flag of convenience Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 If you are not that fussed about being in Aus then don't bother. If, on the other hand you like it here and think you can get by and stay here by doing something for less money then go for it. Less money might mean less stress, less working hours, more of a chance to relax, go down the beach and enjoy what Aus has to offer for free in spades. This was certainly the case in old Australia, by this I mean pre boom times. Goodness, I knew folk on the dole living a reasonable good life back in the 90s. By good life I mean going out for coffees daily, eating out once or twice a week but paying only $70 a week rent. The laid back, kick back life is hardly evident today in a very money orientated Australia. Even Aussies are moving to South East Asian countries in order to live the life once possible here. It is not the relaxed place of time passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 no disrespect but tell that to the plumbers and electricians who come out here.They find they have to go back to school to retrain to tell them what they was taught 20yrs ago . The worst thing about that is that the standards of plumbing and electrical work are higher in the UK than they are here. It is really depressing to come to Australia and have to avoid giving work (within the household, not companies) to Australians as you know their standards and the quality of their work will be lower. Must frustrate electricians and plumbers from the UK no end having to requalify to lower standards (although I would imagine the first person to set themselves up as "The British Plumbing Company Pty" or "The British Electrical Company Pty" will make a lot of money out of Brits who have work to do on their homes!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kezzles Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 no disrespect but tell that to the plumbers and electricians who come out here.They find they have to go back to school to retrain to tell them what they was taught 20yrs ago . yep must be soul destroying... my brother was lucky then he came as a plumber but is also a gas engineer and welder and he has landed a job in none of these trades for 3 x his UK salary they guy took him on cos he had the right attitude and liked him and was willling to train him up...rigth time right place i guess.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1977 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 no disrespect but tell that to the plumbers and electricians who come out here.They find they have to go back to school to retrain to tell them what they was taught 20yrs ago . We was never taught standards as low as here.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CML1410 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 yep must be soul destroying... my brother was lucky then he came as a plumber but is also a gas engineer and welder and he has landed a job in none of these trades for 3 x his UK salary they guy took him on cos he had the right attitude and liked him and was willling to train him up...rigth time right place i guess.. Some people are just born lucky! Your brother must be one of them! I work in HR and am v grateful for the honesty on these threads as it is preparing me for what I might expect once I get out to Oz! I am living in Ireland at the moment and Oz sounds like a walk in the park compared to the realities of life here. It is great that people are warning us of the hardship in Oz but will it affect my decision to go out there?? -- No. No-one else can live my life for me, as no-one else can tell me what experiences I will actually face when I get out there but thanks for the honesty anyway -- I know now I just need to take a ton of money with me to tide us over til me and the OH get jobs. PS In the past when I have recruited I hired a HR Adviser role and I chose an Ozzie girl over UK candidates because she seemed to fit the company better than the UK candidates -- she was great - my point is sometimes personality wins over once you get the interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 my point is sometimes personality wins over once you get the interview. It's getting the interview in the first place which is the problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 You are absolutely right, as an HR specialist, we know nothing about Australian Labour Laws and unfortunately, no matter how much we have read up, we don't stand a chance against local candidates. Just got turned down for another role and had a very friendly reject email telling me that they had 148 applicants for the job. It is a tough market out there right now in certain areas, but even I was surprised at how many people applied for that job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Awwwwww someone giz a bit of good news ffs lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Awwwwww someone giz a bit of good news ffs lol Our two new kittens have settled in really well, my husband likes his job and the kittens have proved a whizz at catching and killing cockroaches. Oh and it was another beautiful day here today. Good enough news for you Pabs? :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Ha ha,yeah that'll do girl:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Do the unemployment rates vary much from state to state btw,anyone know? haven't read the thread soz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamffc Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 It's getting the interview in the first place which is the problem! Or finding a job to apply for. People will say that you should be willing to take anything, which I think most people are especially once finances become tight. But if you apply for a totally different job to what you are skilled in you stand very little chance of getting it, no matter how unskilled or junior it might be. If you are a Qualified HR Manager and apply for a job as a waiter, the chances are the employer will a) worry that you will continue to be looking for jobs in your profession and potentially be off the minute something comes up, and b) have applications from people that have recent experience of being a waiter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Or finding a job to apply for. People will say that you should be willing to take anything, which I think most people are especially once finances become tight. But if you apply for a totally different job to what you are skilled in you stand very little chance of getting it, no matter how unskilled or junior it might be. If you are a Qualified HR Manager and apply for a job as a waiter, the chances are the employer will a) worry that you will continue to be looking for jobs in your profession and potentially be off the minute something comes up, and b) have applications from people that have recent experience of being a waiter. I think it's called dumbing down your CV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 yep must be soul destroying... my brother was lucky then he came as a plumber but is also a gas engineer and welder and he has landed a job in none of these trades for 3 x his UK salary they guy took him on cos he had the right attitude and liked him and was willling to train him up...rigth time right place i guess.. Yes - but you must see that the fact that someone was lucky does not imply everyone must be. People need to bring more cash with them than they used to, or else they may run into financial difficulties. It is taking people longer to find work, so they need to support themselves for longer. The days of coming over with $10000 AUD and landing a job in two weeks are over. You should look to be able to support yourself for six months at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamffc Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I think it's called dumbing down your CV You mean lying? They might as well apply to be a Doctor in that case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxlornaxx Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 You mean lying? They might as well apply to be a Doctor in that case. Its not lying just leaving out irrelevant Information to improve your chances.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMG Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We have now been here for 9 weeks, arrived end of May, by the 1st week of July my OH had started work as an Senior project engineer , he applied for 9 jobs ,had 5 interview offers went to 4 of them and got offered 4 jobs. yes he is working at a lower level than he was in the UK but even at that level his Salary is a good one. He had applied for jobs from the UK but had no response as he was not in the country. He adapted his CV and chased agents and the companies he sent his applications off to. Our main problem is lack of available childcare , I have yet to find long term day care for my 3 1/2 year old that is acceptable so I can work, but that will come eventually. I cannot as yet say we are happy here but again I am sure that will come and if not in 2 years we will return to the UK. In the meantime yes we are lucky as it did not take long to get a job but it has to be said that local agencies in the Illawarra said to him that there is no work in this area and looking at local parks (where I spend a lot of time!!) there does seem to be a fair amount of unemployment esp round the steel works. I agree with other posters make sure you save enough to live on initially as the cost of living when converting money is horrendous. Good luck to all. PS Would I do it again knowing how I feel now, the answer is no, but hindsight is a wonderful thing and we are lucky that we have not sold up in the UK so if no happier in a couple of years we will return having had an adventure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I think that it is impossible to generalise about the work situation for everyone. In my line of work, I'd have no problem finding employment if I were looking. There is still a shortage of people (especially those with experience) in some fileds - it just depends what you do for a living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 You mean lying? They might as well apply to be a Doctor in that case. there is a difference between adding stuff which isn't true, and taking out what is not relevant. You should be taking out non relevant stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 The worst thing about that is that the standards of plumbing and electrical work are higher in the UK than they are here. It is really depressing to come to Australia and have to avoid giving work (within the household, not companies) to Australians as you know their standards and the quality of their work will be lower. Must frustrate electricians and plumbers from the UK no end having to requalify to lower standards (although I would imagine the first person to set themselves up as "The British Plumbing Company Pty" or "The British Electrical Company Pty" will make a lot of money out of Brits who have work to do on their homes!) We moved into our terrace house in Gee Cross in the UK. Typical first time buyers end terrace, built in 1890 but had been refurbished by a builder, all done as cheap as he possibly could though. First thing we noticed was a smell of fumes like gas fumes sometimes in the kitchen. We had a cellar and the boiler for the central heating was down there. Luckily we knew a plumber who came up to check it out and found it had a balanced flu when it should have had a chimney up to the roof. Boiler wasn't made for a balanced flu but it would have been cheaper. Result was when the wind was in the wrong direction poisonous fumes were blowing straight back into the house. We renovated the house ourselves and when it came to rewiring we wanted to move some of the plugs and switches around. We were stripping the plaster off anyway so the mess didn't matter. I took one of the light switches off the wall and pulled the cable to get it out the plaster, expecting it to go straight up the wall. It zigzagged all over the place and pulled off a heap of plaster. Every switch, power point had the same. The "electrician" must have had heaps of cable spare and just hid it under the plaster. I could carry on with plumbing and brickwork stories but to make a statement that the standards are somehow higher in the UK than here is complete crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Do the unemployment rates vary much from state to state btw,anyone know? haven't read the thread soz They sure do pablo. WA was pretty bad job wise when we came. We were advised by the recruiters to go to Sydney or Melbourne. We had our hears set on Perth though so ignored them. The mining boom hasn't made one iota of difference to us (apart from our eldest working in Port Headland I suppose) as neither of us has ever worked for a mining or oil and gas company. WA still has a very low unemployment rate but Tasmania has a high one. No surprises there really. It's like the UK pabs, the South always seems to have a much better time of it but would you move South or carry on where you are enjoying life, thinking you will get a job, like you always have? Personally I wouldn't want to live anywhere other than Perth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 You mean lying? They might as well apply to be a Doctor in that case. He said dumbing down. I think you would get found out pretty quick if you slipped in a couple of apps for a doctors position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1977 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 We moved into our terrace house in Gee Cross in the UK. Typical first time buyers end terrace, built in 1890 but had been refurbished by a builder, all done as cheap as he possibly could though. First thing we noticed was a smell of fumes like gas fumes sometimes in the kitchen. We had a cellar and the boiler for the central heating was down there. Luckily we knew a plumber who came up to check it out and found it had a balanced flu when it should have had a chimney up to the roof. Boiler wasn't made for a balanced flu but it would have been cheaper. Result was when the wind was in the wrong direction poisonous fumes were blowing straight back into the house. We renovated the house ourselves and when it came to rewiring we wanted to move some of the plugs and switches around. We were stripping the plaster off anyway so the mess didn't matter. I took one of the light switches off the wall and pulled the cable to get it out the plaster, expecting it to go straight up the wall. It zigzagged all over the place and pulled off a heap of plaster. Every switch, power point had the same. The "electrician" must have had heaps of cable spare and just hid it under the plaster. I could carry on with plumbing and brickwork stories but to make a statement that the standards are somehow higher in the UK than here is complete crap.[/quote your always find cowboys in both country's but the standard of electrical work in Australia is not only 20 years behind the uk but an absolute disgrace .. I've seen it all I can assure you but never as bad as here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 We moved into our terrace house in Gee Cross in the UK. Typical first time buyers end terrace, built in 1890 but had been refurbished by a builder, all done as cheap as he possibly could though. First thing we noticed was a smell of fumes like gas fumes sometimes in the kitchen. We had a cellar and the boiler for the central heating was down there. Luckily we knew a plumber who came up to check it out and found it had a balanced flu when it should have had a chimney up to the roof. Boiler wasn't made for a balanced flu but it would have been cheaper. Result was when the wind was in the wrong direction poisonous fumes were blowing straight back into the house. We renovated the house ourselves and when it came to rewiring we wanted to move some of the plugs and switches around. We were stripping the plaster off anyway so the mess didn't matter. I took one of the light switches off the wall and pulled the cable to get it out the plaster, expecting it to go straight up the wall. It zigzagged all over the place and pulled off a heap of plaster. Every switch, power point had the same. The "electrician" must have had heaps of cable spare and just hid it under the plaster. I could carry on with plumbing and brickwork stories but to make a statement that the standards are somehow higher in the UK than here is complete crap. I guess we must have been very lucky with all the work we had done on our houses in the UK. While we were regularly ripped off (in one house) by electricians in the area, where my husbands house was, we were very lucky and had excellent workmen, time after time. Having moved into a house here we have seen evidence in front of our eyes of poor workmanship, and we have the certificates signed by the Australians who did the work. We've also had solar hot water put in and the standard of work done by the Australians was awful. We complained and they sent two more Australians out to look at it who said it was fine. A blind man could have done a better job. Having spoken to the UK electricians, brickies and plumbers who have come to sort our house out, they have told us that the standards they have had to requalify to are much lower than the ones they had to qualify to in the UK. So, based on our own experience and the word of people who are doing the job, I am quite happy to stand by my statement that the standards here are much lower than in the UK,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1977 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 I guess we must have been very lucky with all the work we had done on our houses in the UK. While we were regularly ripped off (in one house) by electricians in the area, where my husbands house was, we were very lucky and had excellent workmen, time after time. Having moved into a house here we have seen evidence in front of our eyes of poor workmanship, and we have the certificates signed by the Australians who did the work. We've also had solar hot water put in and the standard of work done by the Australians was awful. We complained and they sent two more Australians out to look at it who said it was find. A blind man could have done a better job. Having spoken to the UK electricians, brickies and plumbers who have come to sort our house out, they have told us that the standards they have had to requalify to are much lower than the ones they had to qualify to in the UK. So, based on our own experience and the word of people who are doing the job, I am quite happy to stand by my statement that the standards here are much lower than in the UK,. Yep I had to go to tafe to gain my WA electrical licence.. I called it my de-skilling period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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