International Student Trade Courses
Study a Trade Course in Australia
According to Jensen Huang of Nvidia: "There are thousands of jobs for young people, thanks to an accelerating boom in data centers. They just have to be willing to go to trade school. If you’re an electrician, you’re a plumber, a carpenter—we’re going to need hundreds of thousands of them to build all of these factories.” Channel 4 News, UK, Oct 2025
This combined with the global housing & trades labour shortages paints a picture of where the jobs will be in the near future.
Trade courses are very popular with international students. “Tradies” are in demand and earn a good salary.
After graduating, it may be possible to qualify for a 485 Graduate Visa - Post-Vocational Education Work Stream, get sponsored, or even qualify for skilled migration. As always, you are encouraged to consult with a migration agent or migration lawyer about potential oppportunities after graduating with a trade qualification.
Please note: International students are not eligible to study apprenticeships in Australia. Such programs are not registered for student visas.
Trade Courses & the 485 Temporary Graduate Work Stream Visa
Many graduates will be eligible to apply for the Post-Vocational Education Work Stream of the 485 Graduate Visa after a minimum of 92 weeks of study in one of many trade courses. This 1.5 year visa will give you time to get the work experience required to take home or have the potential for sponsorship (or even skilled migration) as a trades worker.
Many students have the additional goal of achieving skilled migration through the course they study in Australia.
We advise you to consult with a migration agent/lawyer to understand your options after being a student.
We can recommend a very knowledgeable migration agent for a consultation. Email us for more information.
Plan with the end goal in mind.
