Paradise for vacationing… and for skilled job seekers?
This a guest post by Rob Kiernan. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines.
Australia is known as the lucky country, a phrase first coined by Professor Donald Horne back in the 60’s, although he did it with a sense of sarcasm at the time. But today, Australia really is regarded as a pretty lucky place to be.
Moving forward about 35 years, Ben Southall won a competition and landed “the best job in the world” and was sent to the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia. Paradise, yes. But it didn't stop him from getting stung by an Irukandji. Ouch!
There is much talk about Australia being a land full of venomous creatures, but it is also a country of great opportunity, because…
Australia has jobs!
As a rough guide, every year around 100,000 people come to Australia to work, having been granted Skilled Long Stay Temporary Business Visas. The government allow this because it's the only way they can solve their skills shortages.
As a wise old Australian once told me, Australia has everything it needs, all the resources it could possibly want, except one…
People!
I recently did a comparison of vacancies between Australia and the UK. Given that the UK has a population of over 60 million people compared with just over 20 million people here in Australia, you'd naturally expect to see more vacancies over there.
The experiment was simple. I chose three major online job search agencies for each country, I think I found the top three for each, and I searched for the most popular occupations common to both countries. Here are my results:
Those numbers with an * next to them are highly doubtful. The search results pages said there were 5,000 vacancies, but looking through there were more like 500 to 1,000.
That aside, I think you can see clearly which country has the most jobs. Man for man as a percentage, Australia is streets ahead.
But what about the wages?
I'm glad you asked.
I recently did a salary comparison between Australia and the UK too. Here's what I found:
After converting the great British pound into Australian dollars, I concluded that salaries here in Australia were at least 24% higher and more likely 31.7% more, on average, than salaries back in the UK.
Yes, the money here in Australia is good.
The Australian government produces what it calls its Skilled Occupations List on a regular basis, of skills that are in shortage here in Australia.
It does this to encourage those with the skills this country needs to apply for work visas or permanent residency. Applying for permanent residency can be quite time consuming (worth it though) but many people have found a quicker way in is to get a job sponsorship.
Put simply, you need to find an employer who needs your skill but cannot find it locally because of the shortage. You will find many will be happy to sponsor you. That usually means offering you a job for a minimum of two years and putting that offer in writing.
Then it is a simple matter of getting your working visa and with good health and no criminal record, this is usually a rubber stamp job. Now you can work in Australia and at the same time find out what it's really like to live here. Enjoy the beaches, the barbecues, the outdoor lifestyle and of course, the glorious weather.
What if you fall in love with Australia?
Well, once you are working here on a temporary work visa, you have taken your first steps in moving to Australia. Because if you stay the course and stick with the job for your minimum period, applying for permanent residency is usually another straightforward application. Permanent residency means you can stay. Not only that, now you can pick and choose your own jobs, no need for sponsorship.
It gets better. You are now closing in on citizenship. After four years of permanent residency, you will probably be able to apply for Australian citizenship.
So if you fancy the idea of living in Australia, opportunity and a fantastic lifestyle awaits you. With more vacancies than average, higher salaries than usual and those drop dead gorgeous beaches, what are you waiting for? If you fancy a bit of life down under, why not extend your job search to Australia.
Three of this country's top online employment agencies are:
- Seek.com.au
- Careerone.com.au
- Mycareer.com.au
Happy job hunting!
About the Author
Rob Kiernan runs bobinoz.com, a website and a blog about what it’s really like to live in Australia.
This article is part of the 4th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest, which was made possible thanks in large part to our Gold Sponsor, Jason Alba of JibberJobber. If you want Rob Kiernan to win, share this article with your friends.
Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas about job search around the world.
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Very helpful article. I visited Australia when I was younger and fell in love. Even since, I have wanted to move there. My question would be how to get a job in Australia that may not be in high demand. I am a marketing professional with a focus in digital marketing, graphic design, SEO/SEM, PPC, Website maintenance and Social Media. Any tips would be excellent.
Thanks,
Ryan
Hi Ryan
Securing a job in Australia that is not in high demand won’t be so easy but isn’t impossible. If you are under 30, I think you can get a work play visa which allows you to come here for 12 months AND work. If you can find a job and convince your employer to sponsor you during that period, then you’re in with a chance.
If you are over 30 it’s a little more difficult, as you will have to convince an employer to sponsor you without having worked for them.
Good luck!
cheers
Bob
Interesting article, and from the your investigations it would appear that there are more, better paid jobs in Aus, however my own investigations suggest that whilst you may get more money the cost of living, particularly with regard to property is just as out of control as the UK, in fact more so.
Love the blog by the way.
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Great article, in fact that’s why I live here. Lots of reasons to live in OZ, climate, friendly people, and yes jobs, however we do have a thing about needing “local experience” and at the risk of self promotion I have a couple of posts on my blog about how to get a job in Australia, without it.
Ryan, my tip to you would be that with your skills, you could market yourself from where you are as having tools to help businesses find new business. No reason you couldn’t do that spade work from where you are. Australia is not as advanced as the states in using these tools. A few companies I know will sponsor overseas applicants without them being here, so if I was you I would think about how to start a dialogue with people who may benefit from the skills you have, using social media.
Andy, yes, Sydney is very expensive property wise, we have a housing shortage here that’s not likely to change any time soon.
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Hi Andy
You have a point, property prices aren’t cheap here. And as Karalyn says, they are even more expensive in Sydney. But if you want really expensive property, go to London.
I have done a lot of research comparing property prices between the UK and Australia and currently there is not much in it, apart from you do get a much bigger and a much better property here in Australia for the same money.
So I think Australia has the edge over England in terms of value, but as compared to most of the rest of the world I guess property here is quite expensive.
Ah, now we know your real name! Your pen name “Bobinoz” is no doubt more appropriate than “Robinoz” (haha!). Cheers! DTI
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Hi David
No, RobinOz didn’t quite do it for me either. You will find my real name gets a fleeting mention on my about me page though…… assuming Rob Kiernan really is my real name, hehe!
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Hi i moved over here on a 457 temp work visa on a four year contract and can honestly say its the best thing we have ever done. the weather is glorious every day, the people are much more friendlier and my kids haven’t touched there x box since arriving they spend every day playing outside in the garden and pool with there mates. i will definitely be going down the perm residency route as soon as possible as there is no way i could go back to living in the UK. for anyone thinking about it, go on bite the bullet, whats the worst that can happen- you don’t like it and go back, at least you would have given it a go, there’s nothing worse than living with regrets.
Dear Bob, Thank you for this very informative article.
Unfortunately there is an information in it which is not correct: although you need all together 4 years in Australia before you would be able to apply for Australian citizenship, but only minimum 1 year of them must be on permanent residency, the other 3 can be on many other kind of visa issued by te Australian authorities. (student visa, several kind of temporary visas, etc…)
Mark, I know exactly what you mean. Almost 3 years I’ve been here, no way am I going back to England. And yes, it’s great for the kids here, always outside.
Csaba, I think you’re right, clumsy me. Thanks for pointing that out.
Great Article Bob/RobinOz
We bit the bullet and are moving to Brisbane very soon. Our flights out are on the 20th of Sep. Going out on a 457 with the view of gaining perm residency in the long run. But first we will check how we cope with 2/3 years before making any final decisions!
Hold on Brisbane, here we come!!
Great article , thanks for all that offert that you have made …. well i have one concern , im looking for a job in australia since long time and all the jobs opportunities asked for ” You must have the right to live and work in this location to apply for this location” !!!
so where can i find a such website to help me to find a job there wothout asking the above question?
thanks again for you help
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Hi All, I am from India, I would like to come to australia to live and work, please advice me what kind of visa I can get for coming over there and work, mujeeb
hey
salam to all
i am from pakistan,and it is my extreme desrie that i go Austarlia and do buisnessand live here and marry here because ,Pakistan is not a good country plz plz plz plz plz plz plz tell me something about this ,whethar i will get a chance or not plz
inform me on my email
Hussainasghar99@yahoo.com
Hi,
This is a good article.I am a computer programmer outside the Australia and I want to work in the Australia but I don’t have the right to live and work.Please,Would you like to tell me about how to search job ?.
You can definitely find some jobs in Australia on this website as well!
Jobs4me Australia – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jobs4me-Australia/192265017503851
There are over 1,100 jobs available!
Good luck with the job search!
Tell me guys would it be better to travel to Australia on a visitors visa and then job hunt for an employer who can sponsor your work visa? Am an I.T specialist from South Africa looking to move to Australia. I have family and friends in Perth