By Sanu George
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 11 (IANS) Gone are the days when an MBA or a beautician’s course in any Australian educational institution would have fetched a dream job for Indians. Now, technical trade courses like plumbing, carpentry or masonry are what could help an Indian earn a permanent residency (PR) Down Under.

Sajan John, director of Melbourne-based Ind Aus Business Links Pty Ltd (INDAUS) which provides educational consultancy, told IANS during a visit here that today a student who completes an MBA course would struggle to get a PR in Australia.

“There is a huge shortage of technically qualified manpower in the fields of painting, carpentry, brick laying (mason) and plumbing and electricians. Not only would one get a PR after a two-year course in any of these disciplines but also get a handsome monthly income,” said John.

He said following the huge media publicity on the attacks against Indian students in Australia, the waiting period to get a student’s visa has gone up from one month to two. Prior to a student visa being issued by the Australian Embassy in India, most of the students are called for a personal interview.

John came here early this month and is conducting a series of seminars across the state and in Chennai for prospective students migrating to Australia for studies.

“Nursing is still in demand but my advice to prospective nurses looking to migrate to Australia is not to be duped by agents. We have seen a good number of cases of nurses who arrive there to do a course in community welfare, which they are told is an easy way to get a job as a nurse. But at the end of the day they end up nowhere,” said John.

The total tuition fee for a two-year course in either a university or any of the various colleges in any technical areas would be in the range of Australian $18,000-22,000 ($16,700-20,430), he said.

Living expenses would range around Australian $1,000 a month and this can be recovered by working 20 hours a week.

“After the course those who start working can earn around Australian $40 an hour in these trades. This is huge money but surprisingly from the various seminars I have conducted here the demand from students here is still for MBA and for nursing careers,” said John.

The minimum eligibility for students aspiring for a higher education in these technical trades is having passed Class 12 and a score of 5.5 in International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

(Sanu George can be contacted at sanu.g@ians.in)