Plumbing workers

[Guest kenco]

Hi Rob Sorry its been a few weeks since we last chatted Im still looking for work as a gas fitter i specialize in catering and laundry equipment here in the UK so i hope to get a simillar job

Im travelling to Adelaide for the last 2 weeks of September and hope to talk to a few companies while Im there , i know i will have to talk a training course and have already spoken to a training centre called Gas Train, I am trying to get my UK qualifications down in such a way that Gas Train can understand what Im qualified in , and hope to cut the training down to something quick and basic.

If you could help ie i am trying to get a list together of Adelaide companies that deal in gas work who i might be able to approach ( also with thought of sponsorship )

If you could give any help or advice it would be appreciated

Many thanks Keith.

[Rob and Mel]

Keith,

 

I will have a look at the companies in Adelaide that you could talk to.

 

If you private message me your email address I could send you the info I will have.

 

Catch up soon Rob

[Guest Plumboz]

Ignite gas in adelaide deal with catering etc

 

Hope that helps

 

Cheers

[Guest kazdan]

Hi

 

Glad for your Info, Could you help in knowing if the courses can be done here In U.K I know that you can do a vetassess???

 

My hubby is a time served Plumber, and has been a heating engineer (Fixes and repairs Boilers oil, and central heating) for the last 4 years.

 

Will we have trouble with him to get a job, as it's his points etc getting us out there!

 

Hope all going well for every one

 

Karen, Dan and George

[Guest dalton]

To my knowledge i dont think you can do the courses in the uk it may have changed since i was there not sure? I have over 13 years in the trade domestic/commertial gas pluming. He will find there is no large demand for just service & repair engineers like uk ,more plumbing & install work with some boiler repairs, but they dont have the vast range of gas appliances like the UK have. At the moment all he will be able to get is a basic plumbing licence that he can work with all be it limited & only for a company them do the bridging gap courses at TAFE to get the full level three licence then gas making him so called qualified bloody joke really, but that seems to be the system at he moment im told they are trying to make the transition better, watch this space. Hope that helps

[Guest jlr248]

More Changes for Plumbers - enough to make you head spin and empty you wallet!! We landed 28th Oct and since then OH has spend a small fortune after discovering the system for Plumbers has changed again (from 1st Nov) this means more courses which can take up to 12 months to complete due to availability and longer wait to obtain skills recognition. All this after paying out for Vettassess in order to get 176 visa in the first place. He is on his first week long course atm and they all just heard there are no plumbing jobs around for newbies having to work under supervision (even tho hubby has been self employed for 20 ears in uk) as all the big sites are shutting and few jobs around are go mainly to citizens or those poms who have completed all the courses. OH will get his white card next week so hopes to get some sort of labourer work on site, just as well he has plenty of experience in that side of things too. Can't understand why plumbers are still on skills wanted list when there are so few jobs around. Is it just the time of year? When do things start picking up again? Would love to hear from anyone who has fathomed a way through these problems or still trying to suss it out. Good luck to all you UK plumbers its a jungle out there. Jane

[Guest pdm138]

G'day Rob,

As a plumber who is at TAFE (regency campus) at the moment, on a so called Plumbing gap training course, find that we as trades people whom are already going through all the s**t, should be letting any one whom is thinking of emigrating know the true facts about the Australian system, and the way in which we as skilled migrants are being treated. The problems first start with OCBA (The licensing office) they give you wrong information from the word go???? you get issued with a restricted licence (which we have now been told is a provisional licence) which means that you can work for an employer but you cannot work for yourself or employ anybody but you need to be supervised. You have to enrol on a gap training course, which can only be done through TAFE!! which consists of 3 elements, which are WATER, DRAINAGE, SANITARY. You get advised that you only need these 3 Courses to have your license upgraded from working under supervision to working under technical direction!!! BUT???? We have now been told that this probably isnt the case??? (the right hand does'nt know what the left hand is doing) No one at OCBA or TAFE can state what is required to upgrade your license, its all about money. There are 12 mature students on the course at the moment and only 4 of us are employed!!! We need to tell it as it is, yeh the life style is great but there is too much red tape "ONLY FOR PLUMBERS THOUGH"!!! NO ONE KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON, ITS A JOKE, so migrant plumbers be warned!!!

[Guest pdm138]

Its a mine field as we are all finding out,

[Guest Plumboz]

I see nothing is changing then! I have been in Adelaide since September 2010 and started the whole "migrant gap training" beginning

Of October 2010, I received my under technical license middle of last month! This now says that I am legally allowed to work for a plumbing company in Adelaide. But guess what? There are next to no plumbing jobs in Adelaide.

 

Whilst we are being honest if I knew what I knew now, I would never of left the uk, its quite depressing to see the standard of work ( after all that so called training)the gas safety side is dam right dangerous and everything I have ever known, and been drummed into us gas engineers goes out the window with " she be alright" attitude like no pipe clips, open flues terminated into lofts, no pipe sleeves, and lots of others ( I'm sure people will like to add other examples)

 

I never thought I would miss the British plumbing and heating work, but I do! I take pride in my work and want it to look nice and work correctly unlike the majority of the local plumbers/"gas fitters:arghh:

 

Rant over!

 

 

Is it just me that feels this way?

[ian mc]

I am not a plumber and I am amazed at some of the work left here gas pipes bent over flatend and a bit of solder on it don't think they know what a stop end is here.As you say "she be right" what an attitude when it could be someones life at risk.

[Guest maitey]

Am not a plumber but a Carpenter of 24 years. apply for builders licence Aug 2011 at Bussiness and customer service in CBD, interview nov 2011 to correct it out as they put me in as a supervisor registration instead of contractors licence. Supervisor officer approved me with contractor licence restrict me as a 2nd fit, doors, windows and cabinets no house building, still waiting and called them up lastweek, should be there 3weeks time and found out its supervisor licence!!!! What!!!! Bl**dy C**ts!! Told me to do business management course and thats 1year full time training. holy crap. Still no job.

Went for a interview 3weeks ago, guess how many carpenter apply? 70, am in the top 12 and they're looking for 3 guys am no kidding (They're paying us peanuts). So Australia screaming for us Tradies back in UK to work for them. should have know more before i pack my business back home.

The only thing we get is the weather and no jobs.

 

I'll stop ranting now too.

[ian mc]

You only need to do business course if you want to work for yourself (self employed) and you can do the course over 2 weekends not over a year If you want to work for someone you do not need to get a licence. Work is very slow just now and has been for the last 5/6 months.

Am not a plumber but a Carpenter of 24 years. apply for builders licence Aug 2011 at Bussiness and customer service in CBD, interview nov 2011 to correct it out as they put me in as a supervisor registration instead of contractors licence. Supervisor officer approved me with contractor licence restrict me as a 2nd fit, doors, windows and cabinets no house building, still waiting and called them up lastweek, should be there 3weeks time and found out its supervisor licence!!!! What!!!! Bl**dy C**ts!! Told me to do business management course and thats 1year full time training. holy crap. Still no job.

Went for a interview 3weeks ago, guess how many carpenter apply? 70, am in the top 12 and they're looking for 3 guys am no kidding (They're paying us peanuts). So Australia screaming for us Tradies back in UK to work for them. should have know more before i pack my business back home.

The only thing we get is the weather and no jobs.

 

I'll stop ranting now too.

[Guest smit]

its not a building supervisors license, its so you can supervise yourself!!!!as a sub contractor to the public. As said can do it over weekends....2 i believe. Hey we all been there, no point ranting its not gonna change, just have to play the system. They probably wont give you 1st fix cos you dont know timber code.............and as people have said before ( not that anyone looks or wants to acknowledge negative posts or honest as the case is) building is not in a good way at the mo and as a newbie it wont be easy to find work

[Rob and Mel]

Dont want to sound like a kill joy and a party popper but can we please keep this thread about what it says on the tittle please?

 

I started it to keep fellow plumbers up to date with the ways to get your licence because we have to longest and hardest transition of all the trades coming into South Australia.

 

As many of the plumbers out there that comment on this thread or just watch and keep in touch with me in other forms on communication they have just changed the process again, they recon for the better but lots of us disagree.

 

You can now RPL (recognised prior learning) some of the studies as they started to do as when I was in the process but they now charge you for this privilege.

 

So back to the beginning I know lots of other tradies are suffering and we all feel for you but please keep this to the plumbers/gas fitter.

 

Thanks appreciated Rob.

 

Rob and Mel

[ian mc]

You should ask the mods to move the post you dont want on this thread, We were only trying to help people out that had asked questions the thread is not exactly up to date and only one or two posts with usfull Information in them the first one and pauls e-mail. There is other posts on here which are not exactly about plumbing for example (where the best place to get a rental) and someone answered that ??

Dont want to sound like a kill joy and a party popper but can we please keep this thread about what it says on the tittle please?

 

I started it to keep fellow plumbers up to date with the ways to get your licence because we have to longest and hardest transition of all the trades coming into South Australia.

 

As many of the plumbers out there that comment on this thread or just watch and keep in touch with me in other forms on communication they have just changed the process again, they recon for the better but lots of us disagree.

 

You can now RPL (recognised prior learning) some of the studies as they started to do as when I was in the process but they now charge you for this privilege.

 

So back to the beginning I know lots of other tradies are suffering and we all feel for you but please keep this to the plumbers/gas fitter.

 

Thanks appreciated Rob.

 

Rob and Mel

[Guest Dicko33]

Hello all,

 

plumber/gas engineer from Sheffield, serious about moving to oz (sa).

is it really this difficult? after reading these threads it has certainly made me think again about moving all the family over!!!

[diggerlcfc]

ROB thanks for the thread mate, i was just about to put a HELP thread on when yours caught my eye, you have pretty much answered all my questions apart from a mate of mine who lives in Queensland is telling me he can get a full license from Perth in matter of a small amount of time, to which then allows him to work anywhere in Australia, im not sure this is quite true, maybe thought you could enlighten me.

Any way great thread mate, very useful and like Sharon, if you could also send me the relevant details bud, i would appreciate it.

 

Gary

[diggerlcfc]

If i remember right my mate went to oz with a TRA certificate, and it was basically pretty much the same as vetasess without the 1 day course, he had to prove he was a plumber/gas engineer but only on paper! not to sure if its changed now tho, as it was 2008/2009

 

Gary

[Rob and Mel]

I am going up to the TAFE this week so I will try and find out some more up to date info and put it on this thread.

 

Rob

[Guest Joe Greer]

Hi Rob,

Im a Carpenter/Project Manager from Glasgow, we moved to Brisi 2 years ago and i feel your pain mate, i have done all the courses and got a licence its cost me a fortune and i still cant get any work, im thinking of moving down there too see if its any better.

 

Cheers Joe

[Guest dalton]

I am going up to the TAFE this week so I will try and find out some more up to date info and put it on this thread.

 

Rob

 

Man what going on bloody bull**** what we all. Have to go through to get a oz ticket when we have forgotten more than most ozzy plumber no.

The work standard a shocking if we weren't all pigeon holed into that tradey box I'm sure most of us would just do something else.

[Guest Training Prospects]

Training Prospects is a Registered Training Organisation located in Elizabeth East and we are providing skilled migrants a pathway to gain an Australian Plumbers and Gas Fitters Licence.
 
The Skills Recognition process is a simplified alternative to have your current skills and knowledge recognised. The program includes:

 

 

1. 5 day intensive training program covering First Aid, Whitecard, understanding of the Australian standards and working requirements.
   
   
2. Undertake a Skills Audit with an interview with our RPL panel and demonstration of your skills.
   
   
3. On the job assessments.
   
   

An information session will be held on

Thursday 15th of March 2012 from 5pm-6pm

at

Training Prospects, 29 Enterprise Road Elizabeth East

For more information or to enrol in Training Prospects Plumbing and Gas Fitting Skills Recognition Program please contact Training Prospects on:

8287 2566

www.trainingprospects.com.au

[Rob and Mel]

Training Prospects,

 

I have not used your services but a few of my friends have and are using you for there plumbing certs.

 

Can I ask when finished do students get a cert 3 certificate the same as studying at TAFE?

 

Its just an enquire as I was told if you dont get a cert 3 you can not do the cert 4 stuff and then the contractors.

(As in you need the piece of paper)

 

Thanks Rob

[sharons dream]

Well we have now been here 6 weeks and it has been 6 weeks of hell. I'm a plumber and in the uk with 20 years experience I did vetasse. I was thinking this would get me by till I got my full licence. Lol !!. The day we landed I arranged an appointment with tafe to see where I stood. Michelle Elliott was my point of contact she flicked though my qualifications not really looking at them and told me I needed to do these 5 courses (just like rob told us at the start of the thread) she then said to go along to the CBS and apply for my restricted licence. I did this and they turned me away. I had only got cerified copies of my qualification with me and they wanted the originals (or so I thought). A week or two later with no restricted licence my courses were due to start. The first two courses were cancelled. What a joke! I was starting to panic no one plumbing companies would look at me at this point. I then contacted TRA they told me that all I needed to do was to show the CBS my vetasses form and then I would get my restricted licence. (woohoo one problem solved) they then said PEER was starting to do the gap training so I went to see them (lol) they said it would take a year to get my licence and I would not be able to get any work until then. By week 5 I was fed up with this everyone tells up something different. I went back to tafe and signed on to the next course(gas) and I went and visited some plumbing companies. Most were not interested. One company did seem a little interested so I left my resume with him and then for the next week I constantly pestered him. It resulted in me getting a plumbing poistion ( permanent). I'm now working alongside another bloke and I'm on ok money not as much as I would like. Message to all you plumbers coming out is it's hard work. They don't make it easy. It is possible to make it work but make sure you have the money behind to carry you just in case. Once qualified the work is there. Hope this helps.

[sharons dream]

Don't forget to get a white card