Why Indian Students are focusing more on skilled occupation list (SOL) while planning to study abroad?

The countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada provide tons of opportunities for all students across the globe. Not only that, but the quality of life in these countries is extremely high. Thousands of Indian students looking to apply for immigration in these countries every year. However, due to limited work immigration vacancies, only a few lucky Indian students are able to get employment (and residency later on) in these countries.

If you are a student who is looking to study in countries like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, this post will give an idea about how much necessary it is to choose the course according to SOL of these countries.

What exactly is an SOL and how does it help the applicant?

SOL stands for skilled Operation List. After every 6-8 months, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand make changes in the employment fields, which require immigrants. This list contains information about the number of vacancies in major employment fields for which the country is accepting immigrants. Needless to say but an applicant must possess skills, certificates, and experience in the fields (Listed on the SOL) in order to get work immigration to Australia.

Countries like Australia place a firm emphasis on only top qualified professionals who have experience in their skill set. Candidates who are aspiring to get a job (and even permanent residence) in Australia need to have skill set in the SOL by the Australian Government.

 So how does it help the applicant? If a student who is looking to study abroad finds the course in SOL, then good for him.

 Do the Students heed a lot more attention on SOL than they need to?

 In our honest opinion, we have found that students, who are looking to study abroad, select courses for which there is maximum employment on the SOL listed by those countries. Not only is this not required but it will make the course difficult to complete for the student if he/she does not have the required aptitude, interest in that particular course.

If the student forces himself to study a particular course just because there are high demands of that particular field in the SOL, he is unlikely to gain the expertise in it as it requires a lot of time, devotion and practice.

In addition, to add one more point, the SOL of countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada change after every 6- 7 months. Needless to say, the demand for a particular skill can either increase or decrease in these countries, depending on the requirement of that industry. Often times, the skill set has even been omitted both from STSOL and from MLTSSL for a good number of years. Therefore, it is better to opt for courses (to study abroad) in which the student has a high degree of interest and can make a significant income from it through other business models.

Type of Jobs that are likely to stay in high demand in Australia in the upcoming years

Although, being an expert in any field is likely to allow you work immigration in a country like Australia, there are some fields in which the student stands a higher chance of getting immigration. We are listing those fields/ job types below.

• Education, especially Teachers in Math’s and Science
• Health care and Social assistance
• Scientific Research
• Engineering and Information Technology

The STSOL and MLTSSL

All the occupations in Australia are listed under either STSOL or MLTSSL. STSOL stands for Short Term Skilled Occupational Demand list. It was earlier known as the CSOL i.e. Skilled Occupational List. Since STSOL deals with vacancies that are only required for short terms (like 2 or 3 years), therefore immigrants of this category will not have options to apply for permanent residency. Alternatively, you can say, that immigrants will find it extremely difficult to have permanent residency if they come to Australia through STSOL.

And this is why most students who are planning to settle down in Australia later on, are looking to study courses, for which vacancies are listed in the MLTSSL.

MLTSSL stands for Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List and the immigrants under this category will likely get more visa duration and the higher probability of acquiring permanent Australian Residency.

 Continuing with the Australian residency for a significant number of years like 7 or 10 years will likely give the immigrants an Australian Citizenship, which carries a ton of benefits.

 Students applying for courses, which lie under MLTSSL?

 As right it may sound, students are more focused on opting courses, which have the likelihood of lying under the MLTSSL category. Both the MLTSSL and STSSL categories are updated every 6-8 months by the Australian government.

The courses, which the students apply for, may even get omitted from the MLTSSL and STSSL lists for a good number of years. In that case, not only the student will be unable to apply for work immigration, but he would have wasted precious years to study courses for which he may not have aptitude and interest in the first place.

 What is the ideal route then?

 Every student should intent to pursue a course (native or abroad) in their desired field only. Not only does it motivate them to study with all their heart but also opens a ton of areas for employment.

 If for whatever reason, your eligibility does not meet the parameters for work immigration to Australia, New Zealand or Canada, then there are other methods to acquire work visa as well.

This is where an excellent consultancy comes into the picture. An experienced consultancy knows the way to get their students immigrated to such countries. A student may have to compromise on their trade skills but after getting immigration, there are plenty of ways to acquire the job in their desired field along with permanent residency.