what's next after the completion of Cert 3 in aged care, with a student visa?

ceridwyn · Nov 4, 2011

Only RN's are the required nursing skill in Australia that can apply for a sponsorship position to live and work in Australia and this may change in the future.

I find it quite rude that it is okay for an overseas agent to think someone that does not have required skills in english, to work in Australian aged care! do they think our aged care residents deaf and do not require a carer that can relate to the culture and customs? It may have been done in the past, but it is time to stop, but I suppose they are only interested in making money.

Sponsorships are going fast as many of our own nurses with very little experience cannot get work and according to some regulations it is going the way of America.....if you are a nurse that has specialised skills in a nursing shortage area then you will be welcomed as you offer something to the Australian community and sponsorships will be available to those. A nurse with little or no experience are a plenty looking for work now, expecially that our university year is just about complete so there are now a new bunch of graduate nurses out looking for work.

I believe the only pca work done by overseas nurses are those that have student visa's that allows then to work while they study at university or believe the same thing, do a cert 3 and have rights to work and live in this country.

sheshe21 · Nov 4, 2011

Thank you for the response ceridwyn!

1. For the Ielts part, I think we did not meet minds there. What I was saying was the difference in Ielts score requirement between the Aged care cert 3 and the bridging course. Please correct me if I am wrong, for the Aged care reqt, they ask for not lower than 6.0 on the total band score whereas in the bridging course, they require for 7.0 in all subtest. So, were the info given to me incorrect? Because I got a 7.5 total band score, but I failed to get straight 7.0 in all the subtest. So the option provided to me was the Cert 3 in Aged Care.

2. So the Aged Care cert 3 is not included in the skilled workers that can use the sponsorship. What will happen to me once I got to finish the said course? I thought that the facility where my training will be held will be the one to absorb me as an aged care worker/aid, in short, that will be my employer, who will fix my visa from a student turning it into a temporary working visa or a permanent one eventually.

3. Here is my plan actually, I am a nurse in the Philippines, I have actually acquired 1y and 8 mos work experience here. According to my agent, the Bridging course opens classes every Jan and July only, I dont know if it's exclusively in Melbourne. As I've said, I already have my Ielts but then it is still not fit for the Bridging course. So I will definitely retake. Suppose that I pass it when I retake it this Dec, the processing time of my papers is too tight that I won't be able to enroll for the Bridging course in Jan 2012, the next opening is on July. Due to my desperation, I decided to take the other alternative of getting to work in Au which is to take the Aged care course. Thinking that my visa can be shifted to a working visa once an employer sponsored me, I wanted to use it as an easy way to earn money for months or for even a year so that I can pay for my tuition fee for the Bridging course, and eventually be a registered nurse there. I plan to take it the long way and I'm driven about it.

Having that plan, do you thinkl I am misguided? Pardon me for a long post. Thank you very much for your time and effort inn reading and sharing with me your knowledge! God bless!

Silverdragon102, BSN · Nov 4, 2011

Moved to the International forum

ceridwyn · Nov 5, 2011

Australia welcomes people that can add to the Australian workforce. People with skills that are not available here. Henceforth there is a list that Australian employers can sponsor people from. PCA's and EN's are not on that list.

Other employers can get visa's for unskilled work such as fruit pickers or meat workers. They are all given temporary visa and to return home when their work is done.

PCA's can be trained and work given to people with work rights, here. Not a gateway for people to 'get in' to work. So therefore an education institution will take your money and the aged care facility cannot sponsor you as that occupation is not on the skills required list and you will be taking a job away from someone that has more rights to it. Our student nurses often fill in the Pca positions while they are studying at university.

To 'just change' to student visa to a working visa just like that without being assessed an immigrant (as your occupation is not on the required skill list) is not on and if it was as easy as that........thousands of nurses without the required english skills and lack of money from Asian countries with a surplus amount of nurses would have taken this course.....'just to get in'

Go take english classess and get your IELTS score and become an RN in Australia.

PS it is too expensive to live andwork and save 10,000 plus for a bridging course as a PCA, Non PR have a higher tax to pay every week anyway and if this was possible, Nurses may be off the skills list before you even get to pay for a bridging course.

pps. I am not an immigration consultant these advices are only from my life experiences.

bobby123 · Nov 5, 2011

Sheshe21,

This is the problem when going to agencies in the Philippines. They tell you what you want to hear. They claim to be experts in the field. In the end they get money from you and once you are here you are on your own.

It should have given you alarm bells when they said you are doing a Cert 3 in Aged Care. You are an RN and you are going to Australia to study as a Carer?

You have been duped by your agency and the longer you listen to them the more money you will definitely lose. You are not the first one to get duped by these agencies and I guess you won't be the last. Every now and then there is someone who post here and I/we tell them the same thing - cut your losses and apply as an RN if you are still keen but beware you will still arrive with a student visa and if you can't get a job (no one to sponsor you) you will be sent home.

Your plan is flawed as you know you can't be sponsored as an RN because you can't register and you will definitely not earn enough to fend for yourself when here.

sheshe21 · Nov 6, 2011

Thank you very much Ceridwyn and Bobby123! Yes, I realized that that will cost me so much, and that it's not the best way to work there.

After contemplating on the said matter, I thought of taking the bridging course as it was really my original plan. I just want to ask what happens after passing the bridging program? Do they have a board exam in order to be a licensed or be a registered nurse? What about if you are holding the 456 visa or the short-stay visa that is good for 3 months-- does that mean that you have to file for another visa for you to be able to work? Or you can undergo a sponsorship from an employer? Do you know how does this sponsorship works?

I hope you can enlighten me on these. Thank you very much for your time and help!

bobby123 · Nov 6, 2011

Thank you very much Ceridwyn and Bobby123! Yes, I realized that that will cost me so much, and that it's not the best way to work there.
After contemplating on the said matter, I thought of taking the bridging course as it was really my original plan. I just want to ask what happens after passing the bridging program? Do they have a board exam in order to be a licensed or be a registered nurse? What about if you are holding the 456 visa or the short-stay visa that is good for 3 months-- does that mean that you have to file for another visa for you to be able to work? Or you can undergo a sponsorship from an employer? Do you know how does this sponsorship works?
I hope you can enlighten me on these. Thank you very much for your time and help!

The bridging program is basically an adaptation scheme where the applicant is a registered nurse from their home country and what the BP does is it helps the applicant to orient themselves with Australian nursing. No board/licensure exam. The 456 visa is a short term visa because the BP on lasts about 3 months. Once you finish your BP, you can then apply for your licence. You will need to find an employer that will be willing to sponsor you and then they will apply for your work visa. If you can't find an employer that will be willing to sponsor you then you will have to go home. Some get lucky and some don't. Best to have a good amount of experience under your belt before you apply to work abroad or elsewhere.

sheshe21 · Nov 7, 2011

The bridging program is basically an adaptation scheme where the applicant is a registered nurse from their home country and what the BP does is it helps the applicant to orient themselves with Australian nursing. No board/licensure exam. The 456 visa is a short term visa because the BP on lasts about 3 months. Once you finish your BP, you can then apply for your licence. You will need to find an employer that will be willing to sponsor you and then they will apply for your work visa. If you can't find an employer that will be willing to sponsor you then you will have to go home. Some get lucky and some don't. Best to have a good amount of experience under your belt before you apply to work abroad or elsewhere.

Thank you very much Bobby123! These answered all! Wish you well! :up:

s2greta.lim · Dec 18, 2012

Hi. I'm also a nurse from the Philippines.

We have the same plan. my agent told me the exact same thing. I thought about taking the aged care cert 3 course as my plan B, if ever that I could not get all 7 in my IELTS. However, after reading endless threads and forums as well as the advice given to me by our fellow nurses; I believe that obtaining a student visa and opting for the Bridging program is the best idea if one wants to work in Aussie. It can be a huge risk, when it comes to the financial aspect as well as the depressing thought of going back to your homeland if no one will sponsor you.

I think we better get as much clinical experience here in our local hospitals before applying for the bridging program to be sure. That way, showing that we are competent can lead us to employment.