highlight the impact of the struggle to get that first job in engineering in Australia. Marin Sorescu joined an English for Migrants TAFE course. Through this he improved his English and also developed a CV that was suitable for Australian employers. He participated in a one month work experience which resulted in an offer of permanent employment. This was a life changing experience for Marin who had almost given up hope of an engineering career in Australia.
When Samir Kadhum arrived in Australia in 2001, he had six years of experience as a construction supervisor in Iraq. Unable to get a similar job in Melbourne he started working for a refrigeration company. He sent off many emails for better jobs, but had only a couple of interviews. Through an employment program he was encouraged to use a mentor. He discussed the next job he went for with his mentor before the interview. They discussed likely questions and appropriate answers. He was offered a job at the interview.Shenaz Patel, an international electrical engineering student from Melbourne University provides a text book example for other international students to follow. She used her internet skills to research likely employers before attending career fairs. Armed with this information she was able to ask a wide range of questions. This set her up for success when she was interviewed for a graduate position.
“Project Australia – Land that Engineering Job in Australia is a book written by an engineer for engineers. It is a very comprehensive guide to the information required when planning migration to and winning a job in Australia, all contained in a single easy-to-understand document. The concept of managing migration as a project will utilise the natural talents of engineers and help them establish themselves quickly in Australia. This book is a ‘must have’ for engineers looking to migrate to Australia“
Julie Hammer, National President, Engineers Australia
Project Australia was born when tribus lingua founder Ailis Logan telephoned Ian Little after hearing him speak at an Overseas Qualifications Unit forum in Melbourne. Over coffee she asked if he knew of any engineers who could write. Ian’s response was ‘That’s an oxymoron isn’t it – engineers who can write?” Ailis was not deterred…
Their next meeting was more serious – an outline was formulated. A common bond of Irish ancestry was established – Ian’s Irish forefathers migrated to Australia 150 years before Ailis reached Australian shores.
Ian has adopted a new twist to an old line ‘Beware of Irish bearing wine. The Greeks are fine.’ Project Australia: Land that Engineering Job in Australia by Ian Little
Learn more…
PROJECT AUSTRALIA – LAND THAT ENGINEERING JOB IN AUSTRALIA
Ian Little is available for interview by contacting Tribus Lingua Media
Contact: Ailis Logan 03 9416 4751 or support@tribuslingua.com.au
“Getting to Australia is your first engineering project. The practical tips in this book: ranging from immigration to social integration – will get you going quickly”
Dr Heiko Rudolph, Lecturer, Elec & Comp Eng, RMIT University, Australia