Any other bricklayers?

[stovell]

I have applied for TRA with a view to migrating to Melbourne next year.
Is anyoneone else in the same boat? What can i expect? Has anyone been given exam dates of December 12th? If so do you know what to expect from exam?

I have been told a decent brickie can expect to earn $300 a day approx. Is this accurate?

Would like to speak with anyone going through this processs or have recently been fasttracked prior to September 2007.

Have been to oz before and loved it but this is such a big thing it would be good to find common ground with someone to compare ideas-expectations

[danand1]

Hi there,

My girlfriend and I were reassured to read your message as we appear to be in the same boat as you.

We are planning on migrating to Oz (Perth) in the next 12 months but we are still in the process of completing the TRA.

We are struggling with trying to find out what our previous employers have to write in the statement and being a bricky, writing statements aren't really mine or any of my previous employers strong points!!!

Any advice on where to find examples would be greatly appreciated.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Best of luck with your exam! I wasn't even aware an exam needed to be sat! Is this appllicable for all applications?

Kind regards,

Andy & Danni

[Gollywobbler]

Hello Andy & Danni

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

Stovell has only made two posts since joining PiO - neither of which has received a reply till today so Javier (Stovell) might have given up on Poms in Oz, I fear. We normally do try to welcome all new members but Javier must have been overlooked in the pre-Christmas rush, I think.

I have noticed in your reply on Karen111's thread that you are talking about bricklayers and TRA?

You are on the wrong track. There is a 2 year trial going on at the moment, under which bricklayers and some other skilled tradies are having to go through VETASSESS for the skills assessment. Naffing expensive it is, too. $600 for them to assess whether everything looks OK on paper and another whopping $1,600 for the practical assessment.

So far, there has only been one lot of practical tests under the new trial scheme, in December 2007. The next set are due in April 2008 and apparently there will be a further assessment session in July 2008.

The man who can help you the most at the minute is Gavin Batson (user name teejaygb.) He did the practical in December 2007. Please see this thread:

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migrat...at-expect.html

Please also click the link below and then follow it through to the VETASSESS website. Hopefully the DIAC link should take you to the right part of the VETASSESS site:

A-Z Occupations List - Australian Skills Recognition Information

Best wishes

Gill

[danand1]

Hi Gill,

Thanks very much for your kind welcome and your advice in your last post.

When we checked my boyfriends trade (bricklaying) on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) it had the skills assessment stated as either TRA or VETASSES.

Is it definitely ONLY VETASSES we need to use in order to get his skills and qualifications assessed and if so, why does the TRA not apply to his trade and therefore, who does it apply to?

This is very frustrating as we have spent the last few weeks really looking into the TRA and preparing everything trying to get it ready to send off. All we were waiting on was statements from previous employers, which we were struggling with as they didn't know what they needed to write.

Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to point us in the right direction.

Does VETASSES take longer to obtain than th TRA and do you know anything about its process. I am assuming it would be similar as they are both in place to asses your skills and qualifications. Your knowledge is very much appreciated!!!

Kind regards,

Danni and Andy

[deanthebrickie]

Hi

My OH is a brickie and we're off to Melbourne, Geelong middle of April this year. We did do a reckie in November but it was hard to find out wages. From what we can gather through this website (and another one which OH found but dont know what its called) wages for brickies arent brilliant. He seems to think that the wages are a lot less and its around $30 an hour which is around £15 with current exchange rates. He thinks we will have approx $1,000 a week which is around £400 or £500 a week. Hopefully lifestyle will outweigh money and we won't have as big a mortgage as we had here.

[jenny4nails]

Originally Posted by danand1

Hi Gill,

Thanks very much for your kind welcome and your advice in your last post.

When we checked my boyfriends trade (bricklaying) on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) it had the skills assessment stated as either TRA or VETASSES.

Is it definitely ONLY VETASSES we need to use in order to get his skills and qualifications assessed and if so, why does the TRA not apply to his trade and therefore, who does it apply to?

This is very frustrating as we have spent the last few weeks really looking into the TRA and preparing everything trying to get it ready to send off. All we were waiting on was statements from previous employers, which we were struggling with as they didn't know what they needed to write.

Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to point us in the right direction.

Does VETASSES take longer to obtain than th TRA and do you know anything about its process. I am assuming it would be similar as they are both in place to asses your skills and qualifications. Your knowledge is very much appreciated!!!

Kind regards,

Danni and Andy

Hi Danni, I'm not sure about the TRA but I believe the VETASSESS process, once passed, transfers your English qualifications to Australian Qualification Certificate III - so you are recognised as a tradesperson in Australia.

I think there is a thread on here somewhere from someone who was in Oz and was struggling to find work as his UK qualifications weren't recognised in Oz.

Are you using an agent? If so, they can help advise you which route is best for you to take. My OH is a brickie and our agent automatically put us the VETASSESS route. As Gollywobbler said it is expensive, but if it means once you get to Oz your qualifications are recognised and it makes life easier then that's fine by us. But, then again, I have no knowledge of the TRA route so I've got nothing to compare it to.

Hope this helps.

Jenny

[danand1]

Originally Posted by jenny4nails

Hi Danni, I'm not sure about the TRA but I believe the VETASSESS process, once passed, transfers your English qualifications to Australian Qualification Certificate III - so you are recognised as a tradesperson in Australia.

I think there is a thread on here somewhere from someone who was in Oz and was struggling to find work as his UK qualifications weren't recognised in Oz.

Are you using an agent? If so, they can help advise you which route is best for you to take. My OH is a brickie and our agent automatically put us the VETASSESS route. As Gollywobbler said it is expensive, but if it means once you get to Oz your qualifications are recognised and it makes life easier then that's fine by us. But, then again, I have no knowledge of the TRA route so I've got nothing to compare it to.

Hope this helps.

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

Thanks very much for your last message. I was wondering if you or anyone else reading this message may be able to help us.

My boyfirend and I are currently filling out our VETASSESS forms and we are required to obatain 'certified copies' of all documents we provide to VETASSESS ie qualifications, etc.

I would be extremely grateful if you could tell us who would be authorised to certify our documents? Is paying a solicitor our only option or could a fireman, doctor, etc be authorised to do this for us?

Also, what should the certified copies have stated on them?

We would very much appreciate any help or advice on this.

Many thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,

Danni and Andy

ps - we have trawled through the whole of the VETASSESS website for answers to the above, with no success.

[tracy hunt]

Certified documents have to state 'Certified true copy of original' - signed, dated, name and occupation. We used a solicitor, the same one as our previous house purchase solicitor, they charged £1 a copy and £5 for the stat dec. I believe others can certify i.e.teachers, police etc but you would need to check that out on the TRA? website.
THE JONEZYS - Lesley, posts on here from Mount Martha, Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne.....her husband is a builder and been there a while now, she is very helpful and I'm sure can answer your questions about work.
If you are not using an agent (like us) you would be able to contact one and have a free chat on the phone about the correct assessing body, have a look on google for a phone number. All the references for my husband, we wrote out and then just passed to the relevant people for them to copy out onto headed paper. The references should detail when he worked for them, as in what capacity, what type of work was carried out,etc etc. We just went over the top with everything and gave all the information we could. When you don't use an agent you do most of it blindly.....not really knowing if what you are supplying is what they want to see. It took us 6 months to prepare all for TRA, as my husband is not very good with pens and paper aswell.
Anyway, good luck if I can help with wording of stat dec or anything just let me know.

[jenny4nails]

Originally Posted by danand1

Hi Jenny,

Thanks very much for your last message. I was wondering if you or anyone else reading this message may be able to help us.

My boyfirend and I are currently filling out our VETASSESS forms and we are required to obatain 'certified copies' of all documents we provide to VETASSESS ie qualifications, etc.

I would be extremely grateful if you could tell us who would be authorised to certify our documents? Is paying a solicitor our only option or could a fireman, doctor, etc be authorised to do this for us?

Also, what should the certified copies have stated on them?

We would very much appreciate any help or advice on this.

Many thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,

Danni and Andy

ps - we have trawled through the whole of the VETASSESS website for answers to the above, with no success.

Hi Danni & Andi

The people who are allowed to 'certify' your documents are:

• Legal practitioner
• notary public
• justice of the peace
• peace commissioner
• commissioner of declarations
• commissioner of oaths
• judge
• magistrate

When certifying documents, included needs to be on EACH document:

• "I certify this to be a true copy of the original document"
• Signature
• Date
• Contact Address
• Phone number
• official stamp or seal if available

Also, the copies CANNOT be double sided

The certification MUST be on the side of document that has the information on it NOT the back of the document.

A fireman or doctor isn't acceptable for your documents being certified, but a doctor or dentist or any of the above can witness your statutory declaration.

Hope this helps you.

Good luck

Jenny

[paklaihung]

Hi glad Ive just found this .Ive just put a thread on migration issues asking where are all the bricklayers.Ive got my practical test on friday 11th at acrington is your oh on the same test.would be nice to speak to someone else before the exam as I dont know what to expect.Cheers Daz