I'm Kirk. If you're planning to study in Australia and pursue migration, you can add me on WeChat: NewstarsMel03.
After the last Subclass 189 invitation round, lots of people in IT came to ask me: is there really no hope left for traditional IT fields?
I’ve previously discussed how people with a skills assessment for an occupation such as 2611 ICT Business Analyst can try switching to an assessment as a Statistician, 224116. Today, let’s take a more systematic look at the alternative occupations available to people with an IT background, along with real cases of clients we’ve recently helped to change pathways successfully. The invitation letters are in the lead image, and the skills assessment letters are in images 2–5.
Three alternative Australian migration occupations for people with an IT background: a closer look
The alternative fields we’ve handled for people moving away from traditional IT occupations so far are:
Statistician, Management Consultant and Multimedia Specialist. The first two are assessed by VET, while the last is assessed by ACS.
Let’s look at the skills assessment requirements for these occupations and the circumstances of clients who have already secured invitations.
For Statistician, you can refer to my earlier post.
For qualifications in interdisciplinary fields across computing and business, such as BA or financial engineering, or in Data Science, VET assesses applications case by case. The key consideration is whether the transcript contains a sufficient proportion of mathematics and statistics subjects.
Work: at least one year of highly relevant, full-time experience after graduation within the past five years. Core duties must cover statistical modelling, regression analysis, time-series forecasting, statistical methodology design and data analysis, with the ability to use statistical results to support business decisions or risk management.
Real success stories:
A: a bachelor’s degree in Data Science plus a master’s in BA, working as an Analyst. They obtained a Statistician skills assessment and secured a Subclass 189 invitation with 95 points in the last round.
B: a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics plus a master’s in Business, with work experience as an Associate. They successfully received a Subclass 189 invitation with 90 points.
Management Consultant
Qualifications: a relevant field, preferably business, economics or management. If the bachelor’s degree is not highly relevant, a relevant master’s degree or two to three years of relevant work experience will suffice.
Work: one year of experience within the past five years if the qualification is relevant; if it is not relevant, three years or more of relevant experience is generally required. Core duties must focus on analysing business processes, organisational structures, operational pain points and management efficiency, developing recommendations for improvement and business strategies, and helping put them into practice.
Real success story:
C: a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics, with nearly six years of experience in business management consulting and technology innovation services. They received a Subclass 189 invitation with 85 points in this round.
Multimedia Specialist
An ICT-related qualification is required. This occupation suits technical professionals in front-end development, web design or work that integrates digital media with programming technology.
The focus is on interactive website development, multimedia application programming, and bringing together visual elements and the underlying technology.
D: an IT master’s graduate who worked as a Graduate Programmer and Software Engineer after graduation. After we reorganised their work documentation, they successfully obtained an ACS skills assessment as a Multimedia Specialist and secured a Subclass 189 invitation with 100 points in this round!
So, if you already hold a skills assessment for a traditional IT occupation in 2613 or 2611, under the Department of Home Affairs’ current policies, make sure you take a closer look at your subjects and work experience to see whether an alternative pathway is available.
