ducktape Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Hello guys and girls… well, I haven’t been here for some time and I was a little surprised when I started reading some of the posts, there was one in particular that kind of got under my skin. I get a bit frustrated when people go on forums rant and rave and never actually articulate their thoughts properly or just ask for help, this frustration isn’t aimed at this website in particular I see it on several forums I read. I don’t understand, why do people do this? Without getting too heavy on the subject of immigration I have only one firm belief about it, which is it is for the migrant to fit into the country they want to go to not vice a versa. However it’s this mind set that sets the ball rolling for migration and whether it ends up being successful or not… As a disclaimer I understand my circumstances are different from others (as I m sure is everybody’s), but I thought I would just tell you what I have learnt if it helps someone else great if it doesn’t then no worries… For me the opportunity for successful migration comes with thoughtful considerations and priorities, I guess we have all probably written a list of priorities everybody’s priorities are different but here’s mine and some thoughts behind them. Work Social integration Standard of living Luck! The reality Work As far as I am concerned if you can’t get work the dream is over once your savings are gone. I read people’s frustrations on finding work when they get there, don’t get me wrong I get it, I m struggling here in the UK to get either a good flow of work or get paid for the work I’ve done but this is a sign of the times. I have already lived and worked in Australia and also held a business visa, so I understand the place. Now I have a PR visa but I haven’t managed to make the move so I haven’t lived there for a few years so I understand things change. Also I can only talk about working within the building industry. Here’s the deal, as I understand it – just like in the UK you can work in the building industry in a couple of different ways, employed or self-employed, you can work on large commercial or residential projects or you can work for smaller companies. If you work in this industry and if you can find employment you don’t need any licenses, you’ll probably need a combination of qualifications, personality, CV and experience to get you a job just like anywhere in the world! If you go this route from past experience I would suggest whilst you should certainly not undersell yourself be humble and accept you’ll need to learn the Australian way it isn’t really that different from the UK but it is different nonetheless. It worked for me in the past and many others I know. Understand a majority of the jobs pay from $20 - $35 per hour you might get lucky and get more. If you want to supervise even being employed you may need a supervisors license but not always but then you do need Australian experience because how can you supervise if you don’t know Australian building regs? Ask yourself the question from an employer’s point of view if two candidates turn up one with a supervisor’s license and one without whom are you going to employ for the supervisors position? For me personally I don’t want to be employed and I have to accept that if I don’t want to be employed I need to be licensed to work and that comes at a cost. It then gets complicated because you don’t need to be licensed to do commercial work unless you are the main contractor, a plumber or electrician. If however you want to work in the residential sector then pretty much every trade needs to be licensed to contract or sub contract, there are exceptions but basically you need a license. Beware of people telling you otherwise I have heard some horror stories of the financial repercussions it simply isn’t worth it in the long run it’s cheaper to be licensed. In all likely hood you will be asked for your license number if you’re not asked for it at any time be mindful, that’s all I’ll say. My scenario here in the UK is I mainly do residential and commercial interior fit outs with a small amount of structural building work, I have my own clients as well as working as a sub contractor for companies. So my work is varied and I do many different things I design, manufacture and install kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. I design, manufacture and install other built in furniture including library units, media units, show displays, walk in wardrobes, etc. I design and make freestanding furniture including chairs and tables, media units, sideboards, wardrobes, shelving, etc. I m accomplished in renovating homes from initial rip out to completion including but not limited to; demolition through to installing structural beams and supports, removing existing walls, setting out and building stud walls. Removing existing floors and joists and replacing with new. Modifying joists in preparation for new staircases, constructing and installing new stairs. Laying floors structural and non structural. Designing, making and installing new internal and external door linings, doors, and windows. Putting up new ceilings, making and installing new skirting’s and architraves. But I can't paint for toffee! I m not telling you this to blow my own trumpet I just telling you were I m coming from… But when I go to Australia I’ve got to start from scratch… I have spent some time talking with Australian companies over the last year (I think I have spoken to about 20 companies) and they have been extremely helpful, I was blown away by how helpful they were and I actually got offered three jobs over the phone and whilst tempted because it ‘gets me there’, I have decided to decline and they have asked me to contact them when I do arrive, something I will do. I have also spoken with the licensing authorities in SA and NSW and QLD, all three were extremely helpful and spent time going through the process, it turns out NSW is the toughest and because they are now introducing license recognition throughout Australia the suggestion is I get NSW licenses that can be transferred to other states if needed, I have also spoken with the master builders about additional qualifications and they walked me through the costs and how I should approach it all. The reality for me is I can’t get a builder’s license or a builder’s supervisor’s license until I have two years Australian experience and a cert IV in building and construction. Just because I have done my trade in the UK doesn’t mean I m entitled to do it in Australia and as the guy at the master builders said it’s not that we doubt you have the skills but you need to be assessed as all Australians are assessed and that is based on time served here in Australia… I think that’s fair enough... My migration agent wanted to ‘get me there’. They suggested I use what I would describe as one of my trades to ‘get me there’. This was in wall and floor tiling because it was in demand at the time by all states and the process for getting a visa would be quicker than carpentry and joinery. The anticipated visa time for tiling was 18 months and carpentry was 3 years… When I was being interviewed for my tiling qualification the assessor was under no illusion that I was more than just a tiler and in fact after the interview we talked for about another hour (which he didn’t have to do) about me gaining other qualifications later down the road. I got my PR visa in 10 months. But in order to get where I want to be, that is to move to Australia and do what I do here I have to follow the Australian way not my way, it does feel like a mountain to climb and there is ultimately a cost. However here is what I can do and the costs involved; Cert III in carpentry and joinery from master builders $2000 OHS (white card) $ 200 disconnect and reconnect appliances certificate of attainment $ 250 plug replacement certificate of attainment $ 200 I have been advised to get a tag and test certificate too because this can help you gain ‘friends’, by tagging and testing tools on building sites for beer tokens. As the guy at NSW licensing told me on the phone if you want your builders license in two years make friends especially with licensed builders who can help you get your license… read between the lines on that one it’s not what you know but who you know… tag and test course $ 350 Kitchen, bathroom and laundry cert $3000 Cert IV in building and construction $3500 (this certificate is normally $6500 but by doing the Kitchen, bathroom and laundry cert they can do the rest of the course for this price) In order to do pretty much everything I want to do now with the exception of some structural building work I need four different licenses Carpentry license Joinery license Kitchen, bathroom and laundry license Tiling License It’s about $500 per license per year; a heavy cost to bear but if I make friends and get my builders license this reduces to about $800 per year or so. However what you charge as a contractor rises I have discussed figures of between $35 - $60 per hour with several companies but then a lot of work is price work not an hourly rate, which is what I m more used too. It feels tough and costly and a bit barmy that; if I have a Kitchen, Bathroom and Laundry room license I can install a kitchen but not built in furniture in the rest of the house because I need a joinery license and I can tile the floor in the kitchen yet not in the rest of the house without a tiler’s license… were I can replace the skirtings and architraves in a kitchen but not anywhere else in the house unless I have a carpentry license and yet if I want to build free standing furniture and just place it in position at the customers home I don’t need any licenses at all!!! I can whine about it or accept this is how Australia does it… So for me to give myself the best opportunity possible of gaining work as either an independent contractor or subcontract I need to spend about $ 10,000, whilst I don’t need to do it all at once that’s the cost involved if I want to do everything that I do here in the UK… This doesn’t even include insurances and all the other overheads associated with being self-employed. I could just go work for a builder for two years sit a qualification and job done builders license but then I m putting my future in someone else’s hands and I m not sure I m comfortable with that. So now I m fully informed how it works in Australia it’s up to me on how I do it… I meet a lot of Australian tradesmen here in the UK on building sites and they back up pretty much everything I have found out, many of them came here to work and travel and save money to go home to get extra qualifications to get licenses to do the same thing that I m doing, it is also my understanding that Australian tradesmen consider UK experience a huge plus when they return to seek employment. Make of that what you will… Obviously if you’re a tradesman that is living and working there right now and think I have been misled please inform me otherwise. Social integration This is too big a subject and to varied for me to cover because my situation as a single man approaching 40 is different from a family, etc… Have interests and join groups is all I can say on this you are the one that needs to make the effort, they won’t come to you and it won’t happen instantly. I’ve got various interests from sailing, surfing, classic cars, photography I intend on getting involved in groups as much as possible in Australia. The funny thing is I have done all these things for years and developed these interests with friends. I don’t currently get involved much in groups here in the UK but in Australia that’s where I will find people with similar interests that hopefully will evolve into friendships. Whilst I hate the idea of flat sharing (I haven’t done this since uni!) I will probably do it, again another way to make friends; I think you get the idea… There’s nothing worse in the world than feeling lonely so get involved and work at building new friendships… For me work and social integration are the two biggest priorities, everything else will fall into place afterwards. I realise others have additional priorities such as homes and schools for their children but I can’t offer any thoughts on those… Standard of living I actually think it’s a bit fruitless for me to discuss standards of living only because the things that I want that give me what I consider a good standard of living are the things I already do here in the UK as in my interests, I simply get more enjoyment doing these things when it’s sunny and also proximity for example sailing and surfing I currently live in London I can’t just go for a sail or surf after work being able to do these things after work would make me feel I have a better standard of living because they help me relax after a days work and make the work/life balance feel more equal. I remember when I was living in Melbourne (actually I lived in Mordialic, Blue gum caravan park for $120 a week I had two pools and a maid!) during the summer months I would go down to the beach about 6:30 have a swim, read my book and have breakfast on the beach in the camper then go to work for 7:30. Back down the beach for a swim after work sometimes have an impromptu BBQ on the beach with friends or when I lived in Sydney and could go for a sail after work in the harbour with friends, that standard of living works for me. I realise it doesn’t for others. But I’ve never had a big desire for possessions; therefore I don’t really need a big house to keep them in, the reality is this I can fit all the things I want in my van, everything else I can live without… So I can’t really get into the whole standard of living discussion about needing a big house with a pool and a couple of cars on the driveway… Don’t get me wrong I’d never condone people for wanting these things many of my clients are wealthy people who want wonderful homes and I don’t judge other people based on what they do or don’t have, it just doesn’t interest me… different folks, different strokes… Luck Just as it says whether you’re here in the UK or somewhere else you need a bit of luck, some of us have suffered more than others in recent years with the economy, it’s just the luck of the draw, but you can help yourself with luck by giving yourself as many opportunities as possible… The reality The way I look at it is if your young just go for it, 12 years ago I jumped on a plane with a $1000 in my back pocket it worked out fine… So much so I want to go back possibility forever. Obviously, as you get older you become a little more cautious and are aware of the consequences so take your time to understand what you’re letting yourself in for. The one thing I m not going to do is put too much pressure on myself to make it a success; I understand that’s easy for me to say as a single man with seemingly no responsibilities but I have responsibilities. I m looking at it as an adventure, that adventure may last a couple of years it may last a lifetime who knows. I know families going out there that have the same outlook even though their situation and circumstances are different. There are some things you’ll never understand until you get there like homesickness, missing the family or the simple things you do or have access to in the UK. I got terrible homesickness the first time I moved there and it nearly brought me home, but my mum and dad came over and visited me for three weeks, I wept like an idiot when I met them at the airport but their three week stay solved my homesickness. I already know I will miss them when I go again, I’ll miss my sister and my niece and all my friends, I will probably miss the UK and you know what it’s OK to miss these things. I will probably weep like an idiot every time family or friends come visit me and then go and vice a versa and you know what it’s OK… I understand we’re all different and we all have different approaches to emigration whether it’s to Australia or somewhere else in the world. Writing all this down has helped me put some things into perspective as I said right at the beginning if some of my thoughts and costs relating to being a tradie helps someone else great if it isn’t any help no worries… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scrumpy Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 YEP, it helps, cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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