kerry and rich

Hi there. We have just arrived at the Sunshine Coast and are starting to sort ourselves out. Rich is a plumber and we are just filling in the forms to try and get his plumber's licence from the Qld Plumbers and Drainers Board. We have heard a few horror stories that they might not give Rich a licence and were hoping to hear from any other British plumbers and their experiences when they started work in Oz. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

racheysteve

hi there, been here almost a year hubbys a plumber, hes having to do the migrants course to gain a provisional licence in qld. He has had to do this because his certs did not say plumber he's officially a heating engineer and welder but has worked in the commercial plumbing field for 15 years in the uk. He did get positive tra in general plumbing but that was not worth the paper its written on as far as the licencing board is concerned.Hope you have better luck than us

SarahJane2007

[QUOTE=kerry and rich;4613396]Hi there. We have just arrived at the Sunshine Coast and are starting to sort ourselves out. Rich is a plumber and we are just filling in the forms to try and get his plumber's licence from the Qld Plumbers and Drainers Board. We have heard a few horror stories that they might not give Rich a licence and were hoping to hear from any other British plumbers and their experiences when they started work in Oz. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

We're going to keep an eye on this thread if thats ok as we are arriving in Brisbane 6th June and O/H is a plumber/heating Engineer here in Uk for 20 years...we too have heard horror stories about him possibly having to go back to being an apprentice for 18 months in order to get a licence etc. How can they do this if they are crying out for plumbers to work in Oz and allowing us to migrate because he is a 'wanted' profession to then find they wont accept any of his qualifications!!?? Hope you get on ok and for us people who are watching please let us know how you got on.

daveplumber

[QUOTE=SarahJane2007;4618247] I think you just have to go and be an apprentice again, I have got all of this to come in August in western australia, I am prepared to do what ever is required to get my license, I think they have the right idea making sure you are suitably qualified remember you have to guarantee your work for 6 years, enjoy the learning curve again and get ready with your oxy gear as it is all silver soldered
Dave

ozplumb

Hi, been a plumber for 13 years, and have also heard its hard work getting licensed, and yes i understand that things are slightly different there, but surely its only the rules n regs that differ that much. So why make it so long winded to get licensed?
Got the nod from the tra and just penciled 47sk.

kevscotoz

Hi fellow plumbers,
Kevin here with a question, to do all this retraining do you only have to go through all this if you want to work on your own or say if you work for an employer can you work for him without retraining. Like most folk Im a little confused
Who says plumbers are smart. Hopefully will be winging down there soon looking to go Adelaide, How is the retraining there i hear all states are different It seems to be most plumbers on this site are going to Perth or Briz?
Anyway just thought id throw this in cheers

tallboy21

hi new to this game
ive been in brisbane for 15 months
and i can safley say that getting licence & work is not easy.
like other people on here have said, i have tried to do plumbing here but they treat you like a idiot & try to get you to do all the digging the problem us brit plumbers have here is the fact that we are not used to digging because we get someone else to do it for use in the uk were as the aussie plumbers think we are soft but the fact is we dont do drainge in the uk
i have had 3 jobs since ive been here all off them have been shit i am now going to go down to sa as i have been told that getting a licence down there is a lot easier
ive been doing plumbing & heating for 26 years ive had 5 apprentices & classed as a hands on foreman in the uk
if i can help anybody i will try my best but like other people have said getting a straight answer from goverment bodys can take for ever
something i will say is that if you have a corgi card & go to minerals & resources the chances are you will be granted a full gas licence after a couple of basic verbal questions, thats what happened to me even though i have not done any gas work since ive been here
at the minute i am fitting evaporative coolers on roofs & servicing them which pays $20.00 a hour which is crap but better than nothing

SarahJane2007

Hello mate, just answered you on another thread, after reading this I am even more worried! one of the reasons we are coming to Oz is because my oh has a bad back and the climate will help him, he certaily cant do digging that will finish him altogether, we got over on his 'skills' I cant beleive they treat you so bad!:curse:

Guest0424

sorry mate if you have a bad union jack"back" oz is the last place to plumb.If your not diggind you will be mixing mud to set baths or toilets in.But there is light at the end of the tunnel you can always do something else as wages are pretty much similar down here .Top tip is to try tiling on our site they earn shedloads .
good luck

wardy2

[QUOTE=SarahJane2007;4618247] Hi

my OH is too a heating engineer but he does industrial stuff does yours. He calls himself a pipefitter/welder to I have seen on the job pages that they are sometimes called mechanical plumbers.

Does you OH do domestic stuff do you know if there is the same problem we have been told by people on this site that they are crying out for fitter welders and dont say we need the extra licensing unless he does any gas fitting.

Thanks in advance

Kaye

racheysteve

hi there, a fitter welder here really needs to have mig welding experience and be able to weld stainless steel pipe etc, it is more like a boiler maker here but yet again requires qualifications and licencing. pipefitter/ welder from the uk has not really got an equivelant here in qld hense the fact hubby has gone down the plumbing route which he says is totally different to plumbing in uk and he also has to do drainage which he hates. hes gonna stick with the retraining get his licence and eventually work for himself as a plumber. it is very hard to find work he got lucky finding a job but works extreamly long hours usually 14 hour days and has to be on call one week in three. I thought i had done all my homework before i came and stupidly thought with all his experience and a positive tra as general plumber that he would automatically get a provisional licence, SILLY ME. We just know that if he sticks with it then eventually he will get a fantastic wage working as a subbie or self employed as there really is a trade shortage for licensed plumbers, hope this helps rach.

racheysteve

sorry forgot to mention did both commercial ( hospital schools big plant rooms) and domestic back in the uk.

wardy2

Hi

Thanks for that for purposes of the visa he fits into category mechanical services and air conditioning plumber, he does weld stainless steel and can do mig but usually does tig.

Have to say getting a bit worried about work situation makes me wonder whether we are doing the right thing. Have you any idea how long it takes to get licence for boiler maker, we have been told by people working in the industry that they are crying out for fitter welders.

Thanks

Kaye

racheysteve

hi not sure about the licensing for boilermakers but will try and find out and you are right in the fact that there is a big demand for boilermakers and i think it pays quite well. Whatever you decide to do will be an adventure you can be sure of that and even if you managed to have a job secured before you left you just don't know what other hurdles life will throw at you. My advice is if you decide to come over do so with an open mind and expect it to take time before you have life back to normal. We definately thought we were well prepared nad after a year still dont know if we have done the right thing for us , although would not return as the kids love it , good luck.

wardy2

Thanks

OH does not seem so worried I guess its a mams job. We are going over with the idea that this is an adventure which may or may not work out hubby says he will just weld not bothered about what he does.

He can weld just about anything and has even taken to making things that other people need out of old scraps and stuff, was making canoe stands the other day the mind boggles.

Luckily for us we will have a bit of money to see us through a while so fingers crossed we will be fine. if you can find out anything else that would be fantastic thank you for the offer.

Best wishes

Kaye