Johneyy01

Hello All!

First of all Merry Christmas!!!

I have read so many posts on here and can see that everyone is ever so helpful .. so here goes!!

I have always liked the idea of going over to aus, initially on a working holiday visa, however, I never got round to doing so. I have done so much research but never actually been over. My fianceé loves the idea of leaving our life in the UK and moving over to aus.

We were in touch with an agency who advised that we could go over with my skill set (Restaurant Manager) I could get sponsered for the Northern Territory, however, out of all th*e places in Aus, this was the last place we wanted to relocate too!

My fianceé has been advised that as she has a degree in English, that if she were to do a one year PGCE in English Teaching for Secondary Schools she would be able to get the 189 visa meaning we have the choice of anywhere in Australia to live even if she would not even be a teacher once we are there it atleast gets us in to Australia. Me and our 1 year old boy would also get PR based on her visa.

I just have a few questions :-

1) I have always thought I would like to move to Melbourne, however with it being so expensive woul-d a jod you reccommend Melbourne or Perth for a family of 3 (soon to be extended hopefully)

2) In my line of work restaurant manager / Food and beverage manager / Hotel Operations manager I could get a salary of around 80-90 K and should my fiancee get a job as a teacher then around 70K. Is 160K pre tax decent for a family to live on 3/4 bed house, car, food, etc. We will be PR so I assume the childcare is cheaper?

3) Has anyone moved over and found work as a teacher or within management of the hospitality industry?

4) How much would you say the full relocation would be and is it likely that with the visa I could find a job prior to moving over?

any other top tips

Thanks in advance x

carcajou

This is going to be harder than you think.

The PGCE has to be recognised by AITSL in the skills assessment process for her to get a 189 and you to be attached to it. Some Brits have had enormous trouble getting their PGCEs accepted by AITSL.

A PGCE is not an easy degree that you can sleepwalk through. It requires a lot of dedicated study, is by no means a guaranteed "pass," and the practicum components will eat her alive if she doesn't actually have decent teaching aptitude, and maybe even if she does (think - coming home crying multiple times a week).

You need to understand that she will also not be able to work and do her PGCE at the same time, especially at practicum time. Do you have the savings to do a year in the UK on only your income while she does the PGCE, and then pay for the visa process, pay for the PGCE, and then pay for the relocation?

90k for a restaurant manager sounds extraordinarily high. I just did a Google search and it came back and said 54k which is about where I would have pegged it. Job market is tight in Perth. Hospitality jobs are what people gravitate to when things are tough in their regular professions. A new teacher in Perth with UK qualifications - forget it. Melbourne a bit better.

Very unlikely you or her will find a job beforehand coming over. Look at around 30-50k for the full relocation. Some people do it for more and some do it for a lot less. I would suggest, however, you are asking for problems if you go below that. Keep in mind that everything down to the cutlery has to be re-purchased, you could very well need a car, and you need a good 6-12 month buffer of savings to ensure you have time to look for jobs.

Sure there are some stories of people coming over here with nothing more than a backpack and $50 and ending up making it. Those are extremely rare and crazy to think that this will be you.

quoll

If she doesn’t have a burning desire to be a teacher then it’ll probably kill her. The PGCE, as has been said, is not a walk in the park and if you aren’t of the right “stuff” then the kids will eat you alive. Getting a job as a secondary English teacher in Melbourne with no experience - forget it, there are thousands of unemployed young Aussie teachers who want to live in the big cities. Maybe a chance for something out at Woop woop where nobody actually wants to live. Always choose a career that you are going to love doing for the rest of your life (even if you end up changing along the way) not because you think it might get you a visa - and it might not even do that if there is a shake up with immigration and secondary English isn’t in that much demand.

Johneyy01

Hi,

Thank you for your replies. It certainly gives us something to think about!

We can afford to live in the UK with just me working, the course we will take out a student loan so doesnt need to be paid back till we are well settled in the UK and she is entitled to a 15000GBP bursary whilst she studies which is a decent 1500 a month as its split over 10 months... so we would be fine for the year and be able to save and pay for the visa.

We would be looking at renting fully furnished when we get over there for at least a year so we can ensure we are settled in properly...

I have done research in to my profession and 90k is achievable as I am currently a hotel operations manager (one below the GM) by the time we actually get over to Australia I will have another 2 years experience and hopefully aiming for a GM position.

Do you know, if we get granted the visa do we have to move over within a certain time limit or can we wait until we have more experience or savings etc?

Points taken about perth and melbourne. Would you until some where else. We are happy to live further out of the city and for her to find a teaching job in the suburbs we are not looking to live and for her to get a teaching job in the CBD ... we are flexible so recommended location would help.

I have another option that we could go down my profession on a 489 visa however how likely is it that it will become permanent? is it risky considering we have a baby?

The other sticking point is that my profession is only sponsored by Tasmania and Darwin. Anyone have any experience there?

Thanks
J

musicalfever4

It’s not about teaching in the suburbs, it’s about teaching remotely, which means hours away from the city, think about at least 3 hours drive. I lived in the suburbs of Melbourne, one hour from the CBD, with 20+ years teaching experience. After 60+ applications I still didn’t have a job, just because I didn’t have Australian experience...

carcajou

The points about teaching seem to have sailed by you. The profession is oversubscribed - especially in the capital cities - and her prospects as a new, inexperienced, foreign-qualified teacher are very slim (Melbourne) to none (Perth, Sydney, Tasmania). That goes for CBDs and any outlying suburbs.

The tradition in many government fields, including teaching, in Australia was that people first went to Outback and remote postings and then got city postings later on. Therefore your wife will be competing with, not just whomever is floating around Perth and Melbourne, but all the teachers in the bush and Outback who want transfers. Except she will be competing against them with no experience, no local referees, and a foreign qualification.

You need to understand that just because a profession is on the "shortage" list that does not mean there is an actual shortage, and secondary teaching is one of those. There is an "imbalance" - a shortage in remote and Outback areas but not in cities.

Not sure what you think secondary teachers do - I was not exaggerating when I said that you should expect her to come home crying multiple times a week when doing her practicums. A full-time English teacher will often work 60 to 70 hour weeks. If she does not have any aptitude for it or a deep, substantial hunger for it, she won't last. This will be the opposite of a walk in the park.

Sorry to be so blunt - but taking out a student loan to get a degree (that may not be recognised) in a very over-subscribed profession (which may not even be on the shortage list anymore when she graduates) sounds crazy. I realise that this is not what you want to hear. You are better off doing your 2 years in the Northern Territory or wherever (if you do get sponsorship) and then moving on from there.

I also think you are going to find getting a job in your field more challenging than it seems - very few people walk into Australia and get equivalent employment right away from what they had in the UK (let alone promotional positions).

I would highly, highly recommend you take a recce first, come here, and speak to hiring managers in your field in the locations that appeal to you, to get an idea of what will and won't be possible (and how to make your CV attractive for sponsorship). I would be very wary of rosy speeches from migration agents about job prospects. You need to also ask yourself why would they hire someone with no local experience unless they have an absolute shortage - which in the cities they likely don't have, and that shortage is Outback. I think you will find that they tell you aiming for a promotional GM position here is not realistic.

Good luck. I think you need to do a lot more research, and need to visit here and speak to people directly in your field.

quoll

Be aware that if she does choose the PGCE route that it’s not one of the “learn on the job” routes to QTS like School Direct. It has to be a full time University based year’s training.

I agree with the above comment though - either try for NT and put up with it for your commitment period or at least visit before you chuck in everything and see what is really on the ground. I do think you are being somewhat over optimistic with your chances TBH but if you take career breaks and rent out your home you could suck it and see. Bear in mind when we talk about rural and remote it’s not like living in a suburb of London or some little village without a bus service, it’s potentially many hours drive to a large town.