I am new to this site, but my husband is a gas engineer /plumber and we are heading off to Melbourne in January/February for a new and better life. We have a good life here in London, good wages, etc, but the weather is crap and London isn't a fun place to have four kids.

Has anyone out there moved to Melbourne for plumbing work and was it easy to get. We are scared that he won't find a job and we will be struggling. A few years ago we tried Perth but there was no work there for plumbers and loads of red tape. We want to live in Australia, but we are really scared of messing things up for the kids. Any advice will be great.

I'm planning to move to Melbourne once I get my visa, so would be great to know of a plumber even before I get there..it's a nightmare in London!! Hope all goes well for you and your family.

Fraser will be on at some point.

He's a plumber by trade and living in Melbourne.

If & when you come to Australia, your hubby will have to do a course for his plumbing license its as simple as that.
1st a course for his general plumbing the 2nd he may also have to do another course for the gas fitting, then if he wants to work self employed he may then have to do the contractors course again more money each course will cost money, there will not be any company's that will employ him without the licenses its illegal to work as a plumber here without them.

sorry to say.

I'm an electrician and we are in the exact boat as the poor plumbers.

Arthur

Will be fantastic to speak with another plumber - we'll keep watching the site. cheers.

...and getting on the plumbing course is not always as easy as you might hope. It might be worth trying to got hold of BE user 'Going4it' for his experience. Had a tough time.

Neil

Neil

Are you also a plumber?

Kiwi

No, not a plumber. "Going4it' is a friend of mine, and has been going through a prolonged tough time trying to get into the plumbing trade. He's been starting from trying to get an apprenticeship, but it is hard for him even to get a place, as the TAFE's put preference on school leavers. He has been run around a lot - and rather unfairly.

Neil

A new developement on the drainers courses may be of interest.
TAFE Qld have a correspondence course in drainage about to be released which, if I'm right in thinking, gives a uk plumber the chance to study towards the drainers licence whilst residing overseas.
Drainers are licenced separately to plumbers but would give a chance of finding employment (as a provisional drainer) whilst studying towards the plumbing qualification when you land over here.
The Qld qualification is transferable to other states under mutual recognition.
Not too sure if this is correct so advise you to check out with TAFE yourself

Hi

We are moving to the Gold Coast in Jan/Feb. Hubby is a plumber and there is supposed to be alot of work in that area for them. We keep having same worries as you.

May i say to all UK plumber coming to australia, you wont have to do dp an Apprentiship again but you will have to do an evening course to bring you up to Australian standards its as simle as that

arthur

I know several people who have headed out here with trade skills and it is not an easy ride. We have a guy here in Wangaratta who was a gas fitter in the UK and he has eventually got to the point where he can run his own business covering the heating and now cooling side of things. He has had to do lots of courses (you have to pass each individual element) and is still not licensed to do basic stuff like unblocking a sink . His business has been up and running for over a year but is still not at the stage where it can support them as a family (they are hopeful that this summer will be a turning point).
Do your research very carefully, contact the licensing board and TAFE and keep on at them until you get the information that you need, if you are using an agent get them onto the case. If you are heading out to the regional areas then places can be easier to get at the TAFE as this is where the shortages bite hardest. From what I have heard if you are a gas fitter then you have a SLIGHTLY easier ride than the straight plumbers but it is still not straightforward.
Good luck there is work out here but they do not make it easy for overseas qualified workers to get at it
Nicky

yep, I am a UK qualified gasfitter, over 20 years in the trade, BG, TRANSCO, AMEC and lastly McAlpines on my CV, I have all domestic and Classifying tickets and over here there is not alot happening in gas.
There are jobs available right now IF you are not too bothered amount amounts of pay, the 2 big gas appliance manufactuers here are both currently hiring they are RHEEM and RINNAI.
Both have work all over Oz so state wise it's up to you....HOWEVER!!!
the $$$$$$ in my opinion are well below what I would consider good wages, Rheem will give you a Van and phone and about $42000 a year, if you can survive on that then send them your CV, it's servicing and breakdowns so no worries there.
I found that after I took the cost of living, Food, mortgage car etc into account the money was,nt enough so I gave it a miss, and now I get more than that as a Apprentice boilermaker!
Apprenticeships over here are big buisness and if you do your research you can find schemes for mature apprenticeships in the "areas of shortage" jobs, these pay Adult rates to learn a new trade.

My best friend moved to Brisbane, her hubby is electrician and went with a job he got at an Expo in London. Anyway she says there is loads of work for plumbers in the Brisbane/Gold Coast area. Another friend of theirs arrived on the Gold Coast 6 months ago and is something to do with printing (I think) but it took so long to get his papers that he ended up working as an installer for Fox (our Sky) and he's earning loads. In the meantime our visa is state sponsored so we have to stay in Melbourne for 2 years, after that we can go anywhere in oz.

good luck with your move and if I find out anything new for plumbers from my friend I'll let you know.

Also bear in mind Rheem require possession of the gas, restricted electrical (and restricted plumbing if not a licenced plumber) licenses and live within striking distance of Brisbane city centre