scottt1

Hi all, I'm new to this just joined recently because i attended an expo on working in Christchurch. I'm a joiner from Scotland. I've got a few questions if anyone can help with?!

Is there anyone else in my situation or know of anyone who has made the move from the uk to NZ?
As a joiner I'm being pursued by Skills in demand - anyone know anything about them, had any dealings with them?
A rough idea as to what id be earning per hour?

this is all for now, any help would be much appreciated! Getting the feeling that I'm not getting told the whole story by skills in demand just curious thats all!

MrsFychan

Have you checked the Immigration website to make sure you have the relevant qualifications ? Skill Shortage List Checker – Immigration New Zealand

did a quick search on salaries and came up with Joiner - About the job
but maybe do some more searches

you will need to hit a certain salary to uplift some visas. so you need to really get used to keep referring to the immigration site.

hopefully someone with experience will be along soon

scottt1

Thanks MrsFychan for your reply, i did some searches before posting and i came up with the same website as yourself. My job is in demand which is a good thing, hopefully make things a bit easier for getting employed.

on another subject, could you point me in the direction of good used car dealers please? have use got an equivalent to our Arnold Clark or Lookers?

Tallnick

Hi im a carpenter in the exact situation looking for the same answers. been trying to find second hand vans but can only find campers that people are trying to flog after travelling.

i found this if this helps http://www.trademe.co.nz/ few vehicles on there

Tallnick

Also as a carpenter I've been looking to expect between 25-30$ an hour which is about 12-15£ so pretty average wage i guess so i doubt your not going to make your millions there. But if your just looking for a change like i am its not too bad

scottt1

I've been looking on trade me just for a rough guide for second hand cars, just something that will get me to work, cheap and big enough for tools. As for wage yeah thats what id be expecting, its the exact same as scotland the joiner wage but id see it pointless going for less.. id read in another thread agencies paying $21 an hour which isn't great so just need to be careful! how are you making the transition to nz? are you going through cants or skills in demand or are you going over on your own? have you got a job lined up out there?

Tallnick

hey I've had an interview through canstaff and they have said i would be expecting 25-30$ plus flights visas ect included. i just have to sort out accommodation and by the looks of it could be a bit of a pain and to ship my tools out or not. This whole thing is my plan b to not getting a canadian work visa which seems UNlikely, as they seem to be high in demand.

scottt1

was your interview through Skype? through NZ In Demand they gave me Providing a one stop shop for accommodation for the rebuild of Christchurch to look for accommodation because I'm going out myself.. worth a look if you are aswel, sure they'll be other companies doing the same thing! have they got you a job lined up for going out? I've been told to go out through agency and then try get myself full time with a company when I'm out there..

scottt1

what was the interview like? was it just like a normal interview? see if your just looking to rent a place Trade Me seems to be quite a good place to look, they've got everything! Contractacom is basically paying digs with a family until your settled and then you can do what you like.. when are you looking to be in NZ if you can't get to canada?

Tallnick

Hey yea through Skype just sat down and spoke about what to expect and my abilities ect. no pressure at all really. They asked for two references ,cv, police check and relevant qualifications. The only problem is i will be tied down to the same employer for 12 months which seems pretty daunting considering I've worked for my self for the past four years.

I got a contact through a friend who is working in christchurch and says if i can get over there ill find work the same day so finding work is easy enough.So i might even just go down that route yet.

Im from the uk but been working in Ireland for the past 5 months and thats coming to an end of the month so after that really. Got a place to stay in portugal for free so might just head there until its all sorted as I'm not sure how long the whole process will take. If i don't hear anything back from the canadian visas i plan to make the move in about 2 - 3 months time. All going well.

scottt1

Thats very interesting about being tied down to the same employer for 12 months.. I've been told through skills in demand that they will set me up with an agency and that i would work for a few employers over the year and hopefully one of them would offer full time employment to myself after roughly 8/9 months of being with the agency. getting a full time job would help me gain a residential visa. what visa have they said would be best for you to go to NZ with?

I'm from the uk also, in a full time job at the moment but just looking to see what its like living and working in NZ. I've still to tell my work what my plans are and i need to get two references and take the interview.

I guess it depends on how quickly you are looking to get to NZ, I've read and heard stories of people going over in less than 3 weeks all going well..

Have you looked into taking your tools over?

Tallnick

Still going through which visa is best as my girlfriend is coming with too. Im going to look into the agency route but from past experience as they take the cut as well they pay the least. The thought of having work lined up before i go over does seem like the safer option but from what I've heard there crying out for tradesmen.
You could just get a friend or family member to be a reference for you and get them to pretend you have done some kind of work for them. Or even just say how nice of a guy you are. They ask all the questions.
As for tools only really looked into canada. The cost of the equivalent of a van/small bedroom cost about £900 which doesn't even come close to the cost of what it will be to buy all my tools again. I expect shipping to christchurch would be a bit more expensive but still way cheaper than buying all tools again.

MrsFychan

think that is rather a very silly thing to be suggesting and I would personally say DO NOT DO THAT

Tallnick

OR YOU COULD NOT.

Builder UK

I'll probably get jumped on here for being negative, but, I would strongly recommend you go out there for a look first.

You will be very surprised how different it actually is.

$25 - $30 NZD is a poor wage compared to standard of living, I pay my lads in the UK £150.00 per day for a maximum 8hr day, but that sort of money goes a lot further in the UK.

If your a joiner and your adamant on going, I'd look into getting a project management degree first which, if you then get work over there, would give you a lot more in wages. I think I was offered on the tools something like $64,000, which sounds good, but after tax and living expenses I would have been left with not very much.

I have contacts out there but they are poorly paying dry lining firms, tools, I'd try and take your own as again, they are very expensive to buy out there.

Be careful with the re-build as its not all its cracked up to be, I saw lots of Chinese, phillipenoe and Malaysian workers there living in shared accommodation working long hours for low wages.

Good luck with it.