unqualified on paper but self-taught Brit wanted to move to Australia-please need any help poss

[pauline wallace]

hello everyone, I am new to this forum. please help with any advice that you can share..my husband myself and our 16 year old son desperately want to move to Australia.

We were going to move about 10 years ago but pulled out due to family issues. It is now time to start my life. I am a self-taught cake designer running a business full-time from home for the past 2 years. I have no qualifications on paper apart from a short course city and guilds. I am also a qualified florist of 18 years (no paper qualifications) learnt everything on the job. my husband is a London cab driver which I am guessing will be useless in Australia's skilled requirements. My 16 year old son is halfway through his joiner/carpenters apprenticeship.

My plan is to move in the next 1 1/2 years that way my son gets to finish his apprenticeship and I can cram in any and every cake course that's available.

My plan was to get a job offer for me working within a cake decorating job and if so would my husband need to be qualified in a trade or does he and my son get to come along with out having anything and find a job out there.

Am I way off the mark with my idea or there any chance for us as a family to get to have a better life than just plodding on in the UK.

If any one can spare a bit of advice I would be the happiest lady on here. =X=

[wakeboard1980]

To go on a skilled visa you would need formal qualifications.

[pauline wallace]

Thank you, but do you think if i have a job offer?

[travelchic]

A job offer us not enough. They would have to sponsor you. Maybe you could look into a visa for people wanting to start/take over a business. I don't know anything about it but you could get a free consultation with a MARA registered migration agent. At least you'd know what your options are.

 

If you get a visa, hubby can go on yours. Not sure about your son. Depends on age and wether he's in full time ed I think. Again, a migration agent would be able to help you with that.

 

Debs

[blossom]

No, a job offer is not enough.

This is a tricky one as you. There is a tiny chink of hope that your experience might be accepted by tra instead of formal training. Contact a MARA agent to see what they say. Try go Matilda, George Lombard or Aba who posts on here.

If you do have any chance you would need an employer or state sponsorship.

Check with the agent as well at what point your son stops counting as a dependent on you as you'd need your visa before that.

[pauline wallace]

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help. I will look into that.

[pauline wallace]

Thank you very much for your help.

[Quinkla]

I am guessing that neither florist nor cake designer are skills in demand. But a real kicker is that if your husband is a London licensed taxi driver, he is probably well paid. In Australia, taxi drivers tend not to own their own licences and rent their vehicles - meaning they are paid subsistence wages. In Melbourne, at least, almost all the cabbies are recent Indian migrants.

 

Australia does not necessarily offer a better life. I know TV programmes tend to show nothing but sunshine and leisure but the reality is that most of us plod along to work every day, potentially working long hours with little leave and even less job security. The cost of living is scarily high and the warmer weather brings downs as well as ups. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I made the move (for personal reasons) and plenty of people are happy here, but Australia does not guarantee a better life than the UK.

[flatpack]

As your son is an apprentice he is therefore working and not a dependent so he would not be able to travel on your visa (if you get one)AFAIK. What apprenticeship is he doing by the way if he is 16 and halfway through it? An apprenticeship is usually 4 years long (3 of those attending college)

[pauline wallace]

thank you quinkla for your honest reply, i really do appreciate any feed back. good or bad we brits need to know whats ahead.

To be honest ive looked back over the past 10 years and i havent moved forward apart from my cake business is going from strength to strength and im hoping that living in Oz i could build it up again.

My mum and dad was going to move there when i was a child and didnt and then 10 years ago i went to take the plunge and bottled out because of leaving family behind but i have had a pull towards Australia all my life and i think if i dont do it know ill live to regret it.

I am 42 and time is going a bit to fast. I need to at least try.

I know someone hows husband went to college in Oz and moved the whole family over and 8 years on they are still there.

I know its not that easy for everyone but maybe thats something i could try?

[janlo]

I am guessing that neither florist nor cake designer are skills in demand. But a real kicker is that if your husband is a London licensed taxi driver, he is probably well paid. In Australia, taxi drivers tend not to own their own licences and rent their vehicles - meaning they are paid subsistence wages. In Melbourne, at least, almost all the cabbies are recent Indian migrants.

 

Australia does not necessarily offer a better life. I know TV programmes tend to show nothing but sunshine and leisure but the reality is that most of us plod along to work every day, potentially working long hours with little leave and even less job security. The cost of living is scarily high and the warmer weather brings downs as well as ups. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I made the move (for personal reasons) and plenty of people are happy here, but Australia does not guarantee a better life than the UK.

 

Spot on :yes:

[pauline wallace]

hi flatpack, hes on a 2 year joiner/carpentry apprenticeship working 4 days and 1 day at college.

i thought he would go on our visa until hes 18?

[blossom]

Studying in Australia really isn't an option for you long term. Things have been made very hard for students to stay in the last few years, and you don't have time on your side.

[blossom]

hi flatpack, hes on a 2 year joiner/carpentry apprenticeship working 4 days and 1 day at college.

i thought he would go on our visa until hes 18?

Only if he is fully dependent on you which it doesn't sound like he is.

[lebourvellec]

TBH - from what you have posted you probably dont qualify for skilled migration and a sponsorship would be a long shot.

 

There could be a way possibly with nominating Florist as occupation if you were able to get a positive skills assessment - but this would need state sponsorship. ACT are currently sponsoring florists but this occupation is limited.

 

The other issue would be if you would be able to pass the points test?

 

You should definitely run case past registered migration agent to see if there is a possibility but its not going to be easy.

[Isabelt28]

Hi there. I have checked, florist is on CSOL. Which means you could be sponsored. However, you would need formal qualifications first. This is because to be sponsored by a company they need to prove that you would be a better candidate for a job than an Aussie. Given that you're not technically qualified, it would be difficult to prove it. Your son also needs to be fully dependant on you and that is usually seen as being in full time education. There have been other posts on here about children who are doing apprenticeships & apparently that's not classed as full time education. I hate to be a merchant of doom, but I think it looks unlikely for you (

[pauline wallace]

Thank you, I think talking to an agent is my best chance. But thank you for your advise on getting the floristry skill assessed.

[Isabelt28]

Deffo talk to an agent, we're not experts! The cake decorating work is not on the list so don't focus on this. Is a business visa an option? Do you have any capital available?

[pauline wallace]

Thank you isabelt28 yes going to make an appointment ASAP.

Oh god no unfortunately that's not an option.

[Isabelt28]

Try one of the ones on here, that way they come recommended and you know they won't con you! I've had some correspondence with Adam Grey. He was amazing. So friendly and helpful. Even when he told me what I didn't want to hear, he did it in a kind way!!

[pauline wallace]

Ok thank you isabelt28. I will make a note of his name. I hope you got a good outcome on your situation in the end.

[pob]

Are there qualifications available in floristry?

If you have been in the business for years, go take a night course and get your qualifications.

 

 

 

 

You know how much your husband earns, now when the chips are down he works more and when things are good he has a day off now and then right.

What would he do in Australia? He won't be a cab driver will he. There is no knowledge to pass here in Australia. All cabs are rented from the firm, you never see a happy cab driver.

Look at his yearly income now and you will have to times it by 2.5 to give a similar salary in Australia. So if he earns £40,000 a year, he would need to earn $100,000 to have the same lifestyle. I'm guessing that creative accounting if he is working for someone else will not happen like he does for his earnings as a cabbie. Just ask him how much he spends on bacon buttys and cups of tea a week and imagine that coming out of a weekly wage.

 

I'm guessing that your cake decorating is a hobby? Your not doing it in a professional environment? Again there are cookery classes to take. But baking at home is hell of a lot different to doing it for a living in a professional environment.

 

Yes there is sunshine here.

So today I am hiding from it! shades are down, air conditioning is on. It's hot outside, cannot take the dog for a long walk, as I feel over heated when I come back. The dog cannot have long walks as his feet blister from the heat and he over heats as well.

 

Your hiding from the winter in England and you hide from the summer here in Australia.

[pauline wallace]

Wow thank you pod, it sounds like you already know a few London cabbies.. A good description. We are thinking about him learning a new trade before coming over if possible. Night school. My cake business is a full time job and I run classes where I teach other ladies who want to learn cake decorating. But it's not on the skilled list so maybe getting my skills accessed might be a good start. Thanks for your advice.

[blossom]

Baker, pastry chef, chef and cook are all on the csol. I'm betting you'd fit into one of those. Trades recognition Australia assess those jobs. It might be worth emailing them. They were helpful when I've had to email them.

[pob]

Wow thank you pod, it sounds like you already know a few London cabbies.. A good description. We are thinking about him learning a new trade before coming over if possible. Night school. My cake business is a full time job and I run classes where I teach other ladies who want to learn cake decorating. But it's not on the skilled list so maybe getting my skills accessed might be a good start. Thanks for your advice.

 

 

Yeah I know cabbies.

Why not day school and run the cab at night. They always need car mechanics here, but it would be a massive cut in wage for him. You really want to think about this.

 

I wonder if my wife has been to one of your classes? Do you have a shop where you do the classes as well?

OK of your teaching this, it is different to what I thought you were doing (sorry). You are a pastry chef.

 

You can prove this by the years worked in the industry. You do not have to have qualifications, work experience would be enough.

Now if you want to get the qualifications, call the local college and ask to speak to the head tutor and explain what you want to do. Tell them that you are running a business that teaches people how to cook and you just want the qualifications. Just ask to sit the exam. maybe join the class and buy the books so you can pass easily.

 

Now here is the challenge to you.

Go home and bake some bread, then croissants,chelsea buns,plum bread and so on.

Make a baked cheese cake.

make a variety of desserts and ice creams and sorbets.

Make a soufflé

make buiscuits and tuiles and cookies.

You can see what I am saying here. There is a lot to being a pastry chef. make sure if you get here you can get a job as a pastry chef and do it well.