Jobs & Money Detail
Finding work in New South Wales
New South Wales is one of the most popular states for British migrants to settle. But how do you go about finding work in New South Wales?
Tom McAlary from the Business Migration and Industry Skills of the NSW Department of State and Regional Development gives advice to job-seekers about finding work in New South Wales.
New South Wales (NSW) is looking for highly skilled professionals to meet the needs of the finance, information and communications technology (ICT) and pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in Sydney. So finding work in New South Wales may be easier than you think, if you have the right skills of course.
The NSW economy is dominated by the services sector and these are the three key service industries experiencing strong growth. Accountants, financial investment advisers, life scientists, chemists, laboratory staff and system managers and designers with specific experience are needed.
NSW is also looking for migrants with a range of skills in regional NSW. Skills in demand include doctors, nurses, dentists and physiotherapists in the health services sector as well as a range of engineers and tradesmen in the building and construction sector. Regional NSW has been especially keen to attract skilled migrants into its economy, and there are some attractive incentives for those who choose to live outside the major urban centres, like more affordable living. Furthermore, housing is 29 per cent cheaper than in Sydney and property prices are rising.
Basic household expenses in regional NSW are also 17 per cent cheaper than Sydney, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditure Survey 2005.
The major regional centres such as Albury, Wagga Wagga, Orange, Bathurst, Dubbo, Armidale and Tamworth are growing strongly. Employers in regional NSW sponsor over 200 skilled migrants for permanent residence every year.
However, Sydney remains a popular choice for British migrants relocating to NSW, and is Australia's only global city. The NSW economy is larger than the economies of Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore. Consequently Sydney offers more career opportunities. Employment in financial services in Sydney is half of that in London and a third of that of New York City.
NSW also has 40 per cent of Australia's ICT employment, as well as being home to around 40 per cent of the biotechnology and medical device industry in Australia. People living anywhere in NSW enjoy a very high quality of life. With its temperate climate, harbour and world class sporting, entertainment and cultural facilities Sydney shared eighth place out of 215 cities in the 2005 Worldwide Quality of Living index compiled by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
While Australian qualifications are more readily recognised by employers UK qualifications are also widely accepted here. Overseas students who study at an Australian university for two years can apply to stay on as skilled migrants and the work experience requirement is waived for applicants. Sydney has five of the best recognised universities in Australia - University of Sydney, University of NSW (UNSW), University of Technology of Sydney (UTS), Macquarie University and the University of Western Sydney.
In terms of wages, salaries vary widely by industry and location. For up to date information on what you might expect to earn in NSW you can view published salary survey information from recruiters such as Olivier, Hays and Career One.
It is important to also note that income tax rates vary from what applies in the UK so you should assess your after tax income rather than pre-tax income. Many migrants are sponsored by NSW government departments to work in the hospital and education system, often on long term temporary business (subclass 457) visas. However, permanent positions in the public sector usually require applicants to be permanent residents. This can delay appointments for those on provisional or temporary visas until they obtain permanent residence. So perhaps your dream of making it in Oz and finding work in New South Wales is achieveable after all.
Visit the NSW Department of State and Regional Development site for a copy of 'Living in New South Wales
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