Pauldw500

Hi all, first visit but from what i've read the first of many :-) Myself, partner and 2 kids (13 & 11) have all decided now is the time to emigrate down under. My main concern at this stage (and a very early stage!) is employment.

I am now a London Cabbie which I feel isn't gonna hold much strength in my application for Emigration to Australia, and have no other qualifications at all. I am very handy and have considered a Carpentry course or 2 at college. I'm pretty handy in the world of PC's too and wonder about this direction? If it's anything like the UK in that dept, then maybe not the best route.

My only other problem is I am recovering from a major motorcycle accident which I might never totally recover from. It will take upto another year to know fa sure if I will, but have been told I will deffo get 80 - 90% use of my arms again. I can currently drive etc, but its real physical stuff that will take time to know whether arms will ever have enough strength to manage.

My main question to you all is ??

As I will have to study to get some qualifications under my belt, I have several directions I can go.

Where is best ? IT or Trade? I'm under the impression Carpenters are in demand in Oz, but can only go from TV shows ...lol, but with possible physical problems, would the IT way be better?

HELP!!

originalfunster

i am a newbie here myself, but reading your post will you be OK for the medical? I dont know how strict they are?

Pauldw500

Hi there, To be honest you know its all a very sudden decision and I have not looked into health or medicals:-( I am ok, its just I broke both arms and healing is slow altho it is only 4 months since crash. Specialists have said I should be ok, 100% in a year, but no guarantee's.

Worse way would mean weak arms, but nothing else. Altho this would cancel out any Trade jobs. I would prefer to go the IT route, but not if I will be fighting everyone for the one job!

Happy hammer

Hi paul, I think you might want to go the the Australian gov web site lots of useful info on there telling you what you will have to do to get a visa. I think that the skills you have wont get you in, but there are diffrent ways,under diffrent classes of visa.Also alot of migration agents will give you a FREE assesment on your chances of getting a visa and what the best way to go about it.

GengaKev

I would go and see an emigration agent, I used OE visas and the first consultation only cost £50. They will have a good idea of whats required, I'm sure they ask for post apprenticeship experience, not just a college cert. but may be wrong. 50 quid well spent in my opinion.

originalfunster

if you are thinking of going the trade route, check out Barnfield College, Luton. 1 year course is about £150.00 inc exams..... compared with about £800.00 at St Albans

http://www.barnfield.ac.uk/

very good pass rate too

Pauldw500

Hi hammer, yeah I've been there and also filled in one of these questionaires off the net that 'so called' give you a good idea if you'll get in via trade. I inputted a Carpenter with a few yrs experience just to see, and with other factors taken into acc I got 125 points and the figure needed was 115. I have no clue how acurate this is, but with other details supplied as I say it showed a thumbs up!

As much as I/we'd like to go asap, we all understand this is gonna be a long drawn out process which will prob include study of some sort for me.

3 yrs would be nice, but then so would 18 months :-) I have no clue really and DO need help!

Happy hammer

its ok doing the courses and going to colledge,but most trades require that you have been in that trade for quite a few years and have been working in that trade in the past year.The TRA will look at on the job training for your skills if you have no formal training.

Happy hammer

Paul, having just gone through the whole process,the one thing i would say is make sure that you get as much info as poss before applying to the TRA to assess your skills. find out how many years in the job they are looking for etc.......

Pauldw500

Well altho not ideal as I really want to do all this properly, I do have a friend who owns a Locksmith company who could certainly say i'd been working there for however long as a carpenter If I wanted really. I aint too sure if a letter to the company would be sent or wage slips would need to be seen, but if the former then this could be arranged easy. As I say I'd prefer to do it all 100% straight, but i will need to study for a few yrs at a guess and this would only mean I could say I'd been working maybe part time or whatever to 'fit the bill' if you get me.

If IT then maybe not a good move other than possible quicker qualification as I cannot do the same with this trade.

originalfunster

sorry Paul i assumed that you were looking at going in 4-5 years time after re-training, didnt realise you were looking to go as quick as 18 months

Pauldw500

GengaKev thx for advice, I might very well do that.

Originalfunster, ta too. Sommit else to look into, but as to time limit. I/we'd love to go asap ...... literaly and only finding the job is holding us back. It's the only bottleneck in the plan as we have property with decent equity and hope to purchase outright, again might not be the best route but without professional advice in this dept we really don't know.

A lot to look into, and a lot to learn we know but am certain about our long term plan of heading south :-) that's fa sure, whatever it takes!

bondipom

I work in IT and unless you are interested in the subject avoid it as the pots of gold went after dot com and y2k. If you enjoy the subject you should note that ageism is rife in the industry especially with new new recruits.

Currently carpenters are in demand with the building boom but it remains to be seen how long the boom lasts.

Pauldw500

Bondipom, yeah thx mate. You know this is why I posted this thread. I've never been employed in IT either (as in Carpentry), but can build, demolish, Overclock, run multiple system'd PC's all day long. I DO love my PC and whoever elses gets dumped at my house for repair, but am very aware that sitting on a PC for 4 hrs doin exactly what I want is a lot diff from using for work, but again never tried. Do have a very big interest in them tho altho the age thing doesn't sound too good :-( I am 33.

Carpentry is a field I have worked in, but not for many a year and was only as an apprentice then. I CAN do most things in that dept tho, but have no qualifications to prove anything really other than knowing my way round London well, but as originally said don't think this will aid my application to emigrate down south too well ...lol

I know this will prob take a few yrs, but just want to know which is the better direction b4 I go looking into college corses etc.

Pauldw500

Bondipom, yeah thx mate. You know this is why I posted this thread. I've never been employed in IT either (as in Carpentry), but can build, demolish, Overclock, run multiple system'd PC's all day long. I DO love my PC and whoever elses gets dumped at my house for repair, but am very aware that sitting on a PC for 4 hrs doin exactly what I want is a lot diff from using for work, but again never tried. Do have a very big interest in them tho altho the age thing doesn't sound too good :-( I am 33.

Carpentry is a field I have worked in, but not for many a year and was only as an apprentice then. I CAN do most things in that dept tho, but have no qualifications to prove anything really other than knowing my way round London well, but as originally said don't think this will aid my application to emigrate down south too well ...lol

I know this will prob take a few yrs, but just want to know which is the better direction b4 I go looking into college corses etc.