robos

hi all
sorry i haven't been around for a while lots to sort out

im after some advice if anyone can help i would be eternally grateful

we are moving to gold coast hopefully in june/july 07 (if we ever sell this bloomin house)
need to know how a 39 yr old would go about retraining to become a pc engineer/mainenance with only having experience in mending own pc no qualifications in that field its just a hobby i would like to turn into a job?
would it be worth while retraining before we get there or wait until we arrive?
if i wait how do i go about it?

thanks in advance

jan xx

trainee_pilot

I can tell what worked for us which is not to say it's the right option for everyone......

My partner has given up her career in retail management to retrain to be a hairdresser on the Sunshine Coast, this allowed us to get a 2 and bit year student visa. I can work 20 hours a week on this visa as dependant but OH can work 20 hours in term time and as many as she wants in non-term time.

Hopefully when she qualifies in 2 years time we will be able to get PR (risky as it may come off MODL) but we took the chance as living over here is just awesome.

SO guess what i'm trying to say is, if you can afford it and are willing to take the risk then retrain in the sunshine as you are then living the dream, its a lot less depressing lol

TP

Wendy

I'd do it here personally. If you did it in the UK then you'd probably have to go through an assessment of some kind to convert the skills to something Aus recognises.

There are plenty of these courses being advertised (well in SA anyway), they guarantee a job at the end as well.

CHnJ

There're franchises around which will train you and give you a van and some turf to work ... for a price obviously. Buying a job may or may not be for you, but it does seem to be an easy way to get up to speed in both the skills you need, and also what it takes to run a business.

Take a look at http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...825329418.html for a good overview including rates.

Dorothy

Start by looking here http://www.trainandemploy.qld.gov.au/ This site is the training and skills website for Queensland government. You can search courses by name and find a registered training organisation who delivers the training in your area. Training organisations are like migration agents. They do not have to be registered with a governing body, but if you want any recourse you need to use one that is registered. Look for the green and red inverted triangle symbol to make sure they are listed and in good standing with the commonwealth government. This will ensure you have some recourse if the RTO doesn't live up to its promises and also that the training is recognised by the government and industry.
A lot of RTOs operate as part of a recruitment agency (like the one I work for) and this helps with the finding a job afterwards. We don't guarentee anyone a job who does a traineeship with us but we do show them how to get their own job after the training is over and of course if they want to be they can be registered with our recruitment side of the business. I'm in SA, no Qld, but I think things work pretty much the same way. If you want to know any more about how RTOs work, drop me a line and I'll see what I can tell you.

robos

thank you all for your replies

just one more question is how long will it take to train?
thanks

jan xx

Dorothy

Check that website for RTOs that offer the training you want and go to their websites for specifics. Most certificate level courses can be done as either intensive training which will last a couple of weeks or as part of a traineeship which can be done up to 24 months. We usually do traineeships of less than 12 months, but we do mainly customer service and admin training.

ian_s

Hi Dorothy,

Very interested in this thread as we are hoping to be in Adelaide in around 10-12 months time. I was hoping to learn a trade, plumbing, electrics, tiling etc and just wanted to know if traineeship/apprenticeships attract a wage and what is a ball park figure(got family to support) & how long they take(do they have to be four years).
Any links or advice would be greatly appreciated. Do they cater for older people who wish to do this or is it frowned upon. BTW I'm 40.


Ian.

Dorothy

Hi Ian. Suggest you check out peer.com.au. They do the trades training here in Adelaide. If they can't help you, nobody in Adelaide can. Not sure about the wages for apprenticeships, as we don't do them. My OH is also 40 and he is looking into doing an apprenticeship,so I don't think you would be the only mature student. There are tons of government incentives out there to help with training also. Make sure when you talk to Peter at Peer that you ask about wages, etc. From what I understand they are pretty good folks there, although I personally haven't dealt with them.

Wendy

We have and yes they are really helpful.

ian_s

Thanks for that it is a really useful site. Does anybody know if they work around the academic calendar i.e. all courses/apprenticeships start at the beginning of Feb & would I have to be physically in Oz to apply.

Dorothy

You'll probably have to be in Oz to apply. Apprenticeships don't follow the school calendar. They start and finish according to labour demands.

SylvieKid

Hi Jan,

Not sure if this'll help but there are certifications that can be taken in the UK that are recognised in Oz. If it's PC support/maintenance then Microsoft MCP's, CompTIA A+ are possibly worth a look at?

I've been in IT for about 15 years and took the MCSA & MCSE prior to getting my skills assessed and these also appear in a lot of the IT job ads over here. It took me about 6 months to get both of these but individual MCP certifications can be taken in a matter of weeks depending on how much previous experience you have? I didn't bother paying for expensive courses but got the relevant book on the subject as well as the appropriate Transcender exam.

As an aside, I came from an accountancy background originally and had no idea about how to get into IT. I landed a helpdesk job to start with and a friend there helped me get into PC's and build my own, etc... I then took an MCP in Windows 95 (not exactly too relevant these days!?!?) and it kind of went from there?

If you need any further help I'd be more than happy for you to PM me.

Andy

robos

hi andy

thanks for this info its really helpful

thanks

jan xx

SylvieKid

Hi Jan,

No probs, you're very welcome. I'll have a fair bit of spare time on my hands as of tomorrow morning as my current contract finishes (I'm currently working nights?!?!) and I was a little bit stitched up with a possible job this week.....actually, on reflection maybe I'm not the best person to be giving advice as it appears my IT career's currently in tatters!!

Anyway, feel free to pm me if you have any other questions and I'll try and help out as best I can. Maybe I should start charging for such info - gawd knows my wife will be busting my chops to get some money in soon!!

All the best,
Andy
xx