Elliot

I have an electrical company and employ mainly Poms so if oyu need any work doing in the future just give me a call. We cover all areas of metro Adelaide but I personally live in Henley Beach. http://www.beebop.com.au

Guys, I run my own electrical business and know the pitfalls and hardships that await you as I too had to go through all the hoops to get my electrical license and then my contractors license. What you will need when you get here is to get your qualifications recognised by the Aussies. I can only speak of the UK sparkies in this reply. You need to book yourself on the Electrical MACGT course at Peer Veet. This is an intensive course and covers in the first week all your OHS stuff and your Electrical rescue with CPR (which is now compulsory). Once complete and passed you will then move onto the wiring rules part. This is again an intensive course spread out over 7 to 8 days over a 2 week period culminating in 3 exams, (2 written and one test and inspection with fault finding). It really is just like going back to college and if you listen and pay attention it really shouldn't be too hard to get through. There were 13 in my class and only one person had to try again, most of us got over 90% so all good. Now that was the easy part, here come the hard part. To actually get Peer to sign you off you need to complete the "GAP" training. This is the part where you have to somehow manage to persuade an electrical company to give you a job. Once you have this job you need to document EVERYTHING you do in detail. The more detail you have the quicker you can get signed off. If you are only doing house bashing then you will be waiting at least a year, yes you read that right, a whole year waiting for them to sign you off. If you manage to get into a company that covers a variety of work in domestic and commercial with some single and 3-phase work, a bit of motors, some control cabling (air conditioning is a good one) then you can in theory get signed off in as little as 3 months (but this is difficult and not the norm). Once they are happy and your log book has been back and forth between you and Peer a couple of times they will then sign you off and you get your magic certificate. Then the joys of looking for that job start. You do not need your restricted license to get onto the course at Peer but you will need it to get a job with someone. Here is the link to Peer's website with the dates for the next courses on it. http://www.peer.com.au/Portals/0/201...%2013.7.16.pdf This year they are in October and December and seem to be run every couple of months but only one course per month. The cost of the course plus all the books (you may be able to borrow these) is about $2,000. Some funding is available from Skills for All which is based in the city. You need to book an appointment to go see them, take your Vetasses and your passport, if there is anything else they will tell you. Once you have all of this then look me up. http://www.beebop.com.au Good luck everyone who reads this.

Guys, I run my own electrical business and know the pitfalls and hardships that await you as I too had to go through all the hoops to get my electrical license and then my contractors license. What you will need when you get here is to get your qualifications recognised by the Aussies. I can only speak of the UK sparkies in this reply. You need to book yourself on the Electrical MACGT course at Peer Veet. This is an intensive course and covers in the first week all your OHS stuff and your Electrical rescue with CPR (which is now compulsory). Once complete and passed you will then move onto the wiring rules part. This is again an intensive course spread out over 7 to 8 days over a 2 week period culminating in 3 exams, (2 written and one test and inspection with fault finding). It really is just like going back to college and if you listen and pay attention it really shouldn't be too hard to get through. There were 13 in my class and only one person had to try again, most of us got over 90% so all good. Now that was the easy part, here come the hard part. To actually get Peer to sign you off you need to complete the "GAP" training. This is the part where you have to somehow manage to persuade an electrical company to give you a job. Once you have this job you need to document EVERYTHING you do in detail. The more detail you have the quicker you can get signed off. If you are only doing house bashing then you will be waiting at least a year, yes you read that right, a whole year waiting for them to sign you off. If you manage to get into a company that covers a variety of work in domestic and commercial with some single and 3-phase work, a bit of motors, some control cabling (air conditioning is a good one) then you can in theory get signed off in as little as 3 months (but this is difficult and not the norm). Once they are happy and your log book has been back and forth between you and Peer a couple of times they will then sign you off and you get your magic certificate. Then the joys of looking for that job start. You do not need your restricted license to get onto the course at Peer but you will need it to get a job with someone. Here is the link to Peer's website with the dates for the next courses on it. http://www.peer.com.au/Portals/0/2016%20Upskill%20Calendar%20(Jul-Dec)%2013.7.16.pdf This year they are in October and December and seem to be run every couple of months but only one course per month. The cost of the course plus all the books (you may be able to borrow these) is about $2,000. Some funding is available from Skills for All which is based in the city. You need to book an appointment to go see them, take your Vetasses and your passport, if there is anything else they will tell you. Once you have all of this then look me up. http://www.beebop.com.au Good luck everyone who reads this.

Sorry KennyKen, maybe I should have been more clear. I own an electrical company and have won a new contract starting in the new year therefore I am likely to need electricians to do the work. Having been in a similar position with finding it hard to get a job I thought I would try to help others on this forum in a similar situation. If you know of anyone who fits that bill then tell them to get in touch with me.

Hello Wayne, How's it going? You still looking for work or have you found some now? Have a great Xmas. Elliot

Are you an electrician fresh off the boat and looking for work? Have you booked into PEER or TAFE to do your 'gap training'? Having difficulty getting that first break into the industry now you have arrived. Message me as I may (not definitely) be able to help out.

Hi Linda21, Look at this web site as it has lots and lots to look at. http://www.weekendnotes.com/ Where will you be staying as this may impact on your choices. Elliot

Hello, We stayed in a fully furnished place (easy to do before you arrive) for 8 weeks whilst we looked for our permanent rental. Once we found somewhere we used our landlord from the short term rental as a reference and one other friend who was already over here (she is a teacher). Bank statements from the UK are usually enough and the agents do seem to understand that most people who come in from the UK are solvent and will look after the place and pay the rent. Good luck with your move. Elliot

Hello Tiswas88, I'm afraid what you have been told is correct. Now that computer systems and departments over here talk to each other they are able to see how you got your visa, and if as you did, you came in via Vetassess then you will have to do some form of gap training. There is some good news though. As a newbie you can get some funding to help with the cost of this. Contact this guy, Adam Cirillo at Skills for All on 1800 658 887, you will have to actually see him and show him a copy of your vetassess form so you could make that appointment from UK, if you are going to call from UK then I think you will need this number instead +61 8 8463 5548. They are based at 55 Currie Street in the city, really easy to get to and a car park right opposite just behind the buildings, look it up on Google first just to familiarise yourself. Here is their website http://www.skills.sa.gov.au/Contact-us/General-enquiries You will also need to get you restricted license which is dead easy to do. Here is the website for this http://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/wcm/licensing-and-registration/occupational-licensing-and-registration/how-to-apply-for-a-licence/electronic-licence-application-forms/ It might be easier to get this sorted when you get here as they will need a photo of you which you can get at their offices when you fill in the forms. the whole process by some miracle, only takes about a week to get. A word or advice though is that I have heard that this type of license is only valid for a year so you really need to have your job lined up at the same time as you apply so as that if it takes longer to get your qualifications your restricted license is still valid. The main problem obviously is getting a job with this type of license as everyone says they want you to have an A class before they even contemplate giving you a job. There are company's out there who will give you work but it is just a matter of calling them. See how you get on and if I can help anymore I will. Elliot

If you do decide to bring your car over, bear in mind it will become a foreign imported car and as such it may not be that easy to get it serviced etc. We looked at bringing our Audi over but the dealers over here said they wouldn't touch it. Also there will have to be some "tweaks" that you will have to have carried out. It is getting warm now over here and I have only seen one convertible car. As said by others, you really need good aircon and a roof to protect you from the UV rays, which are much much stronger than the UK. A lot of cars have specially tinted windows as well to keep out the sun. If you park in the sun, it can get that hot in the car that you cannot even hold the steering wheel. I don't know there is a limit of $1000 before import duty. We bought a new front loading washing machine, as cheaper than buying in Aus, and had to pay duty + GST (VAT) of $58 so not that much and worth doing. Once you get to know your way around over here there are bargains to be had everywhere for everything so do not be put off buying over here. We took the view that we were bringing a 20 foot container so just prioritised what we would bring and had a really good clear out (in fact an entire 8 yard skip). They are very hot on any plants, garden furniture or tools, golf clubs and any shoes used outdoors (trainers etc), bikes, basically anything with mud/soil on it.

It is hard to make the move, we did it two months ago. But, we now live in a lovely little house in Grange, 5 mins to the beach, 2 mins to the primary school (very good school with long waiting list if you are not in he catchment area). Our elder son 5 1/2 attends Grange SLSC on Saturday afternoons, another great way to meet people. I am waiting to hear back about a job I went for two weeks ago. Things go much slower over here and that is part of the charm of Australia.

Ikea is expensive here as I guess the products have a long way to travel. Here are lots of shops selling furniture in different price ranges. The best we have found so far is Super Amart. They have quite a lot of deals on the shop floor, but for a great tip that I have only just discovered is that if you go to the customer pick up point at the rear of the store they often have items that have been returned by other customers with minor things wrong with them that they are selling really cheap. Also, do go through your junk mail as often you'll find some 'interesting' deals in them.

Hello Jane and Clive, Yes made it at last, been here nearly 2 months now and settling in well. Found a lovely house in Grange which we are renting for the first year as exchange rate is not too good as you know at the moment. I am waiting to hear about a job that I had an interview for the other week for a role at the new hospital they are building in the city. Would be great to get especially as we live close by. Did you make it to the meet on Sunday, we had other plans so couldn't go but went to the one last month at the church. Anyway good to hear from you, hope it is still going well and we'll definitely catch up over the summer once our stuff arrives from the UK. Take care, Elliot, Emma, Finlay and Noah

Is the meet at Hallett or on the beach today?

Hi - we've been in Adelaide for 2 weeks and found our long term rental in Grange (moving in later in Oct). Hoping to make some new friends when we move. Our eldest, Fin is 5 and will go to Grange Primary. That leaves me (Emma) at home with Noah who is 3, but as I've now found out won't start kindy til he is 4. We are hoping to meet people close by to meet up and enjoy trips to the beach and catch up Loving being in Adelaide and can't wait for the Summer!