Ex-Squaddie

Hello

I'm new to this site after having my Subclass 309 Spouse Visa granted the other week. I am due to arrive in Brisbane on 12 September after 10 years in the British Army. I am very keen to retrain as a plumber and have completed some courses in the UK. Can anyone tell me a bit about training as a plumber over in Oz (i.e. I am not qualified in the UK and will need to train up from the bottom). I'm 31 and have plenty of life experience through the army and a bit of plumbing experience to boot. I understand that the Queensland government allows apprenticeships under the subclass 309 visa as I'm married to an Australian. Could anyone provide any advice as to how I go about getting an apprenticeship? Is it just a matter of approaching potential employers directly once I am over?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Liam Jackson

Hi Mate,

Can't help with the plumber bit as it is not my trade - I take it you have done your resettlement in plumbing. I am currently in Brunei, plan to move to Oz in 2010 - fortunately I can do my resettlement in australia. Spookily I have a resettlement interview tomorrow I will see what i can find out about general trade apprenticeships and pass on anything that is useful.

good luck with the move

Ex-Squaddie

Thanks mate.

I did the course through resettlement. How'd you wing your resettlement in Oz? I'm being told that as I'm not qualified over here, there's no use wasting too much time with training over here because the trade is different over in Australia so it's probably best to start over. Just hope someone will take me on as I really enjoy it!

Best of luck with resettlement and your future plans. If you do happen to pick up any info, it'd be great if you could pass it on.

Cheers.

POW148

Hi

Good luck with the apprenticeship. I am ex Army and I got out in 96 and came over here then. I have just finished a 4 year mature aged apprenticeship in Electrotechnology - Communications (Radio Technician). I am 46 and I was not the oldest apprentice in class. More and more employers appear to be taking on older apprentices. I was lucky because I was not on an apprentice wage.

You might want to try getting in touch with plumbing companies now. Send them your Resume and a letter of introduction. Try going online and looking up Technical Colleges for information about Plumbing Trade or try apprenticeship boards for the area you want to settle in.

Good luck with it all

Barney

Ex-Squaddie

That's positive news about the mature age thing. I'm going to get my resume up and running. Not worried about earning apprentice wages. Wife and I have discussed and she's a trainee solicitor so we'll muddle through until we're both qualified.

Thanks for your input.

The Bloke

www.qas.org.au (Qld Apprenticeship Services)

www.apprenticeshipsqld.com.au (Apprenticeships Qld) The site is under construction, but you can enter their existing site by clicking on the box at the top of the page.