egghead4

[QUOTE=lesleyhunter79;4459902]this is all very depressing reading.
ive heard so much info my oh is plumber and gasfitter

snap, I'm just wondering whether it makes any difference what type of qualifications you have, as my OH has his heating and is corgi registered (I know this isn't something that is recognised in oz) he also has his mehcanical plumbing and engineering certificates (all city and guilds) but does the city and guilds bit make any difference?
any feedback would be great.

jad n rich

Why should overseas tradesmen be allowed to work without the same licencing/training qualifications australians require?

A licence is far more than a peice of paper its the way you (the tradesman) is held financially and legally liable for the work you perform. It was brought in to protect the consumer.

Example 5 years ago we had a brickie do a job for us, hes licenced, he no longer even lives in qld, however when the mortar began to rot he was tracked down and made to rectify the work.

Take every scrap of training and red tape on offer, the work you do here can come back and haunt you years down the track!

paula&lee

hiya
we r the same 2 oh plumber/gas fitter were originally going to Perth but now consideing Adelaide, don't think it;s as hard to get licence there

daveplumber

[QUOTE=egghead4;4461413] Hi there city and guilds qualified plumber here, does not make the slightest difference in oz, i am lucky enough to have a few pounds in the to weather the first couple of years (equity out of house so bit of a bummer but hey we are where we want to be ?) so what i am going to do is get employment other than plumbing while i get myself licensed surely this is the way to go

Wendy

Plumbing in Queensland

http://www.sd.qld.gov.au/dsdweb/htdocs/slol/

Gas fitting in Queensland

http://www.nrw.qld.gov.au/

Licensing

http://www.lgp.qld.gov.au/?id=50

Wendy

South Australia licensing

http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/

If you don't know what you need to do, just e-mail them. They are really helpful

kez81

Thats not what i was saying, ofcourse the should be licenced but i just wish the whole thing was made easier, my hubby has over 18 years experience is really got to him be treated like a apprentice when he first arrived and being payed the money he was!!

But like i said he has the licence now thank god, so hopefully things will get better for us !! Good luck to you all in the process we know what a pain in the backside it is but you will get there in the end!!!

kez81

[QUOTE=daveplumber;4462253] My husband did think of doind something other than plumbing while he got his licence you will probably be payed more doing something else, but at the end of the day plumbing is what got him here in the first place and is what he has done since leaving school so he decided to stick with it, He has now set up on his own so hopefully it will work out!!

Good luck in getting your licence!!!

bridie

It's not just getting the licences that is the problem, it's who to talk to to find out exactly what you have to do to get it sorted.

Took us months of phoning round and going in circles before finally (thank god) I spoke to someone who knew what they were talking about and could get stuff sorted.

You would think they'd have plans for all eventualities and have a clear pathway that people have to follow, and I agree, having to apply to TRA again is just a complete waste of time - although in our case didnt make any odds as we came over on my OH's engineering skills.

pogsy

Hi everyone,
I have read this thread with interest as I am now in the same boat by the sounds of it as a lot of other trades people, the problem as I see it is that the Federal Government does not work in line with the State Government of each respective state. Why the assessors in TRA are not assessing all candidates to the same level as the teachers in the TAFE at the onset of your Trades Assessment is beyond me. If they were and you got a negative assessment at least you would know at that stage that you were not going to be able to work in Oz in the same capacity as in the UK. Another thing that I understand (but maybe wrong) is that you can not start the ball rolling with reference to getting your Cert 3 in order to get a license until you are resident in Australia. Going back to the TRA stage, if they were assessing people to the Certificate 3 level then a positive assessment at this point would at least let you know that all you would need to do on arrival in Australia is apply to the Department Of Fair Trade for your license. I have spoken to our local Fed MP who is looking into the system at present, he has asked me if I could get a list of people who have gone, or are going through this system. If anyone is interested in sending me their details then you can pm them to me and I will pass them on. I am trying to obtain a certificate 3 in carpentry which will then allow me to get my license and at present the cost is estimated at $2,200.00 by the TAFE college. The money is not the issue here as it would have cost this wether it was at the TRA stage or now. As I said this is my experience and my views which are not necessarily correct but will be interested in other peoples experience, by sharing this we can hopefully make it easier for people in the future.

bridie

Good on you Pogsy

I swear the next time I hear the words "WA skills shortage" on the news I will be penning a letter to our local MP myself!!!!

kez81

i agree it does takes ages to find out about it, this is a problem we faced also.

steve`o

can you forward the contact details for the fed mp ??

i`l quite happily quote chapter and verse as to the ludicrous system they have in place

and jad n rich
your talking shite
the local tradies get stuffed up by the sysem too
if they dont renew their licences by the due date they have to go back to college and do the same courses etc so how does that work

nik04

you mean the same as in the UK for an employed gas fitter, you are held personally responsible for every job you do, not the company you work for. All people (foriegn tradies) are asking for is a fair crack at what they have trained to do for many years, and most are more than competent to do. Not end up on shyte wages for doing the same job as licenced guy, most of us came here because we thought tradesmen were i short supply not to become some cheap imported labour that will end up driving down Aus tradies wages.

jad n rich

Just read what I wrote, nothing in it is shite, its fact. If you want to mouth off about someones post kindly point out what part you feel is incorrect.

Never once felt stuffed up by the system, all it means is the persons working for us are totally 100% responsible for their work and will be for many years.

Never had a problem renewing any of our licences, your sent a renewal, bit of paperwork, and a small fee. Any professional should manage that on time.