rob1790 Posted October 8, 2016 Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 Hi all,hope your all well.. Quick question for you all,hows the construction trade at the moment in perth?im a plumber in the uk and i know that ill need to re sit exams etc in perth but am torn between actually going ahead with visa and making the move and staying here in uk,im told work is very thin in perth and even more difficult as id be new to australia with no wa experience,been wanting this for 15 years but dont know if i can give up my business here which is good to risk not even getting work and blowing all our money,i have a family young daughter and always said id have loved to have grown up in oz so thought when i had kids id give it a go.Im really struggling with the decision. Any feedback would be great,positive or negative. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfie Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 As a plumber you will have to start out as a plumbers mate and retrain to gain oz qualification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 I have moved your post to its own thread. I think there are 3 issues. First, the economy is certainly a fair bit weaker than it was. People do still get jobs, but it is a lot harder. Second, as mentioned above, it isn't just a question of taking some exams. You will need to take some college courses - which are expensive - and you will need to work as a trade assistant for a while. A bit like being an apprentice again. Third, why did you think it would be good to grow up in Oz? It isn't a better place for kids. Just different. All of the same issues that kids face are the same. Just as many are glued to a screen playing games and things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestHamFan1 Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 Hi Rob, The apartment / new build has died a bit of a death at the moment with oversupply, we've just finished 100 nr 2 bed units in south Perth and the client has not sold a single one. Construction work is still happening but work has definitely slowed down. The good news is you have a trade so should be able to pull in some work, however without the correct certificates it may be hard going. Just a thought but you should come out here for a couple of weeks on your own and walk round some building sites, line up some interviews, start answering some ads (it's a heck of a lot easier getting an interview when you are out here rather than calling from the UK, get a cheap mobile with an aussie number to get you started) All it will cost is the air fare and a few weeks rent. It worked for me. I've been here 4 years now and do not regret the move one bit. I've four kids 15 to 21 over here so bit older that yours but they absolutely love it. The school the two boys go is private but £5k a year for both of them so miles cheaper than the UK and they actually enjoy going there. There kids at school are all pleasant, polite and whilst the school is very strict, the kids still have a great deal of respect for the teachers which is great to see. In my experience we are so glad we have bought our kids over here, they had a rotten time in the UK with a terrible school and the eldest ones had no chance of finding work. All 4 of the are now working out here ( boys part time in KFC) it's great to see them developing and enjoying going out with some money in their pockets. Yes there are plenty of their mates that stay in on the computers all weekend, my sons included but then that is your job to then pull them away from that and get them involved in other activities. I recently joined the local yacht club ( £250 a year full membership and use of the training dinghy's) and we take the boys sailing every Sunday morning, they are taught by local kids their age who take them out. That would never of happened in uk ever, the opportunity just wasn't there. It is hard but i walk the dog on the beach with my wife most evenings so there are some consolations. Hope the above helps Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2680 Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 This is useful info Westhamfan, I'm an air con engineer hopefully coming out in Jan, so I will certainly be taking your advice. As I've been through the process for skills approval OP, I would get the process underway pretty quickly as the vetassess process is quite long and drawn out. Also they only do a few skills assessments over here at the moment, I had to wait 6 months for mine and they tend to do the three trades on the same day - plumbing, electrical & air con. So it could be as much as a year before you could get out there to work depending on vetassess. If this is something you and your family are fully on board with, I'd say go for it, if the worst happened and you came back at least you'd be able to say you've done and you will always be able to work back here without too much hassle. Good luck, whatever you decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob1790 Posted October 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 Thanks guys for the replies,very informative..Think we are going to press ahead with visa application and see where it takes us. Thanks verystormy,i have looked into college courses etc and know it costs fair bit of dollar but hopefully worth it,and yeah i got the impression that id be the apprentice again.As for kids glued to computer screens and the like yeah i get that but better weather and more of an outdoors culture its what we like as a family,kids only glue themselves to tv etc if parents allow them to,we try to be outdoors as much as possible. Thanks again guys.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob1790 Posted October 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 (edited) Thanks westhamfan for the info,are you a plumber and how do you find the construction trade as a whole compared to uk? Edited October 9, 2016 by rob1790 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Hi Rob, ive been plumbing /Gas fitting for nearly 2 years in Perth, You should have no probs getting a job once your out here because of your training back ground, they will be keen so dont panic. If you get in touch with M.P.A maylands they are always running course's and you can claim a percentage back on your tax return were as Challanger you cant! Be ready to stump around $7000 on your tickets some will come back to you tho, If you P.M me ill send you some Contacts to try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegg Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Hi Rob, The apartment / new build has died a bit of a death at the moment with oversupply, we've just finished 100 nr 2 bed units in south Perth and the client has not sold a single one. Construction work is still happening but work has definitely slowed down. The good news is you have a trade so should be able to pull in some work, however without the correct certificates it may be hard going. Just a thought but you should come out here for a couple of weeks on your own and walk round some building sites, line up some interviews, start answering some ads (it's a heck of a lot easier getting an interview when you are out here rather than calling from the UK, get a cheap mobile with an aussie number to get you started) All it will cost is the air fare and a few weeks rent. It worked for me. I've been here 4 years now and do not regret the move one bit. I've four kids 15 to 21 over here so bit older that yours but they absolutely love it. The school the two boys go is private but £5k a year for both of them so miles cheaper than the UK and they actually enjoy going there. There kids at school are all pleasant, polite and whilst the school is very strict, the kids still have a great deal of respect for the teachers which is great to see. In my experience we are so glad we have bought our kids over here, they had a rotten time in the UK with a terrible school and the eldest ones had no chance of finding work. All 4 of the are now working out here ( boys part time in KFC) it's great to see them developing and enjoying going out with some money in their pockets. Yes there are plenty of their mates that stay in on the computers all weekend, my sons included but then that is your job to then pull them away from that and get them involved in other activities. I recently joined the local yacht club ( £250 a year full membership and use of the training dinghy's) and we take the boys sailing every Sunday morning, they are taught by local kids their age who take them out. That would never of happened in uk ever, the opportunity just wasn't there. It is hard but i walk the dog on the beach with my wife most evenings so there are some consolations. Hope the above helps Cheers WHOAH @WestHamFan1 ………….. 100 apartments not sold … that is a big hit for the client !!! ouch ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestHamFan1 Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Don't shed any tears for my client, his Dad is on the list of top ten wealthiest people in Hong Kong. The biggest problem they have at the moment is that the Chinese Government is clamping down on the amounts of money that they can take out of the country, oh to have that problem eh As far as they are concerned it has gone from a short term business plan to a long term one, no problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestHamFan1 Posted October 13, 2016 Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Hi Rob, I'm a carpenter by trade but ended up a Quantity surveyor, I was on a roof one day and it was a plumber who told me you could make more money with a pen than a tool kit so i went back to Uni and qualified as a QS. That's how i got out here, a QS is on the skilled migration list. However, work for quantity surveyors has gone really quiet so i'm now back on the tools, more job satisfaction but not as well paid. The Perth Construction trade compared to the UK is pretty much the same but a heck of a lot smaller. The guy I work for has been here for 40 years and there's not many people in the industry that he doesn't know. The Aussies are good to work alongside on site, plenty of kiwis here as well. Certain nationalities do certain trades out here, on my last job the ceiling fixers were all Chinese, the tilers Indonesian and the plasterers were all from Afghanistan. M & E trades tend to be Aussie though as they have the correct certification. Good luck with coming out here soon, i had copious amounts of factor 50 on today and still burnt my arms! it is great seeing that blue sky finally return for summer. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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