kostas_gr

Hi to everyone!! I would be really gratefull if you could tell me a few things about how easy could it be for me to find a job in australia as a civil engineer, since my language skills are not very good. Is it possible that a native employer would trust a job vacancy to a foreigner like me? Iam from Greece and i have never lived abroad... (I have passed IELTS exams with an average 7/9). Thanks a lot...

Alfresco

Hi Kostas,

Welcome to BE. If you have passed IELTS with a 7/9 in all four categories then your English will be fine.

Have you applied for a visa? If not then you should perhaps look on the Oz Immigration forum.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

As far as Civil Engineering jobs are concerned, someone may come along soon to answer your question.

Good luck.

kostas_gr

Hi Alfresco!! At the time I am being qualified by Engineers Australia (I Hope) and later i will start the procedure to get an independent visa for immigrants. I was thinking how could an employer trust a real foreigner like me for his company... More, should i have to be helped by an agency before landing to Australia or is the personal touch more effective? Really, thank you!!

scrubbedexpat020

Wouldn't worry about being a foreigner as The Economist reports 26.5% of the Australian labour force is foreign-born.

In the UK it is 12.5%.

Ian

Bix

There was a "Migration Occupations in Demand List" (MODL) which was withdrawn in Feb 2010. This was a list of occupations most needed in Australia and Civil Engineer was on the list. Every occupation had an ASCO code and for CE it was 2124-11.

At the same time they revised the General Skilled Migration (GSM) requirements to better reflect the occupations needed. This list is called Skilled Occupation List (SOL) and every occupation has a ANZSCO code. CE is 233211.

I would think there are still good prospects for qualified CE's.
Have a look at job websites to get an idea what is on offer as well as industry specific ones.

With your IELTS results you should be okay.

There are a lot of Scottish people in Australia who get by okay and they didn't take the IELTS.

Alfresco

I've read a few admissions here on BE that no-one can understand them.

Bix

I did here they need the help of a civil engineer to construct a sentence.

Alfresco

bcworld

Aye, well youse English are no better!

Bix

my excuse is that I am Celtic.

kostas_gr

As regards my second question, what is the best way to secure a job? Through a recruiting company before landing to AUS?

newjersey

It would be more difficult, if employer wants to have you over for an in-person interview. The other matter would be the start date - sometimes they want you to start the next day. I think it is a general consensus that it is less difficult to search for a job after you landed.