TiddlyPom

Yes Ireland is in a state of collapse and has been for a while. Very difficult situation when you're trying to provide for a family. I can see why angry-ball is thinking about Aus.

jad n rich

I know ireland is very bad, but in the UK you heard constantly (media) how everyonewas going to Australia or Canada and New Zealand to get jobs. In that UK media way, like hey those countries are rolling with jobs

Canada certainly isnt New zealand no idea but really? and australia plenty of people are looking for jobs, and many, including new migrants cant find jobs, despite the rosy ahum unempolyment rate.

This 'mass of jobs' seemed to be based on nothing but the assumption that it must be 'greener' elsewhere. And the fact since 2008 most countries have been in a bit of a mess/downward cycle seemed to have been totally ignored.

Amazulu

Yes, Australia is a much better proposition than Ireland for the foreseeable future

Ireland is just reassuming it's position as a European basketcase

Buzzy--Bee

In NZ it is VERY hard to get work at any level unless you know an employer personally which isn't an option for most immigrants.

BB

DeepSix

its how i got my job in NZ
My wife worked with a girl who's husband worked for the firm i eventually got a job with

i had done some temp work as well.. but not my career job.. and the temp work was easy to get..by that i mean manual labouring stuff

Sally Simpson

Have you considered how your wife & children will manage without you? Not financially but on emotional & practical levels.

angry-ball

hi guys and thanks for the many replies

one issue that seems to keep cropping up is that i seem to have given an impression that iam forcing my family into emigration. this is not the case atall, both me and my wife are of the same mindset and agree that staying in ireland is not an option that has a whole lot going for it atm. the kids are never going to be happy about the move they are aged 8,10 and 12 and to be honest they are not doing that much complaining about it, it is just that they have their friends here and are probably a little bit afraid of the unknown. my wife still has both parents living atm her father is nearly 80 and her mother is 70ish,while both are in good health now her biggest fear is that they will become ill or die and she will be on the other side of the world and not much help to them. both my parents are dead and i only have 2 brothers and 1 sister left here in ireland so i have no real ties as such. another worry my wife has is that she dosn't know what she will do for work out there, she has worked in a farming environment all her life,but in the last 4-5years she has taken evening classes/courses in caring for the elderly but is unsure whether her qualifications will be recognised out there or whether she will be able to get work in this field.
i also have two brothers living in australia, one in sydney he moved there in '87 and is well established, he is sponsoring me as a relative for my visa. i also have a brother in perth/bunbarry, he moved there about 2 1/2 years ago. you would think this is ideal how much more information do i need to get. but i don't intend to move to sydney as from what i can gather the cost of living is very expensive over there. this is a great pity as the brother in sydney would be of great help to me. my brother in perth will also be a great help to me, but just dosn't seem to be getting the info i need. i asked him about 3 months ago to find out about getting work in the mines, and i rang him about a month ago and he said "oh yeah i met a guy from dublin and he is working in the mines out here he works for 2 weeks and then comes down to perth where is wife and kids are for his week off" and that was the total of his research in 2months. its not that he dosn't want to help its just that as soon as he hangs up the phone he won't think about it again until i ring him again.
about being whole hearted about the move, i have said before that i don't intend on this being a longterm move and do intend to return to ireland in 4-5years time if the situation recovers here. my idea of heading out first is to see if what iam doing will work and if its successfull and everything is ok with the family, then i will stick it for as long as i can. if it is not successfull for one reason or another i will pack it in. during this time the wife and kids can see if they would like to come to australia or not if they decide not to, then i will come home and forget the whole crazy plan. of course we will have our visas at that stage and could still decide to go at a later time if we wanted to.

but it would seem from some of the replies getting work in the mines is harder than i think, it would also seem as though working away and building up my days off so that i could get a 3 week break every now and then might not work either. so it would seem as though there is cracks appearing in my plan allready.
either way once we get our visas(if we do get them) we will most likely pay the brother in perth a visit for validation purposes. i will most likely try and find out a bit more about work then, this will also extend our time to decide on whether or not to make the BIG move.
anyhow if ye have anymore thought or ideas on my plan keep them coming as it is all food for thought

ExSmoggie

My husband works in the mines in NSW. I'm not sure things in WA work exactly as they do here but I'm sure they will be similarities.

Firstly, civil tickets (Australian never mind Irish) don't really count for anything in the mining industry. You don't need to have them. They may assist you in getting a job (i.e. indicating you can operate at a certain level) but they are not required. The focus is on previous mining experience and that is the hard part. Everyone wants experience but getting your foot in the door to gain that experience is really a matter of luck. In NSW, they are starting to 'run out' of experienced people and you do see agency jobs advertised for traineeships and accepting civil rather than mining experience but generally the pay isn't as good.

As mentioned earlier, you generally need to have an HR licence to gain a dump truck position in WA, this isn't the case in QLD or NSW. Most operators who are new to the mining industry would begin driving a dump truck (regardless of prior civil experience on excavators etc) They just need more dump truck operators than anything else.
Hope some of this helps!

BrisDubBris

I am not sure going just to ride out the storm in Ireland is a good idea. 4-5 years can be a long time if you are not happy.

There are plenty of people living in Sydney on moderate incomes.

HelenTD

Hi, if your (somewhat unhelpful) brother lives in Bunbury and you go and stay with him, there are some mining operations down there too (Collie, Capel and Boddington). There is also the possibility of other earthmoving work, such as a new land sub-division or two, or new roads, etc. Probably would be the same problem as in the north in that it's who you know, rather than what you know. Sometimes you can strike it lucky and the bloke you speak to at a company is of Irish descent (or whatever background), or you can make some sort of link that will serve you well. Is your Bunbury brother married? If so, his wife might be more useful as a contact and she might know a family at the school where the dad is FIFO.

Have a look for a recent discussion on BE about Mandurah or Bunbury. Also look up the mining companies around Bunbury and major land developers. Find out the qualifications or OH&S courses you would need to get a job here. If your wife hasn't completed a course in aged care, it would be useful to do one, so that she could work as soon as possible here.

To be honest, the idea of working FIFO here, with very long working days in hot conditions, working longer shifts so that you can get time off to fly to Ireland, does not seem workable at all. In fact, I'm sure that the OH&S people wouldn't be happy about it. The cost of flights and the wear and tear on your mind and body would further increase the risk of an accident or ill-health.

If you do your homework and know that you can stay with your brother, you could come ahead, get the lie of the land, try to sort out some work and hopefully earn some money. Running or contributing to two households is tough, though, if your family stays behind. Everyone who moves out here has to go through a certain amount of discomfort or stress - you've got to bite the bullet at some point.

angry-ball

thats what myself and the wife are saying and realise that something needs to be done, i guess iam just that bit more comfortable about moving than the wife is at the moment.

also what is a HR license,
is it an artic licence, rigid license or a car licence?
different license codes here in ireland

BrisDubBris

Good luck with it. There are a lot of people here in Ireland that are really struggling at the moment.

I hope it works out for you.

Australia_bound?

Heavy rig, is the norm to drive anything on a mine site.
Any Irish license you have won't be vaild here and you're starting from scratch.
What trade is going to get you a visa?

Amazulu

Like I said before, your Irish tickets will mean nothing in the mining industry, although your experience may

angry-ball

carpenter and joiner