What is Professional Year (PY) program in Australia

A professional year (PY) program is designed of the graduates, especially for international students who wish to gain practical experience in Australian companies. This program is particularly developed with the intention to offer Australian work experience by undertaking them. It is combination of formal learning, and workplace experience and run for the period of up to 1 year. Students can get admission in their field of choice and depends on their background. For graduates, there are plenty of options available in the field of engineering, science, marketing, accounting and so on.

The main benefit of the program is to develop the industry specific skills for the fresh graduates, or who wishes to understand the Australian work context. Australian professional context is highly standardized, and this experience is a significant opportunity for the students to understand the standards and industry practices relevant to Australian work standards. Beyond that it would offer an opportunity to gain valuable skills, learn new methods, and convert or understand your theoretical ideas in a practical setup. Most importantly, this will allow you to experience Australian work culture, Human resources practices, communication styles, and other work-related ethics. A PY has been recognized and approved by The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and it will increase your chance of gaining permeant residency in Australia. The direct benefit of the PY program is that on completion, graduates will gain extra 5 points that improves their chances of skilled migration. Furthermore, combination of hands-on experience in industry specific skills, and local references will increase your chance of gaining professional jobs. Once you get into the professional career, there are numerous chances to apply for different skilled Visas.  It adds a very good value to your CV through the following benefits.

Gaining industry specific work experience

Understanding local workplace culture, HR practices and organizational behaviours.

Improve your professional communication.

Obtain local references from Australian Employers

Able to gain extra 5 points for your permanent residence.

To be eligible for the Professional program, you must be a local graduate completed your degree in Computer science, accounting, or in the stream of Engineering in Australia. Further, students need to hold a valid 485 visa (Temporary Graduate Visa), and below the applicants must be below the age of 50 to apply for this program.  Also, for engineering graduates who have completed their degree outside Australia in recognized institution are also eligible to apply for the professional year program, however, requires a sperate Visa class to study this program in Australia.

Some of the recognized institution that developed this PY programs are

Accounting Professional year program developed by CPA Australia, Institute of public accountants, and the institute of charted accountants.

The professional year in Engineering was developed by EEA, The Engineering Education Australia, which aims to develop the young graduates who have completed in Australian institution or in overseas to equip valuable industry specific skills to kick start their career. The other professional program was developed by ACS, the Australian Computer Society, and it aimed at equipping the skills in the field of information technology and communication.

There are many private institutions in Australia that joined with the industry bodies to offer professional program to students. Normally, the cost of program will be ranging between 10000AUD to 15000AUD approximately, and available in most of the bigger cities in Australia. Without doubt, taking a program has plenty of advantages especially for the fresh graduates willing to develop practical skills in a formal environment and under expert guidance., and if you are willing to settle in Australia through points system, professional year is definitely for you.