November 9, 2012

 

Professor Lesleyanne Hawthorne writes:

Amid Australia’s ongoing doctor shortage, the health system risks losing dozens of Australian-trained, foreign-born doctors because of a shortage of intern places. The Australian Medical Students Association estimates the system needs 182 intern places to ensure all international students can finish their medical training and gain full registration as doctors.

These intern, (or post-graduate year one) places, are based in hospitals, which are run by the states. But the Commonwealth also bears some funding responsibility for medical training. The Commonwealth, state and territory health ministers are expected to discuss who should pay and potential solutions to the problem when they meet tomorrow in Perth.

Rise of international student migration

Over the past decade, international students have emerged as a prized and contested human capital resource. OECD and select Asian countries are expanding their international student flows, through global promotion strategies and regional migration programs, aligned with lower entry requirements, including for medical degrees.

International students have been immensely responsive to these migration options. In 1975, 600,000 international students were enrolled abroad, compared with 3.4 million in 2009. By 2025, it is predicted there will be 7.2 million international students studying globally.

A recent British Council survey of 153,000 international students confirmed opportunities for migration exert an extraordinary impact on the choice of study destination. While students sought a high quality, internationally recognised education, the scope to remain and work was found to “massively impact” both decisions and expectations.

 

In 1999, following the removal of a three-year eligibility bar, international students became immediately eligible to migrate to Australia. Within six years of the policy change, 52% of skilled migrants were selected onshore.

By 2010, 630,000 international students were enrolled in Australian courses (all fields and sectors). Of these, 18,487 were undertaking health degrees, including over 3,000 medical and 10,000 nursing students. International medical student graduates grew 223% from 1999 to 2009, compared with 52% growth in Australian domestic graduates.

International medical students

In 2009, the majority of international medical students were enrolled at

  • Monash,
  • Melbourne,
  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales and
  • Sydney universities.

Their source countries were highly diverse – most notably

  • Malaysia (1,134 students),
  • Singapore (577),
  • Canada (437),
  • the United States (84) and
  • Botswana (74), followed by
  • South Korea,
  • Brunei,
  • Hong Kong,
  • Indonesia and
  • Sri Lanka.

These international students achieve stellar rates of immediate employment and are highly attractive to local employers. As demonstrated by yet-to-be-published research conducted for the Medical Deans of Australia, 45% of international students plan to remain in Australia when they commence their studies. By their final year, 78% accept intern places (virtually all those who are not scholarship students sponsored by their home governments).

Australia’s Graduate Destination Survey from 2009-2011 reveals their employment outcomes to be near identical to those achieved by domestic students (99.6% working full-time at four months compared with 99.7%). The source country was almost irrelevant, with 100% of Canadian, US, Malaysian, Indonesian, Taiwanese, Norwegian and Botswanan students fully employed, compared with 97% from Singapore and 89% from China.

International medical graduates

As affirmed by the OECD, Australia has developed extraordinary reliance on international medical graduates (IMGs), who gain their qualifications overseas.

 

By 2006, 45% of Australian residents holding medical qualifications were overseas-born, including an estimated 25% who were overseas-qualified. The United Kingdom/Ireland, China, India, North Africa/ Middle East, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and the Philippines were major sources of migration.

This diversification of supply has proven extremely challenging for Australia. The 2006 census shows just 53% of IMGs secured medical employment in Australia in their first five years of residence (across all immigration categories).

Doctors from English-speaking background countries moved seamlessly into work, while Commonwealth-Asian doctors fared reasonably. Outcomes were poor, by contrast, for many birthplace groups. Just 6% of doctors from China found medical employment within five years, along with 23% from Vietnam and 31% from Eastern Europe.

 

Employment access is significantly better for IMGs selected through the 457 visa temporary sponsored pathway. From 2005-06 to 2010-11 17,910 doctors were sponsored as temporary 457 visa migrants to pre-arranged jobs, with a 99% immediate employment rate.

From 2004-05 to 2010-11, an additional 2,790 IMGs were admitted through the permanent General Skilled Migration category. But not all passed the Australian Medical Council examinations, which are a requirement for unconditional registration in Australia. From 1978 to 2010, 82% of candidates passed the MCQ (the standard theoretical examination), typically on their first or second attempt, along with 85% of clinical candidates. But overall AMC completion rates were just 43%, since many choose not to persist with the process.

Large numbers of IMGs face significant barriers to securing professional registration. By contrast, international medical students face no impediments: they’re of prime workforce age (far younger than IMGs) and have self-funded to meet Australian domestic requirements.

Medical students’ future

We know that large numbers of international medical students wish to migrate to Australia – and access to intern places is critical for them to secure permanent resident status.

If Australia fails to retain these graduates, other countries will. Singapore, for instance, actively recruits in Australia, in a context where the nation’s fertility rate is incredibly low. New Zealand annually registers over 1,200 IMGs per year, but two-thirds will have left within two years. So there is major interest in attracting Australian-trained graduates.

If Australia is serious about retaining international medical students in the future, it’s vital to provide access to intern training places. While the students’ long-term intentions are unknown, it’s clear they have great potential to address Australian workforce shortages in the future.

 

** Lesleyanne Hawthorne is Professor of International Health Workforce, at the Australian Health Workforce Institute, University of Melbourne

This article was first published by The Conversation. A reminder to www.mystudyinaustralia.com readers that TC articles are freely available for republishing under a creative commons licence.

September 26, 2012

IEAA glad to announce that IEAA and UPC will provide sponsorship for 18 months paid traineeship and they might be eligible as a Childcare Centre Manager. With this program trains childcare diploma graduates to be qualified as Childcare Centre Managers.
On completion of the Diploma, finding employment is essential so that you can enrol into the occupational training program (OTP). For the next 18 months, you will work full-time earning an annual income between $AU35,000 to $AU42,000.
 
On completion of the OTP, you are qualified as a childcare centre manager and eligible for temporary or permanent work in Australia. The critical point of the occupational training program is employment and to gain employment, you should

  • have good results in the Certificate III and Diploma courses,
  • have a good track record on work placement and extra paid jobs during your study,
  • achieve good English proficiency (No set English level is required),as well as attain good communication skills,
  • have a positive attitude to work and gaining experience on the job.

There is a high demand for childcare professionals in Australia, a trend which is set to continue for many years ahead, but nobody can guarantee you a job. It is your future and your responsibility.
On completion of your Diploma of Children’s Services, the Australian Government allows you to advance in your childcare profession by working and training in the early childhood sector using the Occupational Trainee Visa (OTV).
Three conditions for the Occupational Trainee Visa:

  • a full-time job offer
  • a customised training program and
  • an approved sponsor to monitor the training program.

Read More

July 8, 2010

The jobs market continues to grow at a blockbuster pace and keeps the Reserve Bank on course to resume raising interest rates once it is satisfied Europe’s troubles have subsided.

New labour force data released on Thursday – showing another 45,900 people had found work last month – coincided with a warning from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that downside risks to world economic growth have intensified.

In its World Economic Outlook Update released in Hong Kong on Thursday, the IMF has upgraded its world growth forecast for 2010 because of “stronger activity during the first half of the year”.

“(But) downside risks have risen sharply amid renewed financial turbulence,” it said.

The 45,900 seasonally adjusted jump in Australian employment in June was three times larger than predicted by economists, and included a further 18,400 people finding full-time work.

The jobless rate was 5.1 per cent in June, unchanged from May after revisions, and having been originally reported as 5.2 per cent.

The rate is the lowest level since January 2009, Australian Bureau of Statistics data show.

“Australia’s strong labour force figures stand in stark contrast to the stubbornly high unemployment rates still being experienced in many other advanced economies, where the aftershocks from the crisis are continuing to reverberate,” Employment Minister Simon Crean said in a statement.

The strength of the report saw financial markets price out any chance of an interest rate cut this year, a move that had been toyed with given the uncertainty generated by Europe’s debt problems.

RBS Australia senior economist Felicity Emmett said the Reserve Bank may “sit on its hands” if global financial markets continue to sharply deteriorate, but she thought a rate cut was unlikely unless the world economy slipped back into recession.

“The ongoing strength in the labour market confirms our view that the RBA still has a tightening bias, given that falling unemployment is likely to put pressure on wages with the potential to add to inflationary pressures next year,” Ms Emmett said.

The IMF has maintained its previous growth forecasts for Australia due to “still-robust commodity prices boosting private domestic demand”.

It predicts growth of 3.0 per cent in 2010, accelerating to 3.5 per cent in 2011, as it did in April.

It has revised up its growth forecast for world growth to 4.6 per cent in 2010 from 4.2 per cent previously, while leaving its 2011 forecast at 4.3 per cent.

“The new forecasts hinge on implementation of polices to rebuild confidence and stability, particularly in the euro area,” it said.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said the IMF report showed Australia remains a “world leader” in the global recovery.

“Together with today’s strong employment figures, the IMF’s report shows the Australian economy is still well ahead of the curve,” he said.

Mr Swan said the Australian economy was well placed to benefit from its proximity and links to the world’s fastest growing region – Asia.

The IMF said Asia had only limited direct financial linkages to the most vulnerable euro area economies.

“But a stall in the European recovery that spilled over to global growth would affect Asia through both trade and financial channels.”

In IMF’s accompanying update of it Global Financial Stability Report it said while the most acute market strains seen in late April and early May had “receded somewhat”, “market confidence remained fragile”.

Source: COLIN BRINSDEN, ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT July 8, 2010 – AAP

 

November 18, 2008

IEA-A glad to announce that TAFE NSW – Illawarra Institute is  offering international students an opportunity to undertake a two year  combined Diploma in Hospitality Management and Certificate 3 in Commercial Cookery customised program to be delivered through our Snowy Mountains based Cooma Campus and our coastal based Nowra Campus. As you know commercial cookery program is one of the Migration Occupation Demand List.

 

A key feature of the program will be four “guaranteed” paid seasonal employment placements in both Australia’s spectacular Snowy Mountains region for the 2009 and 2010 Australian winter ski seasons (June – October) and on the pristine New South Wales South Coast for the peak summer holiday period (December 2009 – January 2010 and December 2010 – January 2011).

 

During these 4 “guaranteed” paid seasonal employment placements (total guaranteed employment placement is 56 weeks), students can earn minimum 550 AUD up to  750 AUD per weeks.

 

It means during these 56 weeks student can earn 30800 AUD – 42000 AUD. In addition to that students still can work 20 hours per week while they are studying.

 

There are very limited number of places are available, so please make required announcement to your student base now to not miss this great opportunity.

International Education Agency-AUSTRALIA

www.mystudyinaustralia.com

www.inteducation.com

www.avustralyadaegitim.com

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