HI there

I am a Gas Engineer here in Scotland, done the usual apprenticeship stuff plus 20 yrs work exp. I have searched for any info on working with gas in Canada and managed to find out some info.

We dont really mind what part of Canada we live in but would prefer more East coast Canada. Any advice on areas people would recommend, plenty of work and what kind of wages I can expect, also how much rentals cost.

Unfortunately, we dont have a house to sell here in the Uk so we are saving like mad to make a go of it.

Lastly, how much funds would you say we would need to get started???

Sorry for the above being a bit of a ramble.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

You will need to have the amount quoted on CIC to qualify for your chosen route.

House rentals roughly start at $650 per month for an "okay" small house, however obviously this depends on where you decide to go.

To purchase a house, you will find out prices if you go onto the Canadian real estate website www.mls.ca

Salaries appear to be not great over here - jobs appear to be quite difficult to find in the first instance.

If you are coming over without a job to go to, you may have a good few months or even a year to wait til you find one, therefore you need to figure into the equation the cost of living here without any income......get saving hard is my advice as from a UK visitors perspective Canada is very cheap, however from a settlers point of view it isn't as cheap as you think and you can drain money in no time!

Best of luck.

Cheers.

We are intially looking at Ontario but I know of a few Gas Eng who have went out to BC and secured employment through an agency. I can also do Plumbing have the apprenticeship etc but prefer working on as a Gas Engineer.

I have never been to BC but seem to be more drawn with Ontario.

Dont know if our savings will be enough (approx £10k). Hopefully our trip out next month may help us a bit.

I wonder whether you would consider starting your own business over here? That may be the way to go, as plumbers and fuel engineers seem to be in demand, especially in smaller places. Just a thought and perhaps you are looking to heading to the city in which case working for a company may be the best option.

On the money you bring; don't forget you will need it to fund furniture, vehicles, rent/mortgage, power and heating, food, phone, gas etc. $22,000 sounds like a lot but honestly it doesn't go very far when you are starting from scratch and have no top-ups with an income.

When you are out here, I would definitely call and try to arrange as many meetings with companies as you can! Coming over with a job ready for you is the only way I would consider coming to Canada if funds weren't in excess.

Comparing salaries can be dangerous and misleading because it depends on location and occupation. Right now it seems that tradespeople can do fine but other occupations, such as in I.T, may have a hard time.

You've got two major issues there. Firstly, ten grand is not a lot. You will burn through that in no time. Secondly, check whether your technical qualifications are acceptable in whatever province you head to. It is quite probable, highly probable in fact, that you will have to retrain and requalify in order to be allowed to work. I've known it happen to doctors, dentists, accountants, lawyers, scientists and technical professionals; I doubt if you would be regarded any differently. This country has a habit of demanding that immigrants show proof of academic and technical qualifications that may as well be torn up once you get here. Sorry to sound downbeat but I'd hate to see another person get some nasty surprises.

Hi weehagis,
Well, Nova Scotia might be a good bet for several reasons. Firstly, they opened the first natural gas plant in Nova scotia at goldborough in 2001,with plans to supply NS and atlantic provinces. So at a guess I would think there would be work there, laying on gas for domestic property`s. Secondly, if you don`t have much money to go with, property happens to be very cheap to buy or rent if your prepared to live out of town (or in Sydney, cape Breton).
Thirdly, there are a number of colleges there, as unfortunately, you will have to re-take your exams and get locally recognised tickets.And last of all, Nova Scotia is actively seeking to draw in at least 3,500 imigrants a year, to counter the falling population.( see NS gov. web site about imigration sumit
on 17th may) Good luck.
Tony.

Well HappyDayz....when are you coming over and where are you planning to set up home?

I'm coming over to look at some houses on 19th may,around the Highland region of NS, so hopefully we'll be settling around there when my
visa comes through and the house is sold.