steven_gers

I traveled to australia several times and always ticked no for previous convictions, and when I applied for my spouse visa they asked for details on all convictions and explanation what happened and what U had learned from this instances etc, this is the point the visa can easily be refused and being an unfit applicant, so be sure to be honest in your explanation and take responsibility for your actions, I suspect they will be concerned at at the DDrive that has happened twice and it only being a couple of years ago, Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Tom, Hope the move over goes smoothly!! Regarding you obtaining a plumbing job will require you to undertake the 'migrant plumbing course' at Challenger TAFE - Rockingham or MPA Skills - (Maylands I think) both are around 2weeks full time and will cost in the region of $3000 all in, With your trade assessment certificate in sure you can apply for a provisional plumbers license that will allow you to work for 12months with a company or a licensed plumber but you need to do the above course with the 12 month period, Having said that, don't expect to be paid top rates in that 1st year anyway, in fact I'd fully expect you to be paid around $25 - $30p/hr. Companies know you'll be desperate to get your foot in the door so will be happy with a job, if you have seen on seek.com.au most companies are asking for a minimum 2 years WA experience, and if you haven't got that then you become the Mersey of the employer, Also most companies want you to be gas trained, so if you have your gas safe from the uk make sure it's Upto date as this will cost you another $2000-$3000 to get the 1st part of the training sorted, if you are not gas trained from the uk? It's another head ache as you'll need to fill out a log book to state you've done xyz of gas installs etc, to undertake servicing and repairs of gas appliances then this is another course priced at $2000 and is 2 weeks as well, but not all companies want you to have this ticket but it is very handy, A small word of warning though, the construction industry has been slowing down as of late and there isn't as many jobs for plumbers at the moment, When I came over last year seek.com.au had well over 200 jobs for plumbers now you'll be lucky if there is 100, If you have any other questions just ask Cheers

I would be looking for extra work on a Sat and Sunday,

Without giving out to much? I'm a plumber, gas fitter, and part of my job is too test the water hardness of installations I attend, And believe me, 10 years, 15 years living here doesn't matter, I could say I've not had a head ache since living here for 10 years!! It's only advice, if you have poor wash results it's more likely down to water hardness or using quick wash,

you will need to use Salt in WA/Perth, the water hardness depends on the location but is generally around 4degress to 14 degrees of hardness, none the less at 4degrees the dishwasher will still run water through the salt section of dishwasher, Whom ever told you Perth has good water is telling lies, If you are in any doubt phone watercorp and they will be able to give you the rough guide of hardness for your area, Do Not put salt inside the cabinet along with your dishes, this will corrode the cabinet and void your warranty, Miele sell their own products including Salt, you can buy online or down at the showroom, My advise is return the dishwasher and buy a Miele far more expensive but very very good quality,

How you doing Rob, Good luck on the adventure mate, it's an exciting/daunting time but the time will fly by... In regards to your gas, if you have qualifications in gas, as in a Nvq/svq level 3 that'll be enough to prove you have the training required to do the course over here and get a good few units recognised so u don't need to do them here, If you have no qualifications in gas then I would do your gas safe exam and LPG, if you don't you'll just be prolonging the training over here and the cost of the training, I take it you are coming on a skilled visa linked to your plumbing? Have u went through vetasses? If so you'll STILL need to attend collage over here and sit the migrant plumbing course at the cost of over $3000, you'll be able to apply for a temporary trades persons licence that gives you 1 year to complete the migrant course in conjunction with working with an employer, In totally you will be looking at about $6000 to do the gas and plumbing, if you want to repair gas appliances add another $2000 roughly, If you are saying "sh*t, are you f***ing kidding Me"? I'm not it's the way it is over here, they disguise the truth in the UK/other countries, they say our skills are needed but make it very difficult for us to get a job and take $$$$ to get our licences and a visa in the process! Having said that, Imo it's worth it, If you have spare cash now and have opened a bank account in Oz already I would transfer money now, give yourself a nice little nest egg, the exchange rate is good at the moment, in fact the best it's been in recent years, Regards the job situation for trades like ours, there is plenty of jobs, the wages are coming down slightly but that's a good thing as they were over inflated due to the mining boom, some companies where offering $50/hr on the books with a company van etc now it's down to $40 and lower, Sub contracting you can earn a decent coin but again that type of work is dictated by the strength of the construction market, which is steady at the moment, but I feel it's going slow down a bit, Most companies advertise on seek.com.au and a lot of them are "maintenance plumbing/gas fitter" so you won't be on site more doing reno's and repairs etc a much safer option IMO,

If you have a place to stay until you get on your feet you're laughing, a lot of peeps on here have had to fiend for themselves when they've emigrated! So the stress levels are through roof, and when they paint this picture that australia is awesome and it's paved with golden pavements to their families and when it turns out harder than expected (imo) they like to jump on the negatives and try and destroy other people's dreams, If you had been coming for a job solely based on mines etc I'd say hold off for a while, but you have several different skill sets that I'm sure you'll find work, Regarding tickets, don't waste any money in the UK getting skills recognised etc unless you are required to for immigration purposes, Just get in touch with challenger tafe or Polytechnic west colleges - Google them and fire them an email with your skills etc and see if you can get them transferred etc and they'll give you a rough price

Pish, We arrived in January, we have family and a small group of friends, my wife and I got offered job before we arrived and we both applied for more jobs when we arrived and we have had our pick, My wife recently decided to apply for another job (on Sunday just past) interview on Wednesday, offered the job on Thursday, not even the same job sector she's been in for 14years, Me I got a job before I left the UK and I need 3 different tickets(plumbing and gas) and I've got none just yet, in the process, and I've got a great job, salary, company van that I can use personally and my wife can use aswell, Rentals are getting cheaper aswell, so that's a bonus right now, We came with $7000 initially, bought a car for $4k enrolled on my gas course for $2k and have transferred a little more since then, I've been reading this forum since way before I arrived it's the same story for the last 4/5 years most people paint a doom and gloom picture australia is on a down fall etc, It's not the case seek.com.au is full of jobs, My advise is come here asap and come with an open mind, Book yourself into tafe and get your welding tickets done, as Oz have tickets for everything, My opinion in a summary Glad we've moved, we live in a 3/2 decent garden, double garage, and live happily not really worrying about money and our combined salary is below $140,000 with a child in kindy and before school and after, Don't come here expecting a massive house, flash car and 5bed house with a swimming pool and you'll do just fine!! See you soon buddy Ps the grass is a shade greener but it's never the shade of green you want

Try Apprenticentre or seek.com.au, Even approach companies advertising for qualified plumbing & gas fitters as you might strike it lucky,

Do WA police certificates include convictions from the UK? Reason why I ask is mine is taking 15days to come through, and I used an online company who said it normally takes a few hours to come through?

Agree with stormy, forget sponsorship and do the independent skilled visa, once you've got you plumbing license over here you'll have no problem picking up work, even if it's at a reduced wage for a few months just so you can get the swing of the way we work over here, plenty of work and always full of job adverts on seek.com.au You'll most probably not hear back from any company if you are applying from the UK as most companies want immediate start so international application won't help them so your application etc just gets ignored,

Private company pension, final salary 1 which is frozen until I decide if I want to move it across or leave it in the UK

Ha ha, didn't realise that you are here, thought you had been lucky enough to secure employment before you came, Yeah me and my wife who's from Perth secured work before we left the UK. But I had applied for a few jobs 6months before we were due to leave and didn't hear a thing back, but started applying again 2weeks before we were due to leave and heard back and secured a job, then we both landed applied for another job with better conditions etc and both got better jobs, IMO there is plenty of jobs if you are coming over not looking to work in the mines! Even the locals who don't work in the mines and have lived here all their lives (wife's family and friends) don't understand why there is such a focus on the mines slowing down, it's never effected the infrastructure of Perths travel industry and normal working industry, and they are hoping that the house prices level out and food/drink prices come down, they are seeing the mining doom and gloom as a good thing for the average worker! So far the roses are good for us but then again we've had a head start with my wife's parents and best friends out here and both getting jobs, But I'd say to any1 give Oz a go if you are here with a realistic head on your shoulders, Glad you told that guy to shove his job, 55hrs a week ain't healthy!

I wouldn't be put off by stormys post, It all depends on the industry you work in, Back in the UK people would think I had a great life, with my company I was salary paid and I worked 28hrs for 6months(summer) and 45hrs in the winter to average out to 37hrs a week for the year, Problem was all the time off in the summer was boring with the wife working and the little man still at nursery( couldn't take him out of we would lose his place) so I ended up doing overtime, pointless having more time off if I can't spend it with loved ones, Winter was great money due to lots of OT but hours was horrendous sometimes working 21 days straight, again. I family time, Moved to Oz, work Monday to Friday 37hr week, no standby at nights and no weekend work, get to see the little man off to school, and come home to having time at night with the family also have every weekend to ourselves! My wife's family live here and they work in different industries and the only difference is office workers seem to work long hours and tradies start earlier but finish earlier, Stormy has a point in regards to research, just remember you are moving to another country that still has the basic principles of any other country, you need to work to live unfortunately, BUT come Friday you know near enough for certain you can plan a good wkend that involves sun, gorgeous beaches, bbq's, beer and family time! (Industry depending)

Wow, I think I'd just stay in the UK if I got offered that job offer, You won't see much of Perth other than a Saturday and Sunday and you'll probably be knackered to even enjoy it! Get in the plumbing/gas trade, start early finish early, although we shut down over Xmas aswel but not for 3weeks,