Curly

Hi the work is pretty good at the moment. It’s always up and down but there are a lot of projects going and a lot in the pipeline for next year. If you are a domestic decorator there are lots of properties being built all around and new estates being built all over

Hi I’m an electrician in Adelaide and went through all the processes you are going through now but I did mine as a general electrician. not sure if your work as an electrician will help with your application as they are generally looking for at least 5 years experience in the field that you are applying for. in regards to the folder you are putting together you should try and get as much information as you can. This will include proof of all employment, certificates and proof of study where you attended college, get photos of work to put in as evidence and just think of anything you can put in that will have some relevance. the folder I put together was pretty substantial in the end but I think the more you can give the better it will be. thanks

Hi Yeah I have always found work and now I have a full license it’s much easier. It’s hard at first as you are a trades assistant and people are generally after qualified sparkies. The best thing to do is go round the companies and explain situation face to face. My old company was quite happy to take me on when they realise they can have an electrician doing the work but paying them as a TA

Hi I’m an electrician now living in Adelaide. firstly you will need to get hold of a company that can provide a Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR). Our migrant agency put us in touch with Vetassess who are a Melbourne based company. At first you will be asked to provide evidence of that skill which will include letters from employers, letters from college to prove attendance, certificates of qualifications, etc for recognition of prior learning. It ends up being a sizeable folder. You have also got to have been working in the industry for the last 5 years. Once you send that off they will assess it and if you pass that part you will be asked to carry out a practical exam and theory exam. Once you have passed that you will then receive the OTSR. This allows you to transfer your skills over in Australia where you have to complete a regs course on the Australian standards which includes practical and theory exam which is generally a 3 week course. you will also need to document at least 6 months work in the electrical industry while you are here to then qualify for a Electrical license. whilst you are completing all this you will be on a restricted license so you can only be classed as a Trades assistant while you are sorting that out. hope that helps a little

Hi If he has just moved over and not got any documents yet there are a few things he will need to do before seeing if any funding is available. he will need to get a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to show what work he has been doing back in the UK and also as proof of qualifications. Once he has this he will need to apply to Vetassess and get on the course to carry out a practical exam which will then give you an Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR). It’s quite a long process but you will probably need to have all this in place before being able to apply for any funding or being able to get a restricted license. I had to have all this in Adelaide to apply for funding and before I could even enroll to get my skills transferred over. He will need to do this to be able to gain a full license. The course is around 3 weeks long and then will need to log the work he has done for at least 6 months. it’s quite a long process and I completed most of mine in the UK before coming out so not sure if the rules are any different if you are already here maybe someone else on here may have some more on that. I would maybe suggest speaking to a local college to see if they know of any pathways without doing the RPL and OTSR. sorry I can’t be much more help on this you may need to try and do some research on what you need to do to get the transfer done. Good luck

Yes I’m an electrician and moved here about 3 years ago. I’m not sure if you can do a course back in the UK but nonetheless you will still need to log at least 6 months work in Australia before you would be able to apply for a full license. Just be aware that you may be able to get help with the funding for the course over here rather than paying more in the UK. I live in SA and a government funded organisation here covered the cost of the whole process

I did my assessment in Blackburn and as previously mentioned they are not looking to fail you they just want to make sure you are competent. The written exam was not as bad as I thought I studied for weeks and learned all the equations again and then was provided with all the equations anyway We were given 2 chances to make sure we achieved the percentage mark. First time was marked and then 2nd opportunity to get over the line on questions that were wrong. The group I was in I think there was only 1 person that needed to rectify a couple of answers. The practical exam was pretty easy just a very basic set up similar to the AM2 but much easier. You have to test install afterwards too which they keep a close eye on. Had to do a fault find on a tube heater. Mine was just a short to earth on the heater. I was not confident on the motor circuit but wasn’t too bad. Had to draw it out first and add the components in off the sheet. I got stuck on one but the guy pointed me in the right direction and it all made sense. Just a basic stop start motor and contactor. The wiring was done on a push in connector board using flying leads. Once the motor worked he just swapped a few leads around and had to put it back together again. That was nearly 4 years ago now though so not sure if things have changed

Hi Steve and Kirsty Welcome to Adelaide firstly and glad to hear you are settling in well apart from the job situation. We have been in Adelaide 3 years in November. I just wanted to add to some comments that have already been said on here. I would sign up to agencies if the offer your line of work as most of the time the companies start off looking for labour to fill a gap or cover someone else but I know a few people who have ended up getting full time jobs. I was the same when I first arrived I was applying for jobs and getting no response. I’m an electrician so it was a little harder as I was only on a restricted license. It seems the job market over here can be more of who you know more than what you know. I would suggest getting a list of companies that do work in the field you work in and put a day aside that you can go in and introduce yourself personally. I did that and I ended up getting 2 job offers. Once you get that first job it makes it much easier when applying for things in the future. Good Luck