weealbie

Hello,

For anyone migrating to Australia as an Electrician things are not made very easy. I have just made the move from England and have been on a roller-coaster of a ride regarding getting my skills recognised as an electrician and i only completed my apprenticeship in 2003 so my qualifications were up to date!

Once Trades Recognition Australia have assessed you and given you a statement as general electrician you can migrate to Australia but once in Australia you CAN NOT work as an electrician nor train/attend college to obtain the relevant licences with that statement.

Things are, like i said not made very easy for us sparky's!!!

I on the other hand have found a good friend in immigration and TRA who have given me lots of helpful advice and i am more than happy to help any of my fellow electricians in their hunt for Sun, Sea and BBQs!

Hope you all have a good day / evening.

Tym

Jockstar

Hey weealbie. I am also a spark. Having lived in Oz in 1998 i had no problem getting a job in Sydney. Bought a paper on the Saturday and made some calls left some messages i got a return call from a guy on the Monday asking me to start Wednesday. However when i was in Melbourne i could not get work. Just depends. I have been looking on the net at jobs and couple of mates have looked in the paper in Sydney.Right now there is heaps of work. BTW did you know that you can work as an unlicensed Electrician? I am returning to Oz in October and i'm not worried one bit. Where do you live?

supersonic4

Hi Jockstar,would you mind telling how you can work as a spark unlicenced please?
Cheers John

The_Pom_From_Aus

the information you have supplied is not actually correct, once you have been assessed my the TRA and you are in Australia, you can then do a 12 to 14 week evening course at the TAFE (college) to obtain your A class license that then means you can work as an electrician without supervision.

After you have been to see the TRA you apply for the B grade license this is whats called a restricted license and you are NOT allowed to work alone, but as i say once you have the A class license you are then fully qualified, you may then work for any company as a competent tradsperson.

Now if you intend to become self employed you will have to do another evening course to obtain the Contractors License, once you have both then away you go so to say.
Oh and when you have the contractors license you must get liability insurance of a min of $5,000.000 (5 million).

if you need anymore help or info please do ask me.

Arthur

Jockstar

You will see jobs advertised. For licensed or unlicensed electrician. Generally you would get a slightly less rate. When i worked on the underground stations for the rail link that goes to the airport and beyond. We were paid 50 cents less than the Licensed sparks.Here is just one example.

http://mycareer.com.au/jobs/sydney/t...ctricians.aspx

SarahL

Hi Tym - OH is electrician we're current waiting for visa decision - only applied in August so we've got a bit of a wait. We're currently trying to work out all the red tape for licences once we get out there - we sent off for the ARCT form so we can get it all ready for when we get to Oz. Am I right in thinking that once ARCT have okayed qualifications then you can go on training course to get electrical license. We will be moving to Queensland but it really depends on where the training courses are held as to which part of Queensland we will move to initially - any idea who to contact to find out location of where courses are held? Also do you know if we can book ourselves onto course before ARTC decision? What license are you applying for Electrical Fitter or Electrical Mechanic - what's the difference OH wants to work in mines as money is good - he current is a maintenance electrician.

Any help appreciated just trying to get our head around things while we're playing the waiting game.

You don't say which part of Oz you've moved to - expect you're enjoying sun, sea, bbq's you lucky thing.

Sarah

The_Pom_From_Aus

May i make a comment to all you sparks out there, if you intend to do electrical work without the correct License you are on a sticky wicket.
Let me ask this if you change a switchboard (fuse board) it must be inspected and on the COES you must write your A class License down, if you dont do that then the inspector will refuse to connect you back up again.

The only way i can see you doing work unlicensed is by using another's A class license, also i would say all work you do voids the customers insurance.

I know the situation you may be in mate, but at the end of the day its not worth it, once they catch you and they will, you wont ever get the opportunity to sit for the A class license, the rules are very tight in respect of doing any work without a license, and as i say if anything goes wrong with any electrical work you do, then you are in big trouble.

On a lighter note the 12 to 14 week evening courses run are good, the info and the Australian wiring rules are very different from the UK especially in the earthing side of things so the knowledge you will gain from the course is very valuable to all sparks.

Also the connections of the RCD's are very different especially the
MEN (Multiple Earth neutral) earthing

Please dont think I'm some do-gooder but i can tell you its a nightmare for the sparks, if & when there is a situation they like to point the finger and if they are unable to point at you then thats good.

if you need any help at all please do, make the effort in contacting me I'm only to happy to be of any assistance to any sparks.

Arthur

Jockstar

How do you go about this? JUst find a TRA near where you stay. Show them the letter from the Adelaide with code etc. Is this enough to get B license? Then go to TAFE and enroll on there course. Is this correct? When i lived in NZ a few years ago i had a provisional licence. I had to go and do a first aid course to get this. How much for courses etc? Cheers in advance.

thewoodz

hi
i have been concerned by this since we began thinking of emigrating. i have read on various forums about the struggle tradies in general seem to have in oz. even being registered with nIceic in uk apparently means nothing over there so any info would be greatly appriciated
regards
ian

supersonic4

I wouldn't think about working unlicenced over there as they are very strict with it all.
Cheers John

The_Pom_From_Aus

John good on you mate, as i say ive seen people who have actually been caught doing unlicensed work the fines are frigging horrific, one bloke got done $20,000 dollars

arthur

supersonic4

I know it's not an easy thing to get your licence but is worth it if you want to live in Australia.
So first things first
Get TRA assesment done
Send off for ARTC
Be told what courses you need to do
Apply to do wiring regs course, was told that you have to be working to be able to do it ,but don't know how if you are unlicenced unless working as T.A
Do CPR couse
Take ARTC,Wiring reg,CPR certificates to apply to get full licence.
THink i have it in the right order

supersonic4

Trade and Technician Skills Institute (formerly Yeronga Institute of TAFE)
From 1 July 2006, trade training offered at existing TAFE institutes in metropolitan Brisbane will gradually be transferred over a 3 year period to the Trade and Technician Skills Institute's facilities at Acacia Ridge and Eagle Farm.

The remaining Logan, Yeronga and Moreton TAFE programs (other than trades) will be incorporated into the new Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE.

Operations continue from existing campuses, therefore Yeronga campus is now a multi-institute campus incorporating both trade and other training from the Trade and Technician Skills Institute and Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE.

PS this is Queensland

Jockstar

Get TRA assessment done? I needed that to migrate. Classified as a General Electrician{####-##} Got the letter in front of me now.
Send off for ARTC? Whats that?
Courses? Ok.
Any links to ARTC? Whatever that is? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

supersonic4

Not everyone needs TRA to migrate,I married a Aussie lass to get in on a spouse visa.The ARTC is done by the TRA people,you Have to get to apply for your licence,the TRA you have is just to get into the country,nothing else.You have to send the same stuff you did for your TRA to get the ARTC.Is is by the same people.Just look on the TRA site and read the info.
Am just on my way out so will be back in a couple of hours to cover anything i missed.
Cheers
John