Techie dominant SkillSelect Round of Invitations in Jan 2020
Software and Applications Programmers receive the major share of invitations to apply (ITAs) in the SkillSelect EOI draw in January 2020. The Australia Department of Home Affairs (DHA) rolled out 2020’s first round of invitations for Skilled Independent (subclass 189 visa) and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491 visa). A total of 1300 places were allocated to the points-tested stream, where we saw 1000 invitations issued to successful skilled migrants eligible under the Subclass 189 visa, and the remaining were issued to candidates who applied for Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Family Sponsored) visa.
SkillSelect score of the lowest-ranked candidate invited dropped to 90 points. The invitation round considered candidates who lodged their Australia immigration application at the beginning of October 2019.
Due to heavy levels of demand, and to align with previous year’s invitation rounds, certain group of occupations are issued invitations on a pro-rate basis. The SkillSelect system of immigration first gives priority to applications submitted under the Subclass 189 visa, and then to the 491 Family Sponsored EOIs.
The pro-rata occupations are generally the most in-demand and popular professions listed on Australia Skilled Occupation List where the number of immigration applications received surpasses the number of places actually reserved available for the program in the given year.
Please refer to the table below for more details:
| Occupation ID | Description | Minimum Points Score |
| 2211 | Accountants | 95 (SC189) |
| 2212 | Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers | 95 (SC189) |
| 2334 | Electronics Engineer | 90 (SC189) |
| 2334 | Electronics Engineer | 95 (SC491) |
| 2335 | Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 90 (189) |
| 2339 | Other Engineering Professionals | 90 (SC189) |
| 2611 | ICT Business and System Analysts | 90 (SC189) |
| 2613 | Software and Applications Programmers | 90 (SC189) |
| 2613 | Software and Applications Programmers | 90 (SC491) |
| 2631 | Computer Network Professionals | 90 (SC189) |
| 2631 | Computer Network Professionals | 90 (SC491) |
Which Occupation Dominated the Most in this Round?
IT professionals receive the major share of invitations this time of round. Software Developers and Application Programmers emerged as the winners of this round by getting a total of 298 invitations issued across subclass 189 and Subclass 491 visa streams. The information released by the Department of Home Affairs clearly showcased how popular and competitive these occupations are as compared to their counterparts.
As of January 2020, out of a total of 1300 invitations issued for both visa categories, the following occupations are the top four occupation categories as per ANZSCO:
- Database and Systems Administrators and ICT Security Specialists-121 invitations;
- Accountants- 98 invitations
- ICT Business and Systems Analysts- 93 invitations; and
- Civil Engineering Professionals- 76 invitations.
Occupations such as, Medical Imaging Professionals, Construction Managers, Management Consultants, etc. are grouped under the lowest invitations received category.
Applicants who have successfully received invitations can now submit a complete application for Australia PR visa within 60 days. So, make sure you keep all documents handy before it gets delayed.
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