ACS assessments

[Biker]

CT Family - send me private message. I'm also a SAP consultant.

[Cramer]

I have paid ptlabs for an initial assesment. I am however waiting for Microsoft to fix an error with my login on their web site to be able to grant them access my transcipts. They can only give me a definate decision once they have seen my transcripts as to what route to take, Peter has however given me a quotation for doing my assessment.

Would you recomend I use them as Dollars to Rands make it very expensive and it is money that I dont have at present, or should I gun it on my own. Experience in these matters vs Cost ?

Mine is a complicated situation. I have my MCSE and worked in that field for quite a few years. I am currently employed as a Systems Developer (Programmer) for a company (3 Years) and have been programming for years. I have knowledge of C++, Java, Delphi but my choice of languages is VB .net or C#.

[Edited]

I dont have a formal Qualification in Programming but I am 2 Thirds of the way through my Bsc Computer Science (Software Engineering). Have 10 Modules left to complete.

So which route do I take MCSE or Developer?

From all you ACS forumites experience please advise as I am applying for permanent residence.

Edited June 3, 2008 by The_Cramers

[psxkim]

Hi,

If your case is complex, I suggest that you go with ptlabs. I used Peter and was very impressed with the service provided.

On your choice for MCSE or Developer, go with the one that provides you more points for your Visa application. The MCSE can be used as an alternative qualification instead of a diploma.

Regards,

[Cramer]

Thanks psxkim.

I forgot to add to that I dont have a formal Qualification in Programming but I am 2 Thirds of the way through my Bsc Computer Science (Software Engineering). Have 10 Modules left to complete.

[psxkim]

ok, someone can correct me if I am wrong...

you can claim for a skill on MODL if you can prove that you have 12 months experience in that skill in the past four years. No need for a qualificaition in that skill.

You can apply under the Group B: diploma (your MCSE is counted as a diploma) and have six equivalent years of full-time relevant ICT experience at professional level.

I suggest again if you are not confident in your application, let Ptlabs do it.

Mine was straight forward, but I still went with Peter as half of my points requirement were gonna based on the skills assessment outcome.

All the best and give us a shout if we can help.

[maraai]

Hi Guys. I am trying to help hubby with his skill assessment. He has a Bsc Hon degree in computer science (through PU for CHE). Now here is my predicament. Somehow with the name change of the University they lost the English version of all the year books (containing the description of each subject taken). We have mark sheets ( each subject taken and marks allocated) and employer references for the last 4 years of employment.

Do we need to submit a description of each subject taken or is that a urban legend?

Regards

Henriette

Hi Henriette!

The PUK is very inconvenient with this afrikaans business!! I had to go through the whole process of getting copies of the year book (in afrikaans) of that spesific year that I took the subjects. I then had to get that all translated and that had to be sent for skills assessment (this was for accounting but I presume it will be the same for IT).

Do you have the year books??? It might also be that his department has english translations of the subjects available which will speed things up significantly.

I am still in Potch at the moment, so if I can help in any way, just PM me!

All the best, hope you get this sorted soon!!!

Maria

[Alida-ali]

Hi Godan,

Ek het verlede jaar my ACS assessment gedoen, het Bsc Computer Science graad by Tukkies, en 7 jaar werk ondervinding. Meestal VB6, SQL, VB.Net, C#, ASP.Net en mobile development in .Net.

Dink nie jy hoef te worry nie ...

Linda

O Ja, Baie belangrik is om werks verwysings te kry wat die regte inligting bevat ...

Applicants should attach employer references to their application. These should be on company letterhead and include the job title, a brief job description and precise dates of employment. They should also clearly state whether employment was full or part-time along with demonstrated levels of competence with any computer languages, the various types of hardware and software used and the extent of involvement with any major projects. Letters of appointment or contracts are not accepted

Kry ook volledige akademiese rekord met al jou punte op by die universiteit!

[/quot

Hi Linda

wil graag weet waar vertaal n mens jou se dokumente. en moet alles is engels wees. skool en alle diplomas ensv

sal waardeur vir hulp

dankie

ALIDA

[Dreams]

Alida,

Waat het jy ge-swot?

Ek was by Tuks. Het hulle gevra vir diploma en punte in Engels en ook 'n brief in Eng om te sê die onderrig was in Afr sodat ek die ekstra 5 punte kan kry. Het R100 gekos.

Dink nie jy het jou skool uitslae nodig nie.

[Biker]

Just for those who is in SAP.

I have 8 years SAP experience and certified 8 years ago. I just received notice from ACS and I quote:

"The applicant has Bachelor of Commerce (Management Accounting) from university of Stellenbosch which has been assessed as comparable to an Australian Bachelor degree with less than a minor in Computing and therefore does not meet the requirements for a qualification as prescribed in the PIM 2"

Now, I merely entered the above in my chronological list of qualifications and they completely disregarded my SAP qualification which was in the very next line. Also submitted my CV, references and SAP certification. SAP is on the MODL hotlisted and yet:

"Your skills have been assessed to be unsuitable for migration under 2231-79 of the ASCO Code, being the skilled occupation indicated that you intent to nominate in a General Skilled Migration application"

Ek wil nou nie hoes poep of skinder nie, maar ek het nie verwag die bosmossel daai kant kan groter digtheid toon as die van 'n black hole nie.

[Avida]

Hi Biker

Was this in a normal Skills Assessment? Surely they can't ignore something that blatantly when submitting an RPL?

Avida

[Ajay]

For a positive ACS assessment in the occupation category 2231-79 (computing specialist nec), which SAP Consultants fall into, you need to satisfy the requirements of either Group A, Group B or Group C as set out in the ACS PIM 2.

Group A - a degree assessed as equivalent to Australian standards, with a Major in IT PLUS 4 years post grad fulltime relevant experience in the field. A subject is considered to be a Major if it contains a minimum of two equivalent full-time semesters of IT content for the full duration of the studies, and at least a third of the content should be done at final year level.

Group B - a degree assessed as equivalent to Australian standards with at least a Minor in IT, or a diploma assessed as equivalent to an Australian AQF Diploma with a Major in IT, PLUS 6 years post grad fulltime relevant experience in the field. For the degree, a minor subject needs to contain at least 20% of IT content, and for a major as part of a Diploma, the IT content needs to make up at least 50% of the course.

Group C - an Australian qualification

If your qualification does not meet any of these standards, then it doesn't matter what subsequent experience and certifications you have. I would suggest you consider applying for an RPL (Recignition of Prior Learning assessment), where they will consider how much time it would have taken you to acquire the equivalent IT qualification and subtract this amount of time from your actual experience. If they do that, and you still have the required 6 years experience under the Group B classification, then you could get a positive assessment.

Cheers

Ajay

[Katy]

If your qualification does not meet any of these standards, then it doesn't matter what subsequent experience and certifications you have. I would suggest you consider applying for an RPL (Recignition of Prior Learning assessment), where they will consider how much time it would have taken you to acquire the equivalent IT qualification and subtract this amount of time from your actual experience. If they do that, and you still have the required 6 years experience under the Group B classification, then you could get a positive assessment.

Cheers

Ajay

Ditto. Goodluck!

[Biker]

According to my calculations I need to proof only 12 months experience within the last 4 years if my job is on the MODL (which it is, despite me being certified and ave 8 years full time experience). Guess what, 12 months is all they gonna get, we getting to the nitty gritty of the letter here now. I'm pissed off enough as it is.

"DIAC updated their Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL) list and changed the IT specialisations on the list.

Please refer to DIAC's web site for the current list.

In order to satisfy the MODL requirement, the applicant must demonstrate that he/she has at least 12 months of full-time professional work experience specifically in one of the specialised occupations within the last 4 years.

For the ACS to assess your suitability for MODL, we must have a detailed and descriptive employer reference that supports your claim for MODL.

Please note that we can only determine MODL from professional ICT experience. This means that we will not consider you for MODL based on your study.

We are unable to advise your chances of qualifying for MODL.

If you receive a suitable skills assessment and are approved for MODL nomination, the following statement will appear on your result letter:

"Based on the provided certified documentation, it is my opinion that the applicant has 12 months experience in ______ (name of specialisation, for example, SAP)".

Please note that the statement above applies to all successful MODL nomination regardless of the amount of experience the applicant holds."

Edited July 8, 2008 by Biker

[Maggel]

According to my calculations I need to proof only 12 months experience within the last 4 years if my job is on the MODL (which it is, despite me being certified and ave 8 years full time experience). Guess what, 12 months is all they gonna get, we getting to the nitty gritty of the letter here now. I'm pissed off enough as it is.

Hi Biker,

As far as I understand it, you need to get assessed positive first , and then for the further benefit of MODL, you need the 12 months experience.

If you do a RPL, you need 8 years experience, witch you have, as they deduct 2 years for studies and you need 6 years experience to get positive assesment.

Good luck and keep us up to date, we are also waiting for our assesment. RPL route with 2 project reports.

[Ajay]

You need the general positive assessment first (as an IT professional), and then the MODL positive assessment (as a specialist in SAP).

No point in being angry at the system and cutting off your nose to spite your face, by only giving them 12 months experience though - that would surely be a pointless excercise? Just accept that these are the criteria by which you will be measured and work within it. You don't need to agree with it, but you aren't going to change it either, so I'd recommend that you go the RPL route and take it from there.

Ajay

[Hennie-Pennie]

According to my calculations I need to proof only 12 months experience within the last 4 years if my job is on the MODL (which it is, despite me being certified and ave 8 years full time experience). Guess what, 12 months is all they gonna get, we getting to the nitty gritty of the letter here now. I'm pissed off enough as it is.

Ai Biker. I am so sorry . We are busy with hUBBIES ACS (programmer) assesment as well... so I keep on watching this thread. There is such a need for SAP people. In the company I work in I have tried for the last 9 months to get just basic SAP training and there is no one who can do it! There is just not enough of you guys around here in oz...

I really hope you find a way around this obstacle. Good luck.

[sa2auz]

Hi Biker

Sorry about your assessment. Have you considered going to an agent for help with the ACS RPL application and then doing the actual lodgement on your own? You can pay an agent on a hourly basis and they can just help with the wording of references etc. Our agent was very specific and we had to have references changed 3 times so they were worded and focused on certain issues.

Good Luck

[sa2auz]

Hi Biker

Sorry about your assessment. Have you considered going to an agent for help with the ACS RPL application and then doing the actual lodgement on your own? You can pay an agent on a hourly basis and they can just help with the wording of references etc. Our agent was very specific and we had to have references changed 3 times so they were worded and focused on certain issues.

Good Luck

[Dreams]

This is from the ACS about the Employer References:

These should be on company letterhead and include the job title, a detailed job description and precise dates of employment. They should also clearly state whether employment was full or part-time along with demonstrated levels of competence with any computer languages, the various types of hardware and software used and the extent of involvement with any major projects. Letters of appointment or contracts are not accepted. "

1) I really need help with the "demonstrated levels of competence " part.

Please give me some examples of what must be written on the letter from the company. Is there some scale of 1 - 10 and what are the levels?

2) My "detailed job description " that I got from my company is 4 pages long. It includes: program code, handovers, testing, releases, documentation, each with an overview and requirements. Should the "letter from the company" contains a summary of this?

3) With all these info on it, will it be acceptable for ACS if the "Employer References" letter is more than one page long?

Ps. I am a software developer (vb.net C# programmer)

All help will be appreciated.

[Hennie-Pennie]

Hi Godan

We are still in the process of the ACS skill assessment. I am posting an example from one of the letters we got. Maybe that can guide you. We drafted it and send it to the employers. They added some info on. Hope it helps. If someone can comment on the letter and maybe confirm if it is ok it will be very helpfull.

[bitisbitis]

Make sure that the refernce letters give the exact dates. e.g. 22nd May 2003 to 18th March 2006. AND states that you were full time or contract etc.

[psxkim]

Guys also note if it is for a current position, they will calculate your experince till the date that is on the letter...

menaing that if you managed to get a letter 3 months ago, you send your app, they will calculate your exp till 3 months ago.

So try to get a current ref letter with the latest date before sending your app if you have issues with total years of exp.

[Hennie-Pennie]

Guys also note if it is for a current position, they will calculate your experince till the date that is on the letter...

menaing that if you managed to get a letter 3 months ago, you send your app, they will calculate your exp till 3 months ago.

So try to get a current ref letter with the latest date before sending your app if you have issues with total years of exp.

Ok now I am stressing! Hubby has a BsC Hons degree (comp science) and 4 years experience. Our reference letteronly states the month not the exact day eg january 2004-July 2007, and then the next letter will be August 2007-Feb 2008 etc. Is that a deal breaker?

[Dreams]

Thanks for all the answers. Veral vir die voorbeeld.

Seems to me the letter need not have to much detail.

Good luck with your application

[Nicov]

Hi,

I sent an email to the acs to find out which vendor certifications can be used for assesment instead of doing the cloody RPL. Their response below:

In regards to your enquiry, the ACS currently recognises the following vendor qualifications as meeting Group B.

(Applicants with vendor qualifications MCSE, MCSD, CLP and CNE gained from 1997, and CDE , Master CNE , CNI , CCE , and OCM gained from 2004, and MCPD and MCITP gained from 2007, CISA and CISM gained from June 2007).

The work experience requirement of six years of professional experience must also be meet.