Ken63

Hi, Mark Without knowing what you're interested in or what you're good at it is difficult to answer that question. I suggest you look at the "Skills wanted" list or contact the Australian High Commission in London. Many agents will have the lists also (but they charge for their services) but the High Commission will give you this information for nothing. Have a look at the requirements and see if there is anything there that interests you by way of further study? You will find that the list changes regularly however there are some jobs that are required at all times, ie Nursing - have you ever contemplated that Profession? Ken

Mark, my apologies for the delay. Where you get the experience is not really an issue, what is the issue is that you have the trade equivalent, but yes, definitely, you will need vocational jands on experience. Bosses that employ tradies here expect them to be able get up and running from day one - they do not expect to have to train someone they believe should already be fully endentured.. It is a complex process cross evaluating trade certs between countries and it takes a little longer than it does to correlate NVQ's because the process for doing with NVQ's is much simpler. The reason for this is that each trade also has its own minimal standards for membership so to speak - for example if you want to be a builder here you have to be a member of one of the trade governing bodies such as the "Master Builders Association" and standards are rigourous. To gain access to the body you must have trade equivalent qualifications to that which are standard here in Australia - or here in Victoria to use the MBA as an example, follow me? On the subject of the back-packers visa it is 2 years (last time I checked anyway) and to qualify for the second year of the visa you MUST spend part of that year working in a rural area. It need not necessarily be working on a farm, but perhaps even pouring beers in a pub up the bush somewhere, get me? Also (and again to the best of my knowledge) you must be under the age of 30 at the time the visa is issued. Any British citizen should qualify for that visa if they are under age 30 and don't have a criminal record. Cheers, Ken

Hi, Claire. I'm not in Perth myself, I'm in Melbourne, but I recommend that you not limit yourself to moving to the one city in the initial period..Keep your options open and go where the work is..Too many people have their hearts set on moving to one particular area and are later sorry..As your husband is a qualified tradesmen you have the luxury of being able to look around before taking the leap.. Melbourne and Sydney are Australia's two largest cities and by the nature of that, also the two cities where he is likely to gain employment. You can always move to Perth later once you're settled if you wish to. Ps, I'm not trying to put you off Perth lol - I like the place, but it's all about doing due diligence, and your husband may well gain employment there in the first instance, but keep your options open and you won't be sorry later.. I'm not a tradesman so I cannot assist you with that side of your enquiry, but don't mess about with agents - contact the Australian High Commission in London and they will get you on the right path and they will give you all the current information that you require in this regard.. Cheers, Ken

Richmond Football Club......The TIGERS...........""""""""""YELLOW & BLACK"""""""""!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wink:

Waitinggame - Trains run every 15/18 mins from the city off peak and from Frankston back to the city...Peak times around 7 mins to and from the vity...Living in Seaford/Carrum you may get something cheaper than $350 a week if you look hard enough....Carrum Downs is inland further, aproximately 7/10 mins from Carrum itself and no train service - only buses, but a reasonable service I'm led to believe.. Jimmy - I lived in Seaford as a kid, was born in Frankston hospital lol.. We lived between Seaford Rd and Station St on Railway Pde....Get your kids involved in local sport..I played footy for Seaford when I was a kid and my dad played for them as well before me..Cricket also..I don't live in the area anymore but may contemplate a move down to the Peninsula again I think.. Ken

The States have their own nuances but essentially the end result is still the same across the country - year 11 and year 12 count for everything! As for UK Universities being better than Australian Universities - well that is a nonsensical statement to be honest! Ken

Laura - I can only tell you from my own experience on the matter...I lived in the UK for about 8 years and when I came home to Melbourne I had 200 quid owing on a HSBC Visa Gold Card I still owed and forgotten about too I might add...Anyway to cut a long story short, I applied for a small loan here with the NAB whom I'd banked with all my life and as soon as I told them my previous address which was in Norfolk, they loan officer at NAB said and I quote - "Do you have a Visa card with HSBC"?? I nearly died lol... I cannot say for sure whether Australian Banks and UK banks or Australian & UK credit agencies have a MOU's with each other and to be honest I didn't think it was allowed due to Privacy Laws etc etc, but it would appear that they do unfortunately!! I paid the 200 quid off that day and my loan got processed by the NAB after they did another check.. The only way you "MAY" get away with this is if you never reveal your Australian address if you apply for credit again in the UK and even then you may not get away with it as you may have lodged previous UK addresses with the Australian Bank that gave you the loans(s)?? I think you should call the creditors and try and make some arrangement with them..You might find them sympathetic to your predicament.. Cheers, Ken

Sounds like a good plan! The reason I asked what kind of Nursing you wanted to do is that General Nursing is 3 years as it is in the UK but if you want to do Mental Health/Psychiatric Nursing you could add an extra year or so to the timetable as the RMN/RPN designation is only available as a Post-Grad qualification here, effectively making home grown RMN's duel qualified..Foreign RMN's are employed in the role on the stand alone RMN qualification..

My last post got cut short in the middle lol, but if you're not doing the 3 then it doesn't matter..Good luck with the plan..What type of Nursing do you want to do and do you plan to do it here or in NZ?

Thanks, Cal :-) x Illuminati2 - you're right..I have been having a discussion with a chap on another thread and I suggested he go back to college and get at least an NVQ 3 in Carpentry and then come out here..Tradie qualifcations are assessed differently to the NQF/AQF models....I believe there is alot more paperwork involved there. BritChickx - if you can get your NVQ 3

Hi Mark, Yes there is always work for tradies here...The population is still growing every year and people have got to live somewhere :-) Even if the skills wanted list does not have Carpenters on the list at the time you come here on a backpacker visa, you will still be able to get work in your field on that visa and you won't have to pour beers or work the farms - but ONLY if you have the skills that the bosses in your industry here want, ok... Yes, you will need to go back to college and upskill to at least NVQ 3 to get your foot in the door...You need to have a trade equivalent here to what you have in the UK....An NVQ 3 is equivalent to a Certificate IV here in Australia....Most tradies here have at least the Cert IV (by the time they're fully endentured) as their theory component as well as their vocational time spent under the guidance of an Apprentice Master.... There are plenty of smaller builders that employ travellers off sites like Gumtree in Melbourne and Sydney....I would recommend starting your venture in either one of those cities - do not be fooled into thinking that you must go where it is hot despite the attraction that has for someone coming from the UK hahaha :-) You still have to establish yourself and you can only do that where there is plenty of work (Melbourne & Sydney)...If you want the hot climes then you can move on once your established and you have money in your pocket - but be sensible in the first instance.. Ken

Mark, if you're serious about wanting to move out here permanently then you will need to upskill yourself considerably, there is just no way around that problem.. You can still come here on the backpackers visa for at least 12 months and possibly with an extension of another year, but what then??? You have to go home and start again - not a great prospect, hey?? As you are still only 24, I suggest you stay in the UK for another couple of years, do an NVQ 3/4 or higher and then come out here with some paperwork behind you..Having skills will increase your chances of a permanent stay exponentially, mate... Good luck, Ken

G'day all!! I've jsut found this site. Welcome to Australia :cool: I'm Australian and I lived in the UK for nearly 8 years..I'm based in Melbourne and if there's anything I can help anyone with I'll be happy to do so - so just ask on this thread! For anyone concerned about NVQ's and how they stack up against the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), I can tell you that the NVQ 3 is equivalent to the Certificate IV here in Australia...I know because I had mine certified by the Victorian State Government's Department of Business & Innovation (Overseas Qualifications Unit).. If you don't have an NVQ 3 just scale up and down accordingly to that which you have - NVQ 2 (Certificate 111) NVQ 4 (TAFE-Technical and Further Education) Diploma....Bachelor, Masters and PhD qualifications are the same here as they are in the UK - all equivalent.. For anyone wanting to email the Overseas Qualifications Unit here in Melbourne directly to see how or if they can help you whilst you're still in the UK, their email address is as follows - "oqu@dbi.vic.gov.au" Obviously that email address is only relevant if you intend to settle and work in Melbourne or anywhere else within the State of Victoria...If you plan to settle elsewhere in Australia, you'll have to hunt down that respective State Government's equivalent service(s) if they have one...It is a free service in Victoria but it can take around 10 weeks for the process to be completed..There are companies here (I believe) that can do it in a shorter timeframe but there is a nice levy to be parted with for their trouble lol, so if you can wait, then all the better for you.. Cheers Ken

I suggest you contact the school in Point Cook directly and talk to the Principle (Head Teacher) and liaise with he or she as to the best course of action.. Because of the 4 month or so differentiation between the two systems he may have to repeat that portion of the study year that he has completed in the UK, however this will, or could depend upon a couple of things - A) At what stage the school at Point Cook are relative to what your Son has already studied (they maybe at that same level when you get here) B) His own standard of Academia relative to the the curriculum standard at Point Cook (he could be smarter than all the others lol) ;-) Finally - with respect to what Quoll has already posted, do not be concerned or swayed by comments that British A levels carry more clout than Victorian or Australian Year 12 results! I know two people that are taking up formal Scholarships at Oxford in September based purely on their year 12 results here in Melbourne last year..Granted, the schools were 'well to do' Private Schools here however the curriculum is still the same for all and sundry but I'm sure you get my point though. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your stay here :-)