VETASSESS Skills Assessment (Trade Occupations)

VETASSESS Skills Assessment (Trade Occupations)

VETASSESS trade occupation skills assessment is for you if your occupation is classed as a trade occupation. VETASSESS currently assesses up to 25 trade occupations. These include electricians, hairdressers, carpenters, cooks and more.

Below we will go through the details of applying for a skills assessment under this category.

Overview – Application Process

Check eligibility to apply
Understand the assessment involved
Check the occupation requirements
Gather evidence to substantiate your claims
Check the cost
Apply for the skills assessment

Eligibility

You must make sure that your occupation is on VETASSESS trade occupation list. Please book an appointment to check your eligibility.

Assessment process

There are two different pathways. This depends on whether you hold an accepted Australian qualification or occupational licence, or you hold an overseas qualification or occupational licence.

Skills Assessment for trade occupations (Pathway 1)

You will have to pass two stages to complete the skills assessment successfully. Firstly, you must provide evidence that you meet the requirement of your nominated occupation. Usually, there is a minimum employment experience requirement you have to meet. It is as follows:

Licensed Trades – 6 years’ employment experience (with no formal training)
Licensed Trades – 4 years’ employment experience (with relevant formal training)
Non-licensed Trades – 5 years’ employment experience (with no formal training)
Non-licensed Trades – 3 years’ employment experience (with relevant formal training)

You may have to show that you have worked in your nominated occupation for at least 12 months in the last 3 years.

If you pass the evidence review stage, you will be invited to take a Practical Assessment and/or Technical interview. This will involve completing a series of tasks while being assessed by the assessor to ensure that your skills meet the Australian standard.

Once you have completed the two stages, a letter will be issued advising you of the outcome.

Skills Assessment for trade occupations (Pathway 2)

Pathway 2 involves two steps as well. You have to pass the evidence review and a technical interview. As part of the evidence review, you must provide documents to show that you have completed an Australian qualification or occupational licence. You must also show that you have worked full-time in paid employment in your occupation for at least 3 years at the required skills level. In addition, you have to show that you have worked 12 months in the last 3 years and if you are applying with a current Australian occupational licence, the 12 months employment must be in Australia.

Once you have passed the evidence review, you will be invited for a technical interview. This interview is approximately one hour. You will be asked a range of questions about your nominated occupations. Some sample questions include:

What is a typical day’s work at your job?
You have been given a task to do. How would you carry out this work?
What steps would you take if you found hazardous materials on-site?

A letter will be issued advising you of the outcome.

Occupation Requirements

Every occupation has its requirements. VETASSESS has published fact sheets detailing the requirements for each occupation. It is crucial that you understand the fact sheets.

Evidence

Every circumstance is different. So, depending on your occupation, you may have to provide more or fewer documents. However, in general, these are the required documents:

Employer statement detailing the employment period, salary, job title and job duties.
Financial evidence to show that you were employed in paid employment. These include payslips, tax documents, payment summaries, superannuation documents and more.

If the documents are not in English, you must have it translated.

Processing time

Processing time varies depending on the skills assessment program. However, it is typically around 13 weeks.

Fees

Application Method	Offshore Skills Assessment Program (Applicant in Australia)	Offshore Skills Assessment Program (Applicant in Australia)
Stage 1 – Evidence Review	$1280	$1280
Stage 2 – Interview	$900	$900

From September 25 2023, the Authority will pause acceptance of new applications for assessment for the following trade occupations to allow it to process the backlog of applications currently on-hand

Chef, ANZSCO Code 351311
Cook, ANZSCO Code 351411
Diesel Motor Mechanic, ANZSCO Code 321212
Motor Mechanic (General), ANZSCO Code 321211
Fitter (General), ANZSCO Code 323211
Electrician (General), ANZSCO Code 341111
Metal Machinist (First Class), ANZSCO Code 323214.

If you have already lodged an application with VETASSESS, you do not need to take any action. VETASSESS will continue to process those application.

It is expected that the applicants that will be most impacted will be those General Skilled Migration, Subclass 494 Regional Employer Sponsored and SC 186 Employer Sponsored Directs Entry.

For alternative assessment authorities please contact Trades Recognition Australia (TRA).

Plumber (General), ANZSCO Code 334111– new Pathway 1 applications for this occupation will also be paused from September 30.

VETASSESS is currently assess this occupation for the CPC32413 Certificate III in Plumbing, which has been superseded and is not equivalent to the new CPC32420 Certificate III in Plumbing qualification that is due to come into effect on January 31, 2024 and are awaiting instructions from Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) on assessment requirements for the new qualification.

VETASSESS Skills Assessment (Professional Occupations)