What is an Occupation Ceiling?
An occupation ceiling is a limit on the number of invitations that immigration has allocated for an occupation. For example each year immigration may select 2000 accountants through general skilled migration. These occupation ceilings are used to apply for the skilled independent visas (subclass 189), state nominated (subclass 190) and subclass 489 visas.
Once the occupation has reached it’s ceiling (Eg – the total number of invitations has been issued, no more will be issued for that occupation.) Below you can see the trade occupation allocations for the 2016/2017 general skilled migration, as well as the actual number of invitations issued.
Trade Occupations
Trade Occupations reached only about 2% of invitations from available allocation. This means Australia could have invited roughly 50 times more tradesmen into Australia last year through General Skilled Migration, than we did. For example, Australian Immigration allocated 7,718 places for Carpenters and Joiner invitations for the 2016/2017. However only 146 carpenters received an invitation. The reason so few tradesmen received an invitation is that it is very difficult for Carpenters to reach the requirements. To be eligible to apply for general skilled migration you need to meet specific education, work experience, skills assessment and english level. Most tradesman, no matter how good they are at their trade, simply struggle to reach the required level.
To make it easier for tradesman to meet the requirements, The Job Ready Program has been introduced which allows Australian trained tradesman the ability to obtain full skills assessments. By studying a trade in Australia, you also receive more points on the points test. This program has only recently been introduced, so the very first graduates of the job ready program will be receiving their invitations this year. This means you can expect the number of invitations received to slowly increase in the future. Find out more about what trades you can study in Aus here.
| Profession | Allocation | Invitations Issued | |
| 3123 | Electrical Engineering Draftsperson or Technicians | 1000 | 97 |
| 3211 | Automotive Electricians | 1000 | 12 |
| 3212 | Motor Mechanics | 5597 | 215 |
| 3222 | Sheetmetal Trades Workers | 1000 | 2 |
| 3223 | Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers | 4466 | 61 |
| 3232 | Metal Fitters and Machinists | 6677 | 96 |
| 3233 | Precision Metal Trades Workers | 1000 | 0 |
| 3241 | Panelbeaters | 1000 | 6 |
| 3311 | Bricklayers and Stonemasons | 1751 | 34 |
| 3312 | Carpenters and Joiners | 7718 | 146 |
| 3322 | Painting Trades Workers | 2871 | 23 |
| 3331 | Glaziers | 1000 | 3 |
| 3332 | Plasterers | 2149 | 26 |
| 3334 | Wall and Floor Tilers | 1475 | 6 |
| 3341 | Plumbers | 5169 | 76 |
| 3411 | Electricians | 9345 | 205 |
| 3421 | Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics | 1701 | 27 |
| 3422 | Electrical Distribution Trades Workers | 1000 | 7 |
| 3423 | Electronics Trades Workers | 1993 | 65 |
| 3513 | Chefs | 2854 | 192 |
| 3941 | Cabinetmakers | 1568 | 4 |
| 3991 | Boat Builders and Shipwright | 1000 | 2 |
Other Professions
Compare this to other allocations in engineering, computing or accounting, which fully exhausted their allocation. Because there was such an oversupply of accountants who wanted to apply for general skills migration, this meant that even if an applicant reached a score of 65 points on the points test, they may not receive an invitation to apply. In fact most applicants for accounting needed a score of 70 on the points test just to receive an invitation to apply
Computing Professions
| 2611 | ICT Business and Systems Analysts | 1482 | 1482 |
| 2613 | Software and Applications Programmers | 5662 | 5662 |
| 2631 | Computer Network Professionals | 1426 | 1482 |
| 2633 | Telecommunications Engineering Professionals | 1000 | 1000 |
Accounting Professions
| 2211 | Accountants* | 2500 | 2500 |
Engineering Professions
| 2332 | Civil Engineering Professionals | 2174 | 2150 |
| 2333 | Electrical Engineers | 1254 | 1099 |
| 2334 | Electronics Engineers | 1000 | 1000 |
| 2335 | Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 1539 | 1539 |
| 2339 | Other Engineering Professionals | 1000 | 1018 |
You can check the full list here
Pathway to Aus has helped numerous tradesman from all over the world study and migrate to Australia. If you are interested in speaking with a registered education or migration agent concerning your situation contact Pathway to Aus on:
E: info@pathwaytoaus.com
P: +61 0755 265 900
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