Maintenance fitter jobs(Central Coast - Brisbane)

[Kenny]

Hi there

I am looking to relocate late this year or early next on the 715 visa (Using Go Matilda). We are looking to go to the central coast area firstly but would consider others up towards the Brisbane area. Are there many jobs for me? I do some welding & minor low voltage electrical work too in my job but my trade application to the TRA is a fitter. Been doing it for 20 years apprentice trained. I work in a glass bottle making factory as a shift engineer looking after 10 machines making about 4 million bottles a day andlooking after the 15 machine operators.

Thanks

Kenny

[fatpom]

Originally Posted by Kenny

Hi there

I am looking to relocate late this year or early next on the 715 visa (Using Go Matilda). We are looking to go to the central coast area firstly but would consider others up towards the Brisbane area. Are there many jobs for me? I do some welding & minor low voltage electrical work too in my job but my trade application to the TRA is a fitter. Been doing it for 20 years apprentice trained. I work in a glass bottle making factory as a shift engineer looking after 10 machines making about 4 million bottles a day andlooking after the 15 machine operators.

Thanks

Kenny

There's plenty of work for maintenance engineers around. They probably make up the vast majority of work in the fitters category. You won't be let loose on electrical work until you've done a restricted electrical licence (disconnect/reconnect only to do mech repairs). If you're handy with a welding torch that's always useful.

Don't worry too much you'll find work pretty quickly I'd say.

[Kenny]

thanks for that mate, I would prefer to stay around the Central coast area but I would go as far north as Brisbane. Are there may jobs on the Central coast or is further north better?

cheers

Kenny

[fatpom]

Originally Posted by Kenny

thanks for that mate, I would prefer to stay around the Central coast area but I would go as far north as Brisbane. Are there may jobs on the Central coast or is further north better?

cheers

Kenny

There's about 1000Km between Central Coast and Brisbane.

I used to live in Hornsby (top end of Sydney) currently live in Brisbane. I've worked with a fair few people who lived in CC and have friends who still live there so I know some of the area quite well.
The CC is a great place to live from a lifestyle point of view. Working class people can still afford to buy a few minutes from the water (getting harder day by day though).

The down side is work (this info may be a bit dated but will still hold true). Many companies in the CC are there to control costs, as such its pretty hard to find a comparable job there on comparable money to Sydney. Employers know that people will take a pay cut for the convenience of not commuting. Also finding these jobs is pretty tough... it helps to know someone who knows someone etc. That said if you're in the right place at the right time you can do alright.

Choosing between Brisbane and CC in your case pretty much boils down to climate if anything? You won't be working in Aircon so it gets pretty hot and humid doing manual work inside. You find yourself looking for reasons to go outside to catch a breeze (its often hotter and more humid inside workshops). Brisbane is semi-tropical so basically has two climates 'wet and dry'. Humidity can be fierce during the summer. Some can cope some can't.
CC is still pretty hot though. I ran a workshop in Hornsby and it regularly got into the mid-high forties in the factory due to machinery heat and poor insulation... low to mid thirties outside. Remember you'll have to graft for several hours at a time without a break from it sometimes.

[Kenny]

Thanks for the reply mate, we have some family in Wyong & Blue Haven. They commute to Sydney so suspected as much. The heat wont bother me so much, working in a bottle factory is very hot work indeed but the humidity will be different!

cheers

Kenny