Can someone tell me the truth?

[Diane]

It seems as if most of your worries are around getting work as a teacher.

 

​The system does work a bit strangely here, in that most newly qualified teachers have to go and work out in the sticks or in low socio-economic areas first, often for several years, and it can take years to get a permanent position in a nice suburb in Adelaide. I am not an expert on this, I just know a few Australian (not British) teachers, who had to do their time in places like Whyalla and Port Pirie. I would recommend you research this as much as possible. Have you been to South Australia before? Would you be prepared to live out in the sticks? I reckon that for most migrants the answer would probably be "no".

 

In general the Australian economy is headed downhill, obviously nobody can really predict what will happen (how many predicted the GFC?) but I am increasingly reading about harder times ahead. The economy has been doing really well, much better than the UK, but economics goes in cycles (what goes up must come down). Just today the government has confessed to a $12billion black hole in their finances due to reduced revenues, so tax increases and benefit cuts are likely to be on their way. I also read an article recently saying that now or yesterday is about as good as it will get for most Australians, and that harder times are ahead. The mining boom is slowing down, the high Aussie dollar is crippling manufacturing and exports and people are tightening their belts. South Australia has always been the poor relation of the other states (NSW, Queensland, Victoria, WA). There's only just over a million and a half people here - by comparison that's less than Essex(!), so the opportunities are limited. It's easy to get carried away thinking about the good weather and the beach lifestyle and forget about the boring bits. The exchange rate at the moment is awful, people who came over before 2008 had it much easier than now.

 

All this means is that things here will probably get more difficult, whether or not it will impact you directly, who knows? I suppose you need to ask yourself whether you are prepared for a period of unemployment. Have you got enough money to get through if times get lean? What benefits will you be entitled to? Look at the worst case scenario. Do you have a Plan B? Obviously nobody wants to have to think about things like that but if you are prepared for the worst then it probably won't happen!

 

I hope I am not being too negative, just realistic. It's easy to say life's too short to wonder 'what if', but that works both ways. I sometimes wonder 'what if' we hadn't have come.....

 

Great post I think human nature being what it is, people will hear the "truth" they want to hear and often disregard anything that does not fit with what they would like to hear. On a positive note, though, if anyone does come over and end up living in country South Australia because that's where they can find a job, those that do live there absolutely rave about the community spirit and the people and lifestyle there.

[minty]

I think you need to ask yourself 2 questions. What would you hate most, to come and try and give it your best shot and if it doesn't work at least you have tried. Or to give up not come and always think what if.

 

There is no hard and fast rules as to why it works/doesn't but I've always said research in abundance with the right attitude and a slice of luck go far.

[Diane]

I think you need to ask yourself 2 questions. What would you hate most, to come and try and give it your best shot and if it doesn't work at least you have tried. Or to give up not come and always think what if.

 

There is no hard and fast rules as to why it works/doesn't but I've always said research in abundance with the right attitude and a slice of luck go far.

 

It is really hard to know what to put on these threads. I keep reading them and thinking that I should just shut up as I am obviously being really negative at the moment, and feel bad about giving people waiting to emigrate extra concerns ("tread softly for you are walking on my dreams" and all that) and obviously from a few other replies there are some who come over, have no trouble, or have a bit of a struggle but it's all worth it in the end. Then I click on "Today's Posts" to do my Moderator thing, and read posts from people whose partners have just been laid off and who are desperate to find something - anything - to pay the bills, posts from people who have really found it hard and are still struggling, and it makes me want to cry for them, knowing how incredibly hard it is to be in that position with no family around to turn to - and dealing with the inevitable homesickness that is completely normal for migrants even after a year or so here.... then I remember a post from a while back about a family who literally were down to their last few dollars - their only asset was their car and they were seriously considering selling that to pay for tickets back to the UK, they had really hit rock bottom, then one of them found some work, and they managed to turn things around.

 

This emigrating thing is not an easy matter: it's not simply a matter of "hey, what have we got to lose?" - or if it is, the answer is never "nothing"! You uproot your whole family (perhaps not as major if you have no kids), devastate your parents and close friends by "leaving them", miss out on family events (births, birthdays, Christmas, illness..or worse), spend an absolute fortune, possibly undo any career-building you've managed in the last five years, and basically amputate yourself from your previous life. If it doesn't work out, how easy is it to admit defeat and go back? Will your kids' education be irrevocably affected? Will you be able to slot back into your old life easily? Quite often your friends' lives will have moved on, without you in them. Will you be able to get your old job back? Will you still be able to afford a house after you've spent so much on "trying something new"?

 

On the plus side, if it works out, you get to build a new life, meet new people, experience a foreign culture, spend days under a blue sky rather than a grey one.... You have to at least consider though what you will do, and how you will cope, if that 'working out' doesn't happen straight away, or if something goes wrong along the way. Come out here with rose-coloured glasses, only see the positives, think that any negative posts must just be written by embittered old ladies who don't want to share all this lovely sunshine, and are just selfishly trying to keep it all for themselves, and you risk huge disappointment at the very least. Prepare for the worst, then if it doesn't happen you'll be laughing.

[Jessica Berry]

my husband is a manager in a call centre.

 

Can anyone shed some light on the actual truth.

 

Kathy:confused:

 



 

The other thing to consider is if your husband would realistically be happy to work in a call centre but as one of the assistants rather than the boss? There is a lot of competition for higher level positions and it may (I say 'may' because there are always the exceptions to the rule) be unrealistic to think that he will get a job at the same level and he may have to start at the bottom again. People say they are willing to do anything, but the reality can be very different and it can be very frustrating and demotivating. Like I have said in my previous post, I always look at the bigger picture, but often people struggle to do that and expect instant results.

 

A friend recently recruited for a call centre team leader position (this would still be a step down in level for your husband). They received 100 applications (to be honest I thought the figure would be higher, but people had to address specific criteria so this would put people off applying) and they were struggling to shortlist as there were a lot of good applicants and they had to keep getting ruthless with their criteria to exclude people. Often recruiters are looking for reasons to exclude you rather than include you in their shortlist because of the volume of applications. Your husband has to consider what does he have to offer that would make him stand out from the other 100 people that have applied?

 

I run resume/job advice and guidance workshops that I advertise on this forum. The people that have come along all have the same thing in common they want to improve their circumstances and chances of securing a job/new job. They may be looking for work, in a job and want to progress and the people have all been at different levels of seniority. One of the participants who came along had been offered a job the day before the workshop, but they still came along and said 'there are always things I can learn', to me that speaks volumes. I also tell the people that come along, they can do what they want with what they learn, but if I was them I would keep it to myself, it may sound ruthless, but at the end of the day they have made the effort to come along and they have paid for my advice and expertise, but when you could potentially be competing with 100, 200, 300, 400 other people for the same job you need to have an edge. One day they could be competing with the people they pass the information on to, especially if a group of people are made redundant together and they are all applying for the same type of jobs. I have been in a situation where my friend and I were competing for the same contract role, we did not know each other was going for the role and it was through different agencies. I had an interview in the morning and my friend was interviewed in the afternoon, my friend got the job, which was the right choice as between us my friend was a better match.

[minty]

It is really hard to know what to put on these threads. I keep reading them and thinking that I should just shut up as I am obviously being really negative at the moment, and feel bad about giving people waiting to emigrate extra concerns ("tread softly for you are walking on my dreams" and all that) and obviously from a few other replies there are some who come over, have no trouble, or have a bit of a struggle but it's all worth it in the end. Then I click on "Today's Posts" to do my Moderator thing, and read posts from people whose partners have just been laid off and who are desperate to find something - anything - to pay the bills, posts from people who have really found it hard and are still struggling, and it makes me want to cry for them, knowing how incredibly hard it is to be in that position with no family around to turn to - and dealing with the inevitable homesickness that is completely normal for migrants even after a year or so here.... then I remember a post from a while back about a family who literally were down to their last few dollars - their only asset was their car and they were seriously considering selling that to pay for tickets back to the UK, they had really hit rock bottom, then one of them found some work, and they managed to turn things around.

 

This emigrating thing is not an easy matter: it's not simply a matter of "hey, what have we got to lose?" - or if it is, the answer is never "nothing"! You uproot your whole family (perhaps not as major if you have no kids), devastate your parents and close friends by "leaving them", miss out on family events (births, birthdays, Christmas, illness..or worse), spend an absolute fortune, possibly undo any career-building you've managed in the last five years, and basically amputate yourself from your previous life. If it doesn't work out, how easy is it to admit defeat and go back? Will your kids' education be irrevocably affected? Will you be able to slot back into your old life easily? Quite often your friends' lives will have moved on, without you in them. Will you be able to get your old job back? Will you still be able to afford a house after you've spent so much on "trying something new"?

 

On the plus side, if it works out, you get to build a new life, meet new people, experience a foreign culture, spend days under a blue sky rather than a grey one.... You have to at least consider though what you will do, and how you will cope, if that 'working out' doesn't happen straight away, or if something goes wrong along the way. Come out here with rose-coloured glasses, only see the positives, think that any negative posts must just be written by embittered old ladies who don't want to share all this lovely sunshine, and are just selfishly trying to keep it all for themselves, and you risk huge disappointment at the very least. Prepare for the worst, then if it doesn't happen you'll be laughing.

 

Like I said the first part is crucial, research. People know in there hearts after s bit of research if there jobs are really in demand and I would like to think we all think long and hard before emigrating but I now know that's not always true. We also know how we cope being away from friends and family and like us having to recently deal with a death back home. It's different for everyone but I do think you can limit your chances of it not working. If you can't find your jobs advertised, if money is short, if you know you get homesick, if you have never been further then the end of the road from your family, if you have never been to Oz, if you are saying we will give it a year and see, then you need to think long and hard.

 

I know people who have also been there own worst enemies. Giving up good jobs in Oz on a whim, constantly breaking lease, not knowing what's required to get there licence, complaining its hard to get work and then you find out they are using a not updated UK CV. There are two sides to every story.

Edited April 30, 2013 by minty

[srg73]

Very interesting post and really gets you thinking about any potential move. We are in a slightly different position being on a 189 skilled migration visa and therefore reading between posts, I am wondering if SA is not the state for us at the moment due to work oppertunities. I guess we will meet with some agents and make our mind up in September as Adelaide is where we want to be.

 

S

[Jessica Berry]

I know people who have also been there own worst enemies. Giving up good jobs in Oz on a whim, constantly breaking lease, not knowing what's required to get there licence, complaining its hard to get work and then you find out they are using a not updated UK CV. There are two sides to every story.

 

I hear you Mr Bacon!

[snifter]

Very interesting post and really gets you thinking about any potential move. We are in a slightly different position being on a 189 skilled migration visa and therefore reading between posts, I am wondering if SA is not the state for us at the moment due to work oppertunities. I guess we will meet with some agents and make our mind up in September as Adelaide is where we want to be.

 

S

 

I think it probably could be the state for you. The thing is, people tend to head to Adelaide itself and the suburbs surrounding it. As has been said, some of the work available for skilled workers is more likely to be found heading out of the city area and going more rural, but how many migrants want to live 5 hours drive from Adelaide in a smaller town (even one with a fair few thousand people living in it say). Most people heading to SA head to Adelaide so the market is perhaps saturated in some respects.

[kadina]

Don't be put off by negative comments, it may take time to find work we are moving back having come back to the UK, biggest mistake of our lives, cannot wait to get back yes things are expensive now we lived there when things were pretty good before as far as the exchange rate goes, but if you are working it will be ok you just have to hang in there and try and get a job, but yes its gonna take time and you need to work hard for sure but when you get there and are all sorted you will have the best lifestyle only Australia can give you, it more than makes up for it we have secure jobs here but nothing is secure anyway these days and I do not want my children growing up over here when things are so much better there, and they are ozzies anyway, the job situation is terrible here too but there is work out there where ever you are, if you are.

[Diane]

Don't be put off by negative comments, it may take time to find work we are moving back having come back to the UK, biggest mistake of our lives, cannot wait to get back yes things are expensive now we lived there when things were pretty good before as far as the exchange rate goes, but if you are working it will be ok you just have to hang in there and try and get a job, but yes its gonna take time and you need to work hard for sure but when you get there and are all sorted you will have the best lifestyle only Australia can give you, it more than makes up for it we have secure jobs here but nothing is secure anyway these days and I do not want my children growing up over here when things are so much better there, and they are ozzies anyway, the job situation is terrible here too but there is work out there where ever you are, if you are.

 

How long since you've been here, Kadina?

[Guest WhatNow?]

Hmmm That's rather the point isn't it..'if you are working'! See the other thread http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/barbie/37048-time-stop-bringing-any-more-migrants.html for some other pertinent comments.

 

No one is trying to negative, Kadina, just wanting to ensure that people have more up to date information than they are likely to be given by UK migration or recruitment organisations that really have no idea how things have changed in the last 18 months.

 

There is far, far less 'work out there' than there was and prices are still going up.

[Guest Banksy]

I had this message sent to me earlier from a friend of a friend who lives in Adelaide....

 

Hi,

Firstly I dont actually have young children myself so I cant give my

own experience of the education system apart from the university sector. From

what I can tell though I dont think there is an issue with education over here

at all. Adelaide has 3 excellent standard universities which support the

teaching standards. The education system is absolutely excellent like everywhere

there are bad schools and good schools but Ive not heard anyone complain that

they are awful. Adelaide is a very educationally driven city so the schools in

south Australian are particularly good. There are a high number of private

schools in Adelaide but I know people who can afford them who dont send their

kids there. A close friend of mine was looking to move to the Brighton area

recently she works as a lecturer and has two young children of 4 and 7 who she

has in the public education system I will ask her when she gets in the office

what good schools are good in that area as I know that was one of the reasons

she was moving there.

I also have a friend who works in HR she moved over to

Adelaide from Edinburgh about a year and a half ago. It took her a few months

but she is happily employed in that sector and I don't think she had too many

problems finding work.

With regards to living on about 90,000 I would think

you would have no problems at all. That is considered a pretty good wage. It

really depends on what your priorities are. Its very easy to live cheaply here

if you need to. Accommodation can be found to rent in the areas you are looking

at for a reasonable price. Cars are expensive but petrol isnt so its all pretty

relative. Alcohol is very expensive but like everything once you know the area

you can seek that out cheaply with locals pub prices etc. Food can get expensive

but it depends on what you eat. It you want to cook yourself the Adelaide

central markets are unbelievably cheap for meat and fresh goods. You can also

buy 2L of milk in Coles (like tescos) for $2 and steak and mince is very very

cheap as are fresh fruit and vegetables in season. You can go to the asian food

courts and restaurants in china town and have a massive dinner for $5. I think

as a local you just get to know where to get the bargains and the tourist traps

to avoid. Theres a website www.pomsinadelaide.com.au which is set up to help British

people moving to the area. They have forums full of advice on Adelaide schools

and visas and areas to live etc and are a great helpful bunch.

 

I think as you do your

investigations you will find a lot of the problems and issues that would apply

to Melbourne and Sydney don't actually apply to Adelaide. One of the reasons is

the mining industry and the agricultural industry which brings money and jobs

into the area.

If you have any more questions please let me know Im happy to

help.

 

Sounds positive to me!

[SwanseaJack]

Hi all

 

Everyone is posting excellent comments on this post many thanks. From reading them I am agin positive. We are more than willing to work extra hard to get jobs and make it work.

 

As one comment said are you going to regret it further down the line if you don't take the opportunity. That is the best question because I believe the answer to be yes.

 

Also yes I have a full-time job at the moment but nothings permanent in education with cutbacks all the time. And at the end of the day my daughter is five but what will life be like here in the UK in 13 years time?

 

The research is carrying on and as I said previously if we get visa soon a reccie is on the cards or August.

 

Today is a good positive day but who knows about tomorrow. But that's what makes us human.

 

Please add to this post as all comments are all valuable in their own unique way.

 

Thanks kathy

Edited April 30, 2013 by SwanseaJack

[guspjmh]

Hi all

 

Everyone is posting excellent comments on this post many thanks. From reading them I am agin positive. We are more than willing to work extra hard to get jobs and make it work.

 

As one comment said are you going to regret it further downthe line. That is the best question because I believe the answer to be yes.

 

Also yes I have a full-time job at the moment but nothings permanent in education with cutbacks all the time. And at the end of the day my daughter is five but what will life be like here in the .uK in 13 years time?

 

The research is carrying on and as I said prebiously if we get visa soon a reccie is on the cards or August.

 

Today is a god positive day but who knows about tomorrow. But that's what makes us human.

 

Please add to this post as all comments are all valuable in their own unique way.

 

Thanks kathy

 

I'm from Cardiff, and work in Swansea so I know that the quality of life here is pretty good, and the decision to emigrate is a hard one - my wife and I both have good, stable jobs (she is a teacher).

 

Having said that, after visiting Adelaide in March this year on our reccie it would pretty much take a nuclear war to stop me going. I fell in love with it in so many ways - the hills, the vineyards, the beach suburbs. It's just a beautiful place to raise a family in my opinion.

[SwanseaJack]

[

Hi

 

Thanks for a real positive response obviously after being there you can make a far more informed decision. Can I be cheeky and ask were your wife works, as taught in Swansea myself for a while

Kathy x

 

 

 

 

QUOTE=guspjmh;260689]I'm from Cardiff, and work in Swansea so I know that the quality of life here is pretty good, and the decision to emigrate is a hard one - my wife and I both have good, stable jobs (she is a teacher).

 

Having said that, after visiting Adelaide in March this year on our reccie it would pretty much take a nuclear war to stop me going. I fell in love with it in so many ways - the hills, the vineyards, the beach suburbs. It's just a beautiful place to raise a family in my opinion.

[guspjmh]

We live in Cardiff and my wife teaches in Caerphilly (she teaches primary). I'm the one who sometimes works in Swansea. My advice would be to go on the reccie and see what kind of feel you get for the place - where are you staying?

 

We spoke to some 'pom' teachers who have recently moved out there and they have had no problems finding supply (they call it relief teaching), but permanent jobs are pretty thin on the ground unless you want to live in a rural area. The rates of pay for relief teaching are really good though. From $285-$412 per day, here is the link:

 

http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/hrstaff/pages/employmentconditions/wages/

 

 

 

[Guest Vickie]

Hi Kathy,

 

My partner (now husband) and I moved out 2.5 years ago. We had a good life with family close by, good jobs living in a beautiful area with good friends. We moved because I had always wanted to live in Australia and after several visits, my surfer husband decided we should come. We arrived in Adelaide not knowing anyone and after 6 weeks moved to Sellicks Beach, an hour or so south of Adelaide. My husband found a casual job in 2 weeks which became permanent. Our first year here was plagued by problems and health issues and honestly I think had I offered him the option, my husband would have been on a plane back home. We didnt do that and amid all the struggles, our daughter thrived, we made some good friends both ex-pats and Aussies and got married in our beautiful back garden overlooking the ocean. My husband eventually re-trained in Aged Care, found a good permanent job and things are much improved. Whilst we (and another couple) were having one problem after the other, we have other friends who are truly living the dream One of the main differences between the two situations is financial and so my advice is this: Come and find out for yourself but have enough money behind you to support yourself if it takes a while to establish yourselves and be prepared to be adapt. Best of Luck, there is a great lifestyle to be had here if you work at it.

[Anne B]

Come out here with rose-coloured glasses, only see the positives, think that any negative posts must just be written by embittered old ladies who don't want to share all this lovely sunshine, and are just selfishly trying to keep it all for themselves, and you risk huge disappointment at the very least. Prepare for the worst, then if it doesn't happen you'll be laughing.

 

Diane, hopefully nobody sees you as an "embittered old lady" - (or me for that matter)! People ask for advice on here and you always take a lot of time and effort to give them your opinions, which are always very helpful too.

 

I think however that sometimes you can have too much different advice and opinion and it just gets confusing. Before we had the internet and mobile phones and instant access to databases and people, decisions were made on a lot less information. You just got on with things and did it. You didn't have google maps/street view and realestate.com.au and pomsinadelaide and all those things. Life was more of a mystery and dare I say it a bit more exciting. I don't really think that people will change their minds based on what you or I or anyone on here says. People have to live their own lives, learn by their mistakes and enjoy their successes. If they learn something useful (such as the Australian economy is on the way down) then so be it.

[minty]

Diane, hopefully nobody sees you as an "embittered old lady" - (or me for that matter)! People ask for advice on here and you always take a lot of time and effort to give them your opinions, which are always very helpful too.

 

I think however that sometimes you can have too much different advice and opinion and it just gets confusing. Before we had the internet and mobile phones and instant access to databases and people, decisions were made on a lot less information. You just got on with things and did it. You didn't have google maps/street view and realestate.com.au and pomsinadelaide and all those things. Life was more of a mystery and dare I say it a bit more exciting. I don't really think that people will change their minds based on what you or I or anyone on here says. People have to live their own lives, learn by their mistakes and enjoy their successes. If they learn something useful (such as the Australian economy is on the way down) then so be it.

 

Well said. No ones bitter we just have different views based on our own experiences.

[SwanseaJack]

Hi vickie

 

Thanks r your inspiring post. Can I ask did your husband train oe aged care in oz or in UK. I have heard there is a great demand for that in oz. Was thinking if it was worth fling dome training over here just to add something to my cv and widen my chances.

 

Glad you are enjoying now and everything us settled

 

Kathy

 

Hi Kathy,

 

My partner (now husband) and I moved out 2.5 years ago. We had a good life with family close by, good jobs living in a beautiful area with good friends. We moved because I had always wanted to live in Australia and after several visits, my surfer husband decided we should come. We arrived in Adelaide not knowing anyone and after 6 weeks moved to Sellicks Beach, an hour or so south of Adelaide. My husband found a casual job in 2 weeks which became permanent. Our first year here was plagued by problems and health issues and honestly I think had I offered him the option, my husband would have been on a plane back home. We didnt do that and amid all the struggles, our daughter thrived, we made some good friends both ex-pats and Aussies and got married in our beautiful back garden overlooking the ocean. My husband eventually re-trained in Aged Care, found a good permanent job and things are much improved. Whilst we (and another couple) were having one problem after the other, we have other friends who are truly living the dream One of the main differences between the two situations is financial and so my advice is this: Come and find out for yourself but have enough money behind you to support yourself if it takes a while to establish yourselves and be prepared to be adapt. Best of Luck, there is a great lifestyle to be had here if you work at it.

[SwanseaJack]

Hi

 

Thanks for reply will definitely have a productive reccie.

 

Kathy

 

We live in Cardiff and my wife teaches in Caerphilly (she teaches primary). I'm the one who sometimes works in Swansea. My advice would be to go on the reccie and see what kind of feel you get for the place - where are you staying?

 

We spoke to some 'pom' teachers who have recently moved out there and they have had no problems finding supply (they call it relief teaching), but permanent jobs are pretty thin on the ground unless you want to live in a rural area. The rates of pay for relief teaching are really good though. From $285-$412 per day, here is the link:

 

http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/hrstaff/pages/employmentconditions/wages/

 

 

 

[Guest Vickie]

Hi Kathy,

 

He trained over here. It is true that Australian employers are very keen on Australian qualifications and so he did a certificate III in Aged Care. Disability Care and Community Care are also courses that you can get assistance with if you're on a permanent visa. We are not yet so paid for it ourselves, it cost around $1500 or you could do Disability Care for $1800. There are LOTS of training centres, so we enquired at a good Aged Care facility to find out who they recommended. He trained with Wade in Morphett Vale. Beware that agencies may not take you on their books until you have the first 500 hrs paid work experience. Joe got his job directly with the facility. There are a lot and yes there is a big demand here as many people drop-out. It may not be the same in other states, we have been looking elsewhere and jobs are harder to come by.

 

One other thing I wanted to mention. Whilst the cost of living is higher than in the UK, the wages reflect that and when you're earning Australian dollars, you just get used to paying the prices and shopping around. For instance, I earned $22 as a cleaner which is approx 14 pounds/hour. My husband earns more (he does get shift penalties) working 35 hours a week than a junior doctor makes in the UK. So don't let the high cost of living put you off. It'll work itself out once you're earning here.

 

Cheers, Vickie

[Guest sithewindows]

Well said Vickie. This is why its worth working on how long it takes you to earn the product you are buying, rather than converting in to Sterling and comparing to UK price. I left the UK and a great life back in 2007. After 6 months we had to return due to my wifes home sickness. The UK had changed in the 6 months and has got worse since, so some people on here also see the UK with rose tinted glasses, as they are remebering the good old days. We have been trying to get back for the last 2 yrs and decided on SA this time even though its one of the only states we have not been to. Our old visa ran out so doing it all again!

Hi Kathy,

 

He trained over here. It is true that Australian employers are very keen on Australian qualifications and so he did a certificate III in Aged Care. Disability Care and Community Care are also courses that you can get assistance with if you're on a permanent visa. We are not yet so paid for it ourselves, it cost around $1500 or you could do Disability Care for $1800. There are LOTS of training centres, so we enquired at a good Aged Care facility to find out who they recommended. He trained with Wade in Morphett Vale. Beware that agencies may not take you on their books until you have the first 500 hrs paid work experience. Joe got his job directly with the facility. There are a lot and yes there is a big demand here as many people drop-out. It may not be the same in other states, we have been looking elsewhere and jobs are harder to come by.

 

One other thing I wanted to mention. Whilst the cost of living is higher than in the UK, the wages reflect that and when you're earning Australian dollars, you just get used to paying the prices and shopping around. For instance, I earned $22 as a cleaner which is approx 14 pounds/hour. My husband earns more (he does get shift penalties) working 35 hours a week than a junior doctor makes in the UK. So don't let the high cost of living put you off. It'll work itself out once you're earning here.

 

Cheers, Vickie

[apple]

Sensible and positive advice from Jessica. x

[Rabeah]

He trained over here. It is true that Australian employers are very keen on Australian qualifications and so he did a certificate III in Aged Care. Disability Care and Community Care are also courses that you can get assistance with if you're on a permanent visa. We are not yet so paid for it ourselves, it cost around $1500 or you could do Disability Care for $1800. There are LOTS of training centres, so we enquired at a good Aged Care facility to find out who they recommended. He trained with Wade in Morphett Vale. Beware that agencies may not take you on their books until you have the first 500 hrs paid work experience. Joe got his job directly with the facility. There are a lot and yes there is a big demand here as many people drop-out. It may not be the same in other states, we have been looking elsewhere and jobs are harder to come by.

 

 

Cheers, Vickie

 

Hi Vickie,

 

so true what you said. Australian employers are keen on Australian skills and qualifications.

But for many courses when your husband already works as an Aged Care worker or Home support worker you don't have to pay anything with the right provider. For example, cstdc offers a Commonwealth Funding, which costs nothing!!! They just send out a letter to the employer and then people can get a free certificate.

I'm doing my Certificate IV in HACC at the moment, completely fee free because I work in my line of work.

It's always worth to compare all RTO's, some only wants the money others offer great and highly accepted skills.