 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
By Roger Bartholomew
Roger Bartholomew spends his life talking with students - both as a teacher and as a counselor. His position as president of International Education Specialists, Chairman of Southville Foreign University and Director/Teacher at Southville International School all involve listening to students and parents and advising them on their studies and careers. He is a frequent speaker in schools, colleges, universities, public forums and focus groups.
EDUCATION + RELEVANT SKILLS = GOOD OPPORTUNITY OVERSEAS
 As I write this column I have just returned from JobDB’s Jobs Fair at the World Trade Center. They had asked me to be a speaker there and when I arrived the WTC was teeming with people – and employers. And here was a conundrum: “Why were there so many job seekers and so many (and varied) employers who didn’t seem to want each other?” As I gave my talk the answers began to emerge………
Employers were looking for people with knowledge (read “academic or skills qualifications”) and work experience. Job seekers either had qualifications and were looking for their first job; or had work experience but not qualifications (e.g. no professional license, degree not completed); or had work experience that had nothing to do with their qualification; or were very young; or quite old; or were confused and didn’t know what they wanted but were looking for greener pastures.
In other words, the kind of people the employers wanted already had good jobs and weren’t at this event looking for jobs; and the job seekers typically did not meet the profile for the kind of jobs on offer. As I reflected on this, I realized that the item I had used as an illustration for my talk was genuinely relevant and useful for the people who came to listen. And that’s why it’s my topic for this month!!!
The Need for Continuing Education from Certificate Courses to Overseas Studies is a real mouthful, but it all boils down to one word – SKILLS. A Skill is the application of knowledge which gets better and better the more times it is done properly. Because you hold a degree in Dentistry and have passed the board exam does not mean you are a skilled dentist. You might never have actually practiced and instead made money selling real estate. You may have a degree in Civil Engineering but you make your living running a bake shop – therefore you are not a skilled civil engineer. While skills may be learned, it is the regular, professional, workplace practice of them that makes you SKILLED and therefore wanted!
To illustrate this point I used as an example the Australian General Skilled Migration Program. Australia wants skilled people. If you are skilled they want YOU – but on their terms.
What are they looking for? Firstly communication skills, secondly age, thirdly education aligned to employment, and fourthly any occupation that Australia needs (welder, auto-mechanic, hairdresser, electrician, cook, nurse, accountant, engineer, architect, nutritionist and loads more). In reality though, the third point is the key. If your degree is in marketing and you have been working in marketing, great! If your degree is in management and you manage people, great! If you have a certificate from Ricky Reyes in Hairdressing and you have been working as a hairdresser, great! If you have a degree in IT and you have been working as a call center agent in insurance – not great!
This came as good news to some, but bad news to a lot more. But………. Australia gives SECOND CHANCES. Go down there as a student and spend two years learning cooking, accounting, IT, or Engineering, or any subject area that really interests and excites you and that Australia wants and they will let you apply for Permanent Residency and immediately give you a work permit the moment you graduate.
Schools like Bond University, Le Cordon Bleu, IIBIT, ICHM, Insearch, University of Wollongong, etc. etc. specialize in equipping overseas students for Skilled Migration in Australia, and to show how serious the Australian government is about this, overseas students are allowed to work while studying to build up their skill sets.
You may be surprised to know that many celebs actually are not qualified for skills migration, but still want a foot in another country. I guess they realize, like professional athletes, that time and gravity eventually will be against them and they need to be sure that they have other options. Inter-Ed (www.inter-ed.com) has helped all kinds of people to up-skill their existing qualifications and make themselves in demand. Next month I will go into more detail on this AND… talk about the best value for money option for those who want something better in the next 12 months – New Zealand.
There is a great Second Chance out there for all of you who are unhappy with where you are now, to re-skill and re-launch your career. Don’t delay – you might be too old next month, or, like me, past your expiry date!!
And congratulations to JobsDB for the Jobs Fair; it was a great eye-opener and really helpful for thousands of job seekers.
Roger Bartholomew is one of JobsDB's newest columnist. Read more of Bartholomew's columns and other career advice articles on:
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