originalfunster

Hi All,

OK here goes a brief description of what I have done as far back as 1982, as I am about to tackle the TRA application and need as much help as I can get.

1982 - left school and started my apprenticeship in Carpentry with a small company (just 2 directors and myself, to the best of my knowledge this was not an indentured apprenticeship) after approx 16months the company folded and I started with an even smaller company (a one man outfit) he was not in a position to continue paying for my college nor was he in a position to pay me for the 1 day a week I was at college, so college stopped but my apprenticeship continued. In 1987 I left the one man outfit and started work with a large company (100+ carpenters) as a Carpenter doing all aspects of the job and in short never looked back. As far as anyone was concerned I was a Carpenter by trade and that’s how I made my living, Even though I hadn’t completed my City & Guilds. (To this day I have never been asked for my “papers”)

2002 we decide we fancy going to Oz….. First thing I need are my “Papers” (C & G’s) so back to night school to obtain these, which I have done. I also passed the Institute of Carpenters advanced crafts exam and am a paid up member…..

So my main questions are: I can’t prove my apprenticeship as it was not indentured and both company’s for whom I worked have long since gone. However the company I started with in 1986 are still trading, and so I could prove that I joined them as a Carpenter (and stayed with them for the next 11 years) which I would assume proves that I had been trained?
Could this be a problem?
I have a good knowledge of carpentry and of the building trade in general I was a site manager for 6 years running very large residential housing projects, before starting my own carpentry company 3 years ago.
Being self employed how can I prove what experience I have?
Will I be able to claim points on experience even though I did not pass my formal qualifications until 2 years ago?

Cheers

Gary

Flying Banana

Hopefully with the C&G they will be OK with your application, I'd suggest emailing or phoning the TRA and the State Authority who deal with the licensing, explaining the situation and asking for advice, they were ver helpful before I moved and gave me some pointers which I hadn't considered.

originalfunster

cheers for that info banana, will send TRA email with my cv and see what they say

xxdebsonlinexx

Hi sending you a pm

Debs xxx

Nikki

Hi Gary

My Husband is a carpenter/joiner, he has a C&G but is self-employed and did his training with his Father. We failed the TRA in January as we did not provide enough evidence of training even though he had a C&G, so whilst it might help it does not necessarily guarantee you a pass!!

From what my Agent told me and others on this forum I think you meet the criteria for 'on the job experience'. But I would imagine it is all about how you present this in your application to the TRA.

We have had to obtain a detailed reference from the Joiner who my Husband trained under, can you get the same?

Also we got a reference from the college where he trained. If you could get your most recent tutor to give you a reference outlining that you had almost completed your C&G in 1982 but took the course to obtain certificate, he would be able to confirm that you were a competent joiner when you joined his course, proving you had been working prior to that. In our case it is providing as many independent references to prove our case.

Perhaps it might be an idea to have a consultation with an Agent as yours sounds a bit tricky like our case, otherwise continue to seek advice on this forum, there are good people willing to share their experiences.

It is all about detail and leaving no stone unturned when providing references, proof, documents etc....

If you want more info on what we are sending, let me know!

Good luck

Nikki

originalfunster

Thanks for that Niki, I should be able to get a reference from the one man outfit I worked for as I still keep in contact with him, and getting a reference from tutors should not be a problem either, as to how detailed he will do it is another matter of course but will give it a try.

Thanks for the advise

joanneS

Hi Gary, my husband was very similar to you in the respect that he didn't finish his City & Guilds when he was an apprentice due to the firm he was working for closed, but we wrote to City & Guilds and sent a cheque for £30 to see if there was any information on him from that time, they sent us a certificate stating that he had completed some units and various assessments so at least now we can prove he was actually on the course and completed some of the training there and the rest was actually on the job training.. Maybe you could go down this route just to show your husband was on his course and had some training back in 82.
Hope this helps and good luck
Jo.

rima+kids

Can anybody tell me what a t.r.a is please?

originalfunster

T.R.A = Trades Recognition Australia......they are the people who asses your skill

rima+kids

Ohh its all clear to me now


thanx

moomin

do a robust statutory declaration to encompass all periods, this should support application for periods where formal references are weak.