Aircraft Technician....seeking advice

[Guest snowy10]

I am in the process of getting my skills assessed by the TRA and should have a response in the next couple of weeks, with the recent changes to the MODL I will now have to apply for a 176 visa rather than the 175 visa. My research has led me to thinking there is a lot of aircraft/defence work in the Adelaide area.

 

I have been employed in the RAF for 22 years as an Aircraft Technician Mechanical after completing a 3 years apprenticeship in the RAF in 1990.

 

My whole career has been spent maintaining helicopters and I am now looking for anybody that has "contacts" within this field in Adelaide.

 

If we are successful in the visa application we are lucky in that I will have my RAF pension of around A$ 21k but I would love to find a job before emmigrating. I have e-mailed various companies but do not seem to able to raise a response and wondered if this was to do with the fact that we are so early on in our visa application process. By mid March I fully expect to have my visa application lodged and being on the CSL expect to have a visa by the end of the year.

 

Can anyone please offer advice or assistance??

 

Many thanks

 

Michael

[Guest Guest75]

Hi Michael

 

Welcome to the forum

 

I'd like to speak candidly if that is OK.

I am talking through experience with friends and guests at our rentals.

 

To work in defence you will need to be a citizen in most cases.

 

I fear you may struggle to find work in the aircraft industry in South Australia.

 

We had one guest who had just come out of the military in probably similar circumstames to you.

He was told he was in the "wrong state"

Through a friend that works on commercial cargo craft he found some work but it was going to take a while to find a decent position.

 

After 2 months + he and his family returned to the UK as he had signed up again.

 

All I can say is - it will be bloody tough with your specific skills, you may have to wait a good few months before a decent job comes up and you may even have to spend time working interstate.

 

I have heard of others struggling as well.

 

Saying that I do know one great guy ( who's wife posts on here) who has done well (ex military).

 

I'd rather give you the worse case scenario rather than living in false hope;)

[Guest snowy10]

Hi Michael

 

Welcome to the forum

 

I'd like to speak candidly if that is OK.

I am talking through experience with friends and guests at our rentals.

 

To work in defence you will need to be a citizen in most cases.

 

I fear you may struggle to find work in the aircraft industry in South Australia.

 

We had one guest who had just come out of the military in probably similar circumstames to you.

He was told he was in the "wrong state"

Through a friend that works on commercial cargo craft he found some work but it was going to take a while to find a decent position.

 

After 2 months + he and his family returned to the UK as he had signed up again.

 

All I can say is - it will be bloody tough with your specific skills, you may have to wait a good few months before a decent job comes up and you may even have to spend time working interstate.

 

I have heard of others struggling as well.

 

Saying that I do know one great guy ( who's wife posts on here) who has done well (ex military).

 

I'd rather give you the worse case scenario rather than living in false hope;)

 

Many thanks for the honesty in your response, I have take in your comments and have a little more information.

 

Obviously after 22 years in the Miltary I have gained many other skills. For the last 8 years I have been in a management role where I have managed a fleet of 16 helicopters and a shift of 60 personel.

 

I would love to arrive in Oz with a job in my trade however, I am aware that this may not be the case and it might be a case of starting at the bottom again and working my way up. I am willing to do "ANY" job to be able to pay the bills and would hope that having a forces background would enable me to find suitable work for the 1st 2 years until I get citizenship.

 

Feel sorry for the guy who left to come home and join up again, that is something I would never do and is one of the reasons for emigrating!!!! I have had my fill of deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan etc and with a 15 week old baby daughter want her to grow up with a daddy.

 

I will keep looking but appreciate I will come up against a few brick walls!!!

[SWMBO]

Hi with regards to citizenship since the change in July 2007 it now takes 4 years of residence to qualify not 2.

Good luck

[coolerking]

Hi with regards to citizenship since the change in July 2007 it now takes 4 years of residence to qualify not 2.

Good luck

 

It is possible to get much more quickly by joining the ADF reserves which is from my reading easy if you're ex UK armed forces. You do have to have PR though.

 

I do know someone who was offered a job but they needed citizenship so could not take the job.

 

Cooler

[Lea]

Hi Michael,

 

OH has sent you a PM

 

Cheers

 

Lea

[Guest Guest5035]

try at parafield airport in the northern suburbs. its a training base for airline pilots from around the world., they have loads of differnt planes and a few choppers there.

 

http://www.aal.com.au/parafield/default.aspx

 

Stevo.

[Guest KevnCarol]

Hi Michael

 

You would do well to take Tyke's advice, I am being told on an almost daily basis that South Australia is not the place for an aircraft technician. NSW and Queensland are your best bets although there could still be problems as no doubt you will not qualify for citizenship. Being ex RAF and working closely with the RAF until moving out here and holding a good position within a large defence company who unfortunately had to let 600+ staff go due to a couple of projects coming to an end, diversifying into other industries would appear to be the way forward although qualifications you may get prior to coming out here will count for nothing with the Australians, see previous threads example anethetist.

I do have a large number of contacts for rigger type work in NSW which if you PM me I will pass onto you. Apologies if this sounds a little negative but best to get a true idea rather than a false hope. Can give you more details if you choose to PM, hope everything goes well and will try and help if I can in any way.

 

Kev (ex F3 lecky)

[suzer]

You have management skills - just transition those to another industry. If you're coming with a pension you could afford to take a step back (if need be) before moving forward again.