Der Roter Kampfflieger

I do have plenty of W.A. experience,(I first moved here in 1995), but after talking to other aussies who have been overseas for a while it seems that the lack of 'recent' WA experience is just a way of filtering people as times get tougher. I talked to an agent today who I hadn't registered with before and they said they were sure they could help with casual stuff until I find a full time job in my field so fingers crossed. Companies tend to view overseas experience with a bit of suspicion for some reason, unless its gained at board level and comes with a reco, or you are well connected in some other way. That's the way it goes I suppose. Damo

To answer your question, its direct feedback, I have been told too old by three potential employers, over the phone, and one potential employer said my accent was a problem in the sales role I applied for, again, over the phone. Try proving discrimination on the basis of a phone conversation! To be honest, discriminating on the basis of accent is not illegal as it's not a protected characteristic unlike age, sexual orientation, sex, disability, race or national origin!

After 8 months back here in Perth, still no sign of a job. Over 300 applications and 20 odd interviews......nothing. Living on Centrelink is a B***h! I have a WA MR driving licence, A Forklift licence, 5 years WA experience,(keep getting told I need RECENT WA experience), and 8 years of supervisory and middle management experience in the UK and still no luck!!! The feedback I'm getting is as follows:- No recent WA experience, too old,(at 41), no tertiary qualifications to back up my management experience and finally, and its the most annoying one, my accent, which for my sins, is RP due to a private education in the UK, though I could probably switch on my native Cotswold accent if I tried:biglaugh:. I am a citizen but even that doesn't seem to help! So, if anyone knows of any food manufacturers that are recruiting at the moment in WA please let me know! (Although I have approached all of the ones I can find on the net based here in Perth, and before anyone says it I cannot move elsewhere in the country for family reasons. Damo

To be honest, we're really only here for the children, we wouldn't have moved here otherwise, so moving elsewhere within the country wouldn't be something we'd consider. We found it pretty easy cash wise to visit from the UK and I'm not confident about being able to afford to visit them from somewhere else here. Also we know nobody over east. All my friends in Perth are aussies, I only know one other person from the UK.....my ex mother in law!!!

Ha ha, yes, I used to fly from Long Marston just outside Stratford, and I'm from Bourton on the Water!

Hi all, I don't post on here much but do a fair bit of lurking and have read a lot of peoples posts about returning to the UK after various periods of time and for various reasons. My wife and I are thinking of doing the same next year after being here in Perth for a year. My/our story is as follows, it may help others to make a decision or give them something to think about! I first came to Perth ,(I have never been anywhere else in Australia!), in 1994 with my then girlfriend who is from WA. I was on a WHV and we spent a year here before returning to the UK,(she is a dual citizen, as am I now). We got married then spent the next 5 years working in London and Edinburgh as well as buying a house etc. Eventually she wanted to return home and so we began the process of applying for a spouse visa for me and were told we needed an assurance of support due to me not having a trade or any qualifications beyond A-level, we got the assurance of support from her uncle and moved to Perth in 2001. I struggled to find any work, (in the UK I was a Butler/House manager in private service, not really something people here understand!), and ended up buying a vehicle and doing courier work as well as temping for agencies. We sold our house in the UK after renting it out for a year and were fortunately able to buy a house here with next to no mortgage! However we ended up having 3 kids ,(my eldest daughters, Katie and Emilie were recently on 'The Voice Kids' on tv so some of you may have seen them!), and, although everything seemed ok neither of us were really happy in the relationship and so we decided to separate and I moved out into a shared house which turned out to be a nightmare. My casual work and inconsistent pay caused all sorts of problems with child support and mortgage and rent and I ended up losing the plot after I found out I was being evicted due to the tenant of house illegally renting out rooms,(a friend of my brother in law!), I had no money and no family apart from my 3 very young children so I pressed the button on my metaphorical EPIRB and my family in the UK paid for a ticket home for me in the spring of 2006. I had obtained citizenship here so I knew I could come back anytime. I sold a 40% share in the marital home to the state government in order that the children not be homeless/having to look for another home and got a junior management job in the UK local to where I come from in the Cotswolds and moved on with my life as best I could. My job progressed and I met an amazing girl whom I married and now have 2 more children with,(glutton for punishment I know!). We bought a place in Oxfordshire and we both came to Perth once a year to see the kids and even paid for my ex and the older children to come and visit the UK for 6 weeks in the summer of 2008. Unfortunately I was made redundant from my job in 2012 but got another position that was quite senior in another business soon after, I was there for a year and then made redundant along with others so it was at that point we decided to come to Perth to live. My wife is an IT analyst and had been in her job for 15 years and so was desperate for a change and we wanted all the kids to grow up together. We sold our place in the UK and moved here in June 2014. Well, it's a bit like groundhog day, nobody will recognise my management experience from the UK ,( I was a Production Manager for a very large food producer, then an Operations manager for a national food distributor), so I ended up back lifting heavy things in warehouses with guys 20 years younger than me, I'm 41, and usually a lot bigger than me,(usually Maori!), as well as the odd bit of forklift driving. Anyway, my wife has decided she really doesn't want to be here, and to be honest, my younger 2 have gone backwards in school which is disheartening to say the least! My wife's work experience,IT analyst, doesn't match here qualifications, electronic engineer, so agencies/employers have said they can help her get work at Coles/Woolies stacking shelves etc but at her age, 42, she wouldn't get much else. To top it off I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and the doctor has ruled out heavy lifting etc, so I am on centrelink So, with a heavy heart, I have to tell my eldest 3 that we are leaving after already missing out on 8 years of their lives. My advice to anyone coming here as a spouse, especially other men I suppose, is to make sure you have a skill that is recognised or some work lined up or you will end up on a centrelink payment! It seems that most people on here are skilled migrants or on 457 visas, they ask questions about whether they can survive on 100k a year etc, well, we live on $1500 a fortnight and $800 of that is rent. We would stay if we could afford to but the dynamics of the situation make retraining too difficult. All the best, Damo

Thanks Cal, I'm an Australian citizen, returning home after 7 years in the U.K. I'm returning in March hence 'from April'. Damo

Hi, We're looking for a rental, (12months), in the Safety Bay area from April, preferably a 4x2 with a lockable garage/shed ,(I have an aircraft to store!). We are 2 adults and 2 kids and are looking to spend no more than $400 pw. We could pay 3 months in advance. All the best, Damo