Finding work in the engineering sector (Management)

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice really if any one can help.

We're planning on coming over to Adelaide in May and I've been looking for work on the job sites for Management positions in building services or maintenance and there seems to be quite a few listed but having read through other posts on here it doesn't seem it is that easy or quick to find work in and around Adelaide.

Does anyone have experience of how the jobs market is going in the engineering sector at the moment (mechanical, electrical and AC)?

If it does take a while to find a permanent job how is the temp work out there? I'm not precious and would happily go and pick and pack in a warehouse or whatever if that's what it takes.

Hi there. I can't advise on the specifics around your area of engineering in particular but I work in HR for a civil engineering company and it's tough out there at the moment. We moved across a year ago and although I secured work very quickly, it's taken my husband 12 months to secure anything. He works in logistics management. The challenge here is even when you are willing to take a step down, you are often considered over qualified so you really have to dumb down your cv. If we advertise for engineering roles we get flooded with applicants, and many of them are from migrants looking to break in to the market. Often though the employers are looking for "local" knowledge which makes it a harder nut to crack. I would definitely recommend looking at any opportunities but be prepared to support yourself for a while. It can be tough, or you may be fortunate. It's hard to tell. My advice would be network as much as you can and use any connection you can. If you can do further Australian qualifications, then get yourself booked on to courses as they will give an employer some reassurance of your commitment. Don't be put off as I don't want to be one of those individuals that says it's all doom and gloom and to stay where you are as you have made the decision to start a life changing journey...just be prepared that it could be hard, but the rewards are worth it in the end. We certainly hold no regrets, despite initially taking a massive drop in salaries and lifestyle. We love our new life here....just wish summer didn't have to end.

Hi Wozzie, thanks for the heads up. Looks like there potentially could be some frustrating times ahead then. Do you have any idea on how is the temp agency work situation over there? is there agencies like manpower here that can send you of to a warehouse for a few days picking and packing or site labouring? just to fill the time and help stay on top of things?

Any direction would be appreciated.

Hi I am an electrician who moved over in November and I found work after 3 weeks of arriving but I have been working as a A/C tech instead just to help them get through the summer months. like the other post has said they are often looking for local people or in my case fully licenced electricians.

Coming over from the UK you only get the restricted licence which means working under supervision. My advice would be to find out what you need to do to transfer your skills over. Try and find a provider that will do the update training for your skills. You can do that from the uk and they are quite quick to respond. Get in contact with skills SA who help with funding to carry out any gap training and they will tell you if you can get the help and set up a meeting for when you arrive. I would do this if you can in the first couple of days of arriving.

My situation now is I will be starting with a construction company in mid April so doing what I know best although the job I have now has helped pay the bills and get settled in. I still need to carry out my gap training but this should be done soon and then as soon as I can prove I have done 6 months work here in Oz I can get my licence signed off.

When looking for training companies to carry out the gap training I spoke to 2 main providers. PEER training are the bigger ones but wanted me to take 3 weeks out of work to do this. I can't do that as would have no wage coming in for myself then so I looked into a company called training prospects. I had a meeting with them last Friday and they believe I could probably get the training done in 3-4 days. That was music to my ears as they said they could spread it out over a few weeks.

If you can find out which works best for you try and find out some start dates and I would get it done ASAP but if skills SA will give you funding you need to have a meeting with them and get them to send all the info to that training provider before you enroll otherwise you will end up paying yourself.

If by the sounds of it you are from a servicing background there are plenty of jobs out there but they all want A class sparks as they are mainly man and van type companies. This is the same as where I currently work but as I had some A/C background they employed me for that instead. I think to become a manager you may still have to do this to prove that you can. You could get fortunate though and get a job based on your management experience from the UK. I was a site foreman in the UK but will just have to work my way back up to that level over here.

I am looking forward to getting my new role in construction and it is a good company that I will be working for. My wife has just secured work so that will help with our income and the kids are all settled here now.

Try not to look at the bad posts too much as you just have to persist and keep grinding out the CV's and you will find something. It's not easy but it can be done. Once you settle in and see the wonderful things that SA has to offer I think it makes it all worth while.

Hi Curly, Thanks for the info and training provider details, congratulations on getting the construction job, sounds like things are moving the right way for you.

My 190 sponsored visa was granted as an electrician (for management they wanted degree plus 4 years, which I don't have) so I've done the Skill Assessment through future skills for that here which I guess is the first step anyway. by the sounds of things its probably best I see out the gap training etc anyway if will help in the future to move back up the ladder and even better if Skills SA will fund it.

I have a few questions which maybe you can help me with.

What kind of wage do you get during the restricted license period?

Do you need your own tools from day 1? Our plan was for mine to come across with the rest of our belongings but maybe I have to weigh up what I bring with me as it could be a couple of months before they arrive.

Is there anything you would recommend I bring with me to that might not be obvious (other than maybe hand tools, testers and proof of qualifications)?

We're so looking forward to getting there and making a good go of it, so thank you for your perspective.

Glad all the information helped. When you come over you get put on a restricted licence and you get taken on as a Trades assisstant until you can get the qualifications changed over the TA wage is generally about $28 ph and then when you get the licence you can get a minimum of $38 ph. If you get a job in the servicing sector the average is about $28 ph but they offer bonuses in a lot of companies for production.

If if you have a degree you might be ok finding a managerial job but just check that the degree can be transferred over to Oz. I came over on a 189 visa so similar to yours. I did my skills assessment with Vetassess over in the UK but when you get here need to do a Recognition of prior learning or RPL. That's when training prospects said I would then be able to do the course in a shorter time.

As for the tools I was in the same situation as you. I had a big battery hammer drill that I put on the ship and then just kept my hand tools back so screwdrivers, snips, testers, hammer, etc. I had some bigger heavier tools that I put on the ship like lump hammers and chisels. I used my toolbox as part of my luggage allowance on the flight so tried to keep the weight down as good as I could. Managed to get it to 12kg.

I would start to have a look on SEEK while you are still in the UK maybe get the app on your phone. That will give you a feel for the market. If you set up your profile and put in your resume that you have the visa in place as lots of companies want permenanent residents. Just apply for a couple and see what response you get. Don't be disheartened if you don't hear back as most of the time they don't ackowledge it.

I hope it all falls into place just don't give up because it is definitely worth it.

If there is anything I can help with just let me know

Hi Curly, Thanks for coming back to me. $28 ph is a hell of a lot more than I got paid when I was an apprentice but then that was a good few years ago now, I'll make contact with Skills SA and training prospects this week to get the ball rolling. I think given that it will probably be easier to go down the getting licensed route than look for management work straight away I'll re-write my CV to better suit electrician jobs and work my way back up like yourself.

Thanks for the tips on the tools, looks like I'll have a bit of sorting to do squeeze them in.

I'd already got on Seek and a couple of other job boards looking for management jobs but will change my searches moving forwards. 7 weeks to go, can't wait.

Thanks Curly you've really helped get me back on track mentally, maybe a few last minute nerves but feeling good about it again now so thanks a lot.

Glad I could help out and good luck with it all. Let me know how you get on with it all and when you arrive and get settled in let me know and could meet up.

7 weeks will fly by now so have a good trip over.

Hi Curly, I'll let you know how things go and will definitely give you a shout when we're settled in, think I owe you a beer for the help.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi All,

Just thought I'd share an update on our situation which might give some new arrivals some hope that things can go to plan and it's not all doom and gloom on the jobs front.

We arrived on the 15th May and within the first 2 weeks I had 2 interviews, one with an national Aussie company and one with the company I worked for in the UK. Both completed interviews and tests within a 10 day period and having now been here less than a month I've had great job offers from both and actually ended up with a promotion from the position I left in the UK.

In the early days I saw a lot of people commenting on how bad the work situation is and that you have to drop back down the ladder again to get a job here. For those of you out there job hunting I hope this gives you the confidence that if you keep plugging away the right job may well be out there. 

Hi and welcome to Oz. 

Congratulations on the job front that is really good news and really good that you got the offers so quickly. 

Did you you need to do any update training to transfer your skills over? I have done my gap training now so just waiting for it all to be signed off and I can get my full licence. 

Apart from work how are you settling in? 

I can can imagine you would be slightly surprised by the cold mornings but wouldn't change a thing.

Hi Curly,

Thanks, its all gone super smoothly so far. We're signing the lease on a property in West Lakes on Tuesday and move in at the end of the week so we've just got to wait a few weeks now until the rest of our stuff arrives.

As I'm going back into management and won't be out on the tools I've not had to do any update training but its good news you've got through yours now.

We're settling in really well, everyone we've met so far have been really friendly and helpful which is refreshing coming from London area where you get looked at like a weirdo when you say good morning to a stranger ; )

Once we're settled in our new home I'll give you a shout as I believe I promised you a beer.

We've been laughing about the weather this week, its all over the news that its the coldest start to winter in over 30 years and still the weather is better that Colchester where we've just come from. 

Catch up with you soon.

Del

Hi Del 

yeah a it is funny about the weather and when it's cold in the mornings. It's nice by 12 most days so tell the people I work with that at least it gets above the morning frost temperatures here. 

Sounds good just give us a shout when your settled and will definitely have a meet up. 

Glad to to hear that you didn't need any extra training and that you have had a smooth transition. 

Speak to you again soon

On 6/10/2017 at 3:35 PM, delandpetra said:

Hi All,

Just thought I'd share an update on our situation which might give some new arrivals some hope that things can go to plan and it's not all doom and gloom on the jobs front.

We arrived on the 15th May and within the first 2 weeks I had 2 interviews, one with an national Aussie company and one with the company I worked for in the UK. Both completed interviews and tests within a 10 day period and having now been here less than a month I've had great job offers from both and actually ended up with a promotion from the position I left in the UK.

In the early days I saw a lot of people commenting on how bad the work situation is and that you have to drop back down the ladder again to get a job here. For those of you out there job hunting I hope this gives you the confidence that if you keep plugging away the right job may well be out there. 

 

That's really good news. So pleased to hear this for you. 

That's the thing, everyones story is different and while some do struggle and find it hard to secure work, others find jobs without too much of a wait or a struggle. Its impossible to know till you are here and giving it a go. 

Like Curly, hoping all the other aspects of life here are also falling into place for you. Sounds good re the house in West Lakes. 

Hoping you'll still pop back to the forum and keep us updated as its good to hear from people once they've made the move, its great when they are able to stop by from time to time to help and share with others still in the process.