Australian Immigration to evaluate Professional Year visa program

The Australia Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) announced they will perform an evaluation of the Professional Year visa program in 2011-2012. The evaluation will assess if the Professional Year visa is achieving its original objectives and also identify potential improvements to the immigration program.

The Professional Year visa program has been available since 2008 and is a structured development immigration program, available to Engineers, Accountants and IT Professionals immigrating to Australia. The program helps graduates to find employment and successful completion provides 5 points towards meeting the Points Based Skilled Migration pass mark.

The Professional Year visa program is a structured professional development program combining formal learning and workplace experience. A Professional Year will:

• familiarise participants with the norms and values in the Australian workplace as well as the Australian employment market and workplace culture
• teach participants how to communicate effectively and professionally in the Australian workplace with colleagues, managers and clients
• include an internship (work experience) to educate participants about all aspects of work practices in an Australian company.

Australian immigration has also said that current and past Professional Year visa program students will be requested to anonymously complete a survey which collects basic demographic information and seeks specific input regarding each student's Professional Year. The survey results will be part of a discussion paper expected to be finished in 2012.

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