paul1977

i've spoke to the tutor of the college that i have enrolled in. he says i have to do a 2 wk gap training course and complete a log book (E profiling ) then do a final exam. i said how long will it take to get my A class licence, he said depending on my log book it could be 5 months to a yr.

 

does anyone know if the log book is easy to complete quickly?

 

they are crying out for trades but they make it as difficult as possible to get a licence to work. i wouldnt mind but some of the stuff they do is rough as f**k.

 

thanks again for your help

Some of the stuff...? Don't you mean all of it...?

And punish the people/families who really need the A class licence..!

I didn't come to Oz to make money. I made good money back home, i cam here for a better lifestyle but i still expected to earn more than what i currently do. Although i have just been offered a better job with more money so hopefully i am finally making some progress. And once i get the license it should allow me to move back into a supervisors or PM role!

I have found myself over the last 18 months that I work just as many hours (generally) here in oz than I did in the uk. We start earlier which is nice but my total hours are the same, I still do a half day on a Saturday , so the only real difference is we work in the sunshine. Not 100% sure you have a better quality of life...? That's just my experience

Good luck too, would like to add I have never felt adjusting your belt / cutting back on things as a positive thing to do, I see it if your going to be skint you might as well be skint in the uk rather than oz. I came to oz to earn as much as I can as quickly as I can, why move so far to be in the same or if not a worse financial position...?

Good question. I'm sure there's loads of us that would love to hear answers to this! I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth the time, bother, and huge expense involved.

I presume that there are some positive stories on life as an electrician in Australia, once the dreaded gap year is over.

Maybe forums like these tend to give a negative slant on things, as people are more inclined to post here if they are having a problem or difficulty. Once things begin to work out for them, many people might see little need for posting. Just a suggestion.

 

I hope things work out for you, and presume they will once you are rid of the shackles of your restricted license. Sure you can go for jobs you prefer after that. Good luck.

The trouble is with Australia is you need to be earning top dollar to survive , with only a small amount of firms paying top dollar.

Has anyone on this forum or someone that you know come over to Australia and actually made some progress in their electrical career? I haven't been here that long but i am finding it extremely difficult to get anywhere on the job front. I am still doing gap training which is obviously part of the problem. I don't mean mining jobs either as that does not appeal to me . I have a very impressive CV and i have very broad experience yet i barely even get a response for jobs i apply for. I am finding it increasingly frustrating especially when i see the quality of workmanship and workrate that is present here. I am working at the moment but i feel i have went completely backwards in my career and am beginning to wonder if i am ever going to find a job that i am happy in here. If i was still in the UK i would have no problem in finding a good job despite the recession and i am interested to hear other peoples experiences.

I was lucky to fall on my feet there, but feel if I wasn't working for who I do I would be in the same boat, Australia is overated..!

You don't need tools here, pliers , terminal , Phillips , tape measure and a pad saw. That's it I'm not joking either

Just a bit of advice, I stand side by side with you on all aspects of work BUT the sunshine thing soon wears off. Prior to 2009 I had a way better lifestyle in the uk and had a better disposable income than here in 2012. I fully understand that right now this is the better place but I can never recall prior to the recession even worrying about money like I do here today in a country thats not in recession. When the uk spark grows a backbone and starts a fight back on terms and conditions which is slowly starting to happen then its the uk all day.

If your doing you gap training you get between 25-30 an hour and when you get your A class on a non EBA agreement expect around the 35 mark , please be aware your only work an 8 hour day and 35 an hour won't go far if your trying to surport a family too. Just being honest about things, 35 sounds great converted back to pounds but when your paying 10-12 dollars a pint it soon goes..

I work in London at the moment and its cut throat! The only work seems to be high end residential for £13 per hour and the jobs are pants. I agree with the comments about Ozzie sparks not having a clue there's loads of them here, I've got the unfortunate job of managing them. I'm moving to perth next August and can't wait! Even if the cost of living is high it can't be as bad as London in winter.....

Good luck, try to get on a good firm as 35 bucks an hour goes nowhere and the sunshine doesn't pay the bills.

A few reasons really. The most important one is I don't like it here, sunshine apart I think it's very overrated here and I totally don't buy into its a better place to raise the kids. I personal think its the other way round, it's so backwards and isolated I think it's a bad place for my kids. Yes there's more prospects here at present but Australia isn't immune to a Chinese slow down and then who knows on the job thing. My other main concern is wages, I'm very lucky to be working for one of the big 3 companies here, we're on the best EBA rate around, if I was to lose my job and couldn't get on another big 3 company the money goes down around 8 dollars an hour and I wouldn't be able to afford to live here, I've not come 9000 miles just to survive, I want to live. I'm from London and all my sparky mates are doing ok, the talk is work is starting to filter through and come 2014 London will pick up. If I'm only going to survive London will be the place I do it and not stuck down here with little money left at the end of the week

I know, that's what I've been thinking too. When I go back it will take me a couple of weeks to start thinking and installing properly. Just got over a year to go until my standards rise again when i get back to uk

Have you found that a m10 nut/bolt here is a little bit smaller than the uk, be careful of your spanner slipping...!

Your right, to be honest I'm speechless about what you lads have to do now considering what I have seen on site here. What energy safety should be saying is " please mr JIB electrician can you please teach the utter useless Australian electrician some form of electrical standard that doesn't put people's life in danger, come to our office and we will hand over a brand new A class licence "

regards

An update for all my fellow second rate UK sparks( well according to Australia we must be!). Today i received my first batch of homework from the college i attended. A 50 or so page document with questions to be answered and returned. When this is completed we then get sent a project to do at home as well. This is ridiculous if you ask me. Its hard enough trying to get settled in to a new country and deal with your family, find a decent job and somewhere to live without having to do this and fill a log book as well. I wanted to emigrate for a better life not to be treated like this.

I'm totally on your side, I think this will make people think twice about coming which I can totally understand. All that to earn around 35 bucks an hour if you don't get on one of the big company's who are under an EBA agreement . Not worth it considering the huge cost of living.

Hi, just need sum advice. Peeped off isn't the word.

 

Came over in June, applied to Energysafety board, told need skills assessed by TRA again, but couldn't apply as Electrician Special Class but now as Electrical Mechanic.

 

Sent off all the stuff beginning of August. Heard back today after sending e-mail to them on Tues to chase up applic, that I'm unsuccessful, as cant show any projects, start and end dates, nothing mentioned about tools used and nothing certified.

 

What a load of C**P. I've worked in industry for 20 years as Electrician/Maintenance, installing big machines for huge companys, sent pictures, work sheet, statements from employers backing up info, papers of tools used and computer programs, sent copy of employment contracts and P45 as well as payslips and had the whole lot certified by Australian Post Manager which they stated you could on their website!

 

Luckily working a moment, but boss keeps asking when my licence is coming through.

 

Any ideas to what to do, as feel like driving over their and pulling them over the desks!!

Welcome to WA. If carlsberg made backward places..........! You know the rest

Course is done. Basically its the same ETL course as before, Its mostly basic power calcs, max demand and volt drop same as you do in first year apprenticeship back home then you do the capstone (oz trade test) in the second week, register for an online log book( still waiting to hear back i need to chase it up) then fill it out for a year, could be quicker we are told but it seems to be time based so it will be quicker if you work overtime! You will also be sent a project to do at home! Then you go back and do the capstone again( fecked if i know why!) So basically u do 3 trade tests if u include the vetassess one to get your license lol! Oh and you pick an elective as well, Telecoms or one that covers distribution, i picked telecoms as i have experience in that field so i will have to sit a test on that too and prove that i have experience or if you dont you do another 2 week course.

Or you could come on a WHV do a 2 week course and get your license..............................................

What an absolute disgrace , TBH if I had to do all that i think I would tip it, sorry it seems cutting but these ***** over here have more chance of winning the lottery than being a spark, tyipcal Ozzie spark has as much knowledge of electrical work as an average DIY bloke in the uk. Seriously thinking of writing to energy safety about all this bull s••t you have to do.

You can work in more places in Australia than Perth! Not all are as expensive.

yes you are correct in saying that but my point is that only bringing home 1000 bucks a week and having a family to support will be really hard regardless on your location in Australia . It's a very very expensive country to live

Thanks for that Paul, how long have you been working in Oz?and where abouts are you working?Yeah just a bit panicky cos I'm a approved spark earning ok in England then gonna be moving to Oz and will be scrapping through, it's really really tedious that we have to resist all this training...Live is Live and Neutral is Neutral don't matter where you are....should just have to sit a regs course!!!

 

Is it generally about 30 dollars throughout WA? And is that on sites/house bashing or industrial?

 

Cheers Paul

 

Steve

Hi Steve I've been in perth for around 18 months, I have my A class and am on 43 an hour, I think Trades assistance are on around 30 an hour or a bit more, by the sounds of it it's going to be hard finding a position with his 12 month training rubbish. All I can say is think hard about the move because if your the only wage earner in the family earning 30 an hour on a 40 hour week you really will struggle, you may even not earn enough without using savings to surport yourself.my rate is higher and I'm the only one working as we have a little one and I can say if I don't get OT it's a real struggle,the cost of living is massive a lot higher than the uk and as I've said lots don't want/need OT here. They brought at the right time and as a result will live a VERY different lifestyle to a new mirgrant.

Hi,

 

Does anyone have a rough idea of how much Electrical Trade Assistants are earning in Western Australia?

Looking to fly out end of December with my wife and two young children and obviously gonna have to sit the 12 month training before getting my A Grade license.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

Can't believe you now have to do 12 month gap training, what an absolute ••••Ing disgrace , it makes my blood boil. These have the worst standards and worst sparks I've ever seen. I reckon that only about 10% of fully trained Ozzie sparks would pass a AM2. Since I've been here I say to them that I've de-skilled myself, all you need is a terminal screwdriver , Phillips, pad saw, pencil tape measure and a pair of pilers. All my tools are just sitting in the garage. Oh and don't worry about grips, just do it finger tight like everyone else. And you do get the odd Ozzie spark asked if the standards higher here, I just tell them that if they ever go to the uk pull pints rather than cables .

Around 30 bucks an hour

Hi lads I'm an A class licence sparky working in perth. I came here almost 18 months ago and done a 2 week course and gained my A class. Having worked here for this time I feel sorry for sparks coming over and having to do all you do to get a licence. The standard of work and standard of spark here is a disgrace, the worst I have ever and will ever see in my life. You are all so much more advanced than the "electricians " here it's an utter insult you have to prove yourself..! I would love to see an Ozzie spark on site in the uk, they wouldn't have a clue. A word of caution to any spark thinking of coming is during my time here there's a reluctance between the sparks to do overtime, you will most probley only work a 40 hour week and your RDO hours will be taken off that too, your rate seems high but unless you do OT you will struggle just as much as in the uk, it's ok for the people who have been here all there life or moved here years ago as they brought at the right time, all have small or no morgages, now days its a different story.. High morgage or massive rents and your only on 36-40 hour week with no one pushing for OT. Good luck lads and yes there is a slow down happening here at the moment and talk has its to last around a year or so until the bigger jobs start.