My hubbie is a Structural steel design engineer with 16+ years in the Structural steel industry wrt detailing etc. We're having not much luck in the feedback dept in terms of jobs - everything seems to be concrete based. Any tips/advice on breaking into the Ozzie market? We are willing to go anywhere in N NSW & queensland (well just about anyway!) Was wondering if anyone knew any good recruitment agencies who actually respond to your queries... or is it just a case of getting there and getting stuck in. Would like to have at least a few contacts to go off when we get there.
Any suggestions would be welcomed

Thanks
Jayne

You'll have to work at it to make a mark unless you're dealing with an established market. The Not Invented Here culture means that systems and procedures that are not "the way things are done" in Oz will tend to be turned down. Certainly in NSW, when we tried to get our house designed with steel framing surmounted with timber roof trusses we had all sorts of reasons why we couldn't do it: it's not possible, it makes a hell of a noise, you name it. The real reason in fact is "we haven't done it here". Eventually we went down the good old Aussie track and accepted second best: timber all over!

Hi - I am also a draughtsman and I too had no luck e-mailing companies in Oz. The big problem is no one takes you seriously until you have your visa.

Now we have our visas, I have had a lot of interest from detailing companies. I have arranged to meet some people when we go on our reccy trip.

There is a LOT of structural design and detailing work all over Oz at the moment.

Take a look on mycareer.com ( or .com.au - can't remember ).

Mining would be the game to be in for the big money, but there are loads of 'shop' detailing jobs to be had - basically structural draughting. They call it 'drafting' over there though, so search for all variations on the spelling.

Best of luck......

Our house we are building is steel framed so it is done I think our builders are country wide and I think they say they were one of only 2 major builders to use steel frames in the Melbourne area so it is obviously not as popular.

Yes, we *could* get steel framing but no-one seemed interested in combining that with timber trusses.

They all went on about the expansion noises in *steel* roofing but refused to accept the idea of mixed materials - "can't be done Mate!"

Someone should tell the Americans it can't be done - they'll have to rethink their millions of homes done that way!

Architectural drafting is big here - the architects are so useless and seem to be on big egotrips (that's not confined to Oz, mind you - it's just that we have been involved here and not in the UK).

You draw up a house layout that suits YOU and the draftsman pulls it all together into a building/planning document. Our own was magic - he did it all and made numerous suggestions along the way. Took months less than an architect and cost one sixth of the cash. And we got, for better or worse, what we wanted and not what someone else thought we should have!

There's got to be a lot of work in this field.

you could tell the americans but they wouldn't listen anyway
my hubbie has been battling with them for the last 6 years (he's working for US structural steel company) that there are better ways to do things but they don't want to know. The US is going to get so left behind if it does not realise there is a global economy going on outside in the real world! They're all too preoccupied with religion, politics and themselves!

I'm not sure whether you're agreeing with me or not!

Hi there,

I'm a structural engineer also. I've had no problem so far - arrived last night, had 2 interviews today and 2 job offers! 2 more interviews tomorrow and a further 2 Wed. Pretty confident of getting more offers too so we'll see.

The agency that got me 4 or the interviews was http://www.personnelconcept.com.au/, and another good one was [URL]http://calibrate.com.au{/URL].

Hope this helps.

Graham

most of the new builds are still timber in South Georgia but I know a lot more homes in florida are steel framed - it such a hot n humid environment, it makes a lot more sense. I was just having a dig at the americans, the mere mention of them at the moment is like a red rag to a bull!

My hubbie is used to designing BIG buildings, multi-story commerical/residential, pharmaceutical plants, power plants, sports stadiums etc, is this the line of work you're in? A lot of companies ask for degree level qualifications, which my oH does not have, but he can run circles around all of the project engineers and the CEO! With over 20 years in the business (16 with his present Company) working from tea boy up through the ranks
his skills & experience will hopefully mean as much as a degree. He really wants to take his PE qualifications but the company here won't let him, hopefully the market is more geared up for personal development in Oz.

However, until we get out there and people can put a face to the name I have a feeling we're not going to get much feedback.
Thanks for the web sites, i'll go off to explore our options some more. Good luck with your interviews
Jayne

Hi Jayne,

I'm a structural drafter, in the uk at the moment but going to cairns next april.
(already got a job with GHD who have offices across australasia. staff job, telephone interview, relocation money, 4 weeks free accommodation on arrival !)

Loads of work across oz at the moment, top rates of pay too. A mate has just gone to Perth on a 457 4 year working visa and he's a structural engineer with a HNC, 25 years experience and didn't have a problem getting a job (contract basis). I think oz is pretty good for recognising that experience counts as much as quals.

Does your hubby have a hnc in structural design ?
Do you have your visas yet? PR ?

When I first started asking for a drafting job they either want you to be in the country with a visa or have a definite date of arrival.

Andy

PM me if you need further info., email addies of 3 agents in OZ etc.

This has not been my experience in Australia. Unlike UK & South Africa, where experience is king, Australia is very into having the right piece of paper.
I think your mate got lucky.
There is so much work out here it's not funny.
I worked for GHD for a while in Perth. They bring a lot of guys out on 457s. They are a nice company to work for, pretty lad back & friendly. They do have a high staff turnover though as they are not the best payers. A lot of the 457 guys leave them as soon as they get PR as they can earn a lot more elsewhere.

My hubby works for Onesteel (steel structural engineering), he is a programmer - try their website www.onesteel.com they have sites all over Oz.

Hi Andy,
Think my hubbie just has Edexcel ND with a whole bunch of AutoCad & SDSII coursework. We have applied for PR under a 138 using my skills assessment, we hope to get our visa by May/June 2007. He had an interview with GHD for a position in Townsville on a 457 (before I put in the PR application) but they chose a less experienced guy with more knowledge of the concrete industry and who is used to working in metric. As the americans are backward ( ) he has been working in imperial for last 16 years even though he was trained in metric, and some of the work he has completed has had to be in both. It's got to be a whole lot easier working in metric but that's coming from someone who has a problem figuring out where 1/16th of an inch is on a tape measure! We have compiled a CDR to send off to Engineers Australia to at least get some recognition in the Oz job market. He's an absolutely invaluable asset to a company its heartbreaking to watch him being held back in the US just because he does not have a degree.

So do you already have PR or did you just reassure GHD you could be there? My OH was really looking forward to working for what seems to be a progressive, successful company and we were REALLY looking forward to living in Townsville. Still, we'll just keep trying. I'll PM you for the emails, thanx for UR feedback and keep us informed as to how GHD is to work for!
Jayne