Plumbing - Vetassess Practical Assessments 2011

[bluecob99]

Hello

We are new to this forum! Myself, my husband and 3 children are hoping to migrate to Oz...
My husband is a plumber & bathroom fitter, trained for 22 years and we have been running our own small business for the last 16.
We are going for a state sponsored visa (WA) and are fortunate to have passed the first stage of the Vetassess procedure - which means we have the practical to come.
We have discovered that due to the changes in migration law due to come in next year, we would not qualify to go through on points alone and therefore feel an enormous pressure to pass the next practical assessment in February 2011.
We are very worried about the whole procedure (I am sure anyone who is in the same boat understands the implications on young children and financially) and would really appreciate any words of wisdom about the practical day/assessment.
In particular we are a small domestic plumbing firm, specialising in bathrooms and tiling. Although trained in gas work many years ago, my husband does not fit or test gas appliances. We are not up-to-date with every gas regulation and it is a worry! We were wondering how non gas-fitting plumbers cope with this side of things? Similarly, we have no demand here for air-conditioning/sprinkler systems and haven't worked in these areas.
Can anyone help us? We will put in all the work, but it's a minefield to know where to start!
Thanks for reading.
Rachel

[Dawny]

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/news-g...-saga-day.html


Hi this is a link by my o/h some time ago, welcome to pm me if you need any help, My o/h was and is not a gas fitter so applied to vetasses under general plumber, hope this helps a little
Dawn x

[Bod]

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/news-g...-saga-day.html


Hi this is a link by my o/h some time ago, welcome to pm me if you need any help, My o/h was and is not a gas fitter so applied to vetasses under general plumber, hope this helps a little
Dawn x

Hello Dawn

How did your husband get on with Plumbing in Aus?

Good to see that your happy back home. Ain't the weather glorious at the moment.

John

[Dawny]

Hello Dawn

How did your husband get on with Plumbing in Aus?

Good to see that your happy back home. Ain't the weather glorious at the moment.

John

Yes i know weather here is freezing lol, just waiting for the snow!!!!!
He couldn't get a job in plumbing, found it very difficult to secure any job if im honest with you, He even tried other states, so he was left feeling a bit down on the work front in oz, even tried for other jobs!
Pleased to say he is back being a busy bunny here,

[Bod]

Yes i know weather here is freezing lol, just waiting for the snow!!!!!
He couldn't get a job in plumbing, found it very difficult to secure any job if im honest with you, He even tried other states, so he was left feeling a bit down on the work front in oz, even tried for other jobs!
Pleased to say he is back being a busy bunny here,

Smashing, if I'm honest work was the biggest factor in why itnever worked for us. But never regreted coming back just wished thing could have been diffrent.

Its great being busy.

[Bod]

Sorry for hijacking thread Blue.

Good luck with WA hope all works out.

John

[Dawny]

Smashing, if I'm honest work was the biggest factor in why itnever worked for us. But never regreted coming back just wished thing could have been diffrent.

Its great being busy.

It was just one of our reasons also! Like you though, we never regret a moment of our time in oz x

[Dawny]

Plumbing vetasses-the saga of the day
I have just taken and passed my plumbing vetassess in accrington on the 19th feb. Found out i had passed on the 24th of feb, hats of to vetassess for the turn around in result times, this is supposed to take two weeks, i am well impressed.
The day starts at around 7.50 am ,should be 8.00am but allow 10 mins to walk up the hill to the building and the mile long walk to the workshops with all your tools, everyone who has done the walk will remember this.
The assessor will take you into a classroom, this is where he will check who is who and describe the day and the tasks to you.
Straight after registration the assessor will walk you around the practical bays and tell you what needs to be done but is on hand all day to help.

I will say at this point the tech guys are brilliant and help in anyway they can and enjoy a good laugh too.

The assessor, i had a guy called graeme, is brilliant, a good laugh but is still there to do his job.

You start the practical assessments at around 8.30 am, you can choose what you want to start with, i chose the framework option, this includes the brazing, dont worry, the tech guys show you how if you are not sure and you get more than one go if you mess up.
The framework is measured to the millimetre, not to difficult, but a square is usful for this.
At this point i had my first interview, the hot and cold water interview

the questions were not to hard b ut you will need to read up on a few things
such as,
health and safety
hot water controls you will need to name a selection of valves you would find on a standard system ie, non return, pressure relief etc, the more you answer the better it sounds
i found i was describing everything as if i was talking to someone who had no idea what i was on about, which is what they want ie, i had a question about making a concrete base for a shed, dont forget to tell the assessor you have to excavate the ground or use shuttering.
A couple of questions about trenching , sprinkler systems, how does a pump work ( use the word impeller and describe how the pump works)

after my interview i did the gas practical, this was straight forward using 3/4 iron, threaded on the rigid machine, again if you are not to sure the tech guys will show you
you will have 3 measurements again to the millimetre, and run it to feed imaginary gas appliances, this part you just throw the pipework in anyway you want making sure it is of a professional standard, and then soundness test it with the assessor present, then it is time for the gas interview

the gas questions were about lpg, soundness testing, finding leaks on a pipe run, flame failure devices, thermostats (high limit stats) , i had a couple of questions on compartment ventilation and pipe sizing.
I gave text book answers on these as i found it easier, also differences between natural gas and lpg, i just launched into calorific values, pressures etc and this seemed to answer his questions

once that was over the sanitary / soil practical, i lterally threw this in, in half an hour.

You have a cleaners sink a basin and a wc, and all you have to do is run pipework at the correct gradient and clip the pipework to uk regs. The wastepipe work is all 40mm and there is no gluing it is all pushfit, this is run into a stub stack, which you have to fabricate, which incorporates a branch for the wc and topped off with a durgo valve.

Then the questions begin,
septic tanks, storm drains, sub soil drainage, gradients for 100mm pipe ( dont forget at this point to mention you will actually dig a trench to lay the pipe in and they like to hear you would lay it on a bed of pea shingle, mention manholes or rodding points on any bend you may need, clipping distances, types of soil stacks, i had to describe a one and two pipe system and how the septic tanks works

then the magic words-----thats it you are all done---- were said, thats when you can relax and have a chat with the assessor, and no, he is not there to catch you out but make an overall assessment of your abilities.

I thought i had messed up with some of the questions, but i would say today, dont kill yourself with worry, make the most of the assessment and show the assessor how good you are and beleive in your own capabilities, or do what i did and treat it like a day at work
good luck, john
__________________
Hi Rachel, the post seems to have vanished, but found it on another thread, so copy and pasted it for you! Sorry the link didn't work!
Dawn x

[Cheeseman]

Any help ???
I'm currently training to be a Plumber, what qualification is recognised by Vetassess, and is there a work experience limit/Minimum, e.g. 1-2 years in the trade. I have been looking at all the Emigration stuff and my head is spinning. I have worked in plumbing for about a year, but only just taking my qualification. Currently I'm doing the combined C&G course 6129 combined with NVQ 6089 level 2, this is changing to the 6189 combined, then follow with the Gas course. Will this be sufficient?

Please help

[regan]

hi cheeseman
im in the same boat but have already finished the course and starting the gas in january. ive been told that vetassess will not test your skills until you have min 2 years post qualification experience.let me know if you hear different.
regan