Re: Canada or NZ
 

It's the recruitment companies really. Promising and then not delivering. That's no good when a person is champing on the bit to do something else with their lives. If a job offer did emerge for you here in NZ then I am sure you could have a great adventure in NZ for a couple of years and then still be young enough to move on.

FWIW and it is just my opinion. I think it's a bit soon for construction workers in ChCh.

You could try some of the emigrate expo's that come up in the UK to see what's wanted and where.

Re: Canada or NZ
 

I was actually starting to think this myself, everybodys been saying the demoliton hasnt really started yet, i think its because of the insurance.

I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see if a job offer emerges which im starting to seriously doubt and just keep saving and keep our options open for the future. thanks for the advice, you've been great :)

Re: Canada or NZ
 

Insurance and the fact that there is just so much to demolish!! Rebuilding hasn't even started, over a year on. Over 1100 buildings in city centre alone, and over 10 000 residential homes need demolishing. Plus every new big aftershock means more need to come down (eg: the December 23rd quakes resulted in some huge apartment blocks having emergency demolition, and spelt the death knoll for other buildings too).

Re: Canada or NZ
 

Thanks for giving me a update on the situation :) Dave was keen to go over because it seemed there was so much work for him to do which is the complete opposite from here but doesnt really sound like thats the case. If we stick to NZ then i think we'll try and go for the north island. Feel like my heads all over the place at the moment! nothing worse than when a company mucks you around... Grrrr

Re: Canada or NZ
 

I came across a blog just this morning so started a thread as I feel it is interesting to those outside of NZ looking in. I think unless you are there or visit the place , it is easy to see the area as a place that should be rebuilt or will be on the cusp of being rebuilt given that it's been a year since 'the big one'. It's more complicated than that of course. Insurance. How the country affords this. Not to mention the area is still shaking.

Re: Canada or NZ
 

i'll go have a look at it the now. cheers. I know what you mean though, from our side its just companies saying to uk construction people "yeah theres loads of work, come and help" and people sometimes dont think of the bigger picture.

I'm going to try a few companies and see if theres anything for us on the north island and then if not probably take a break from the whole emigration thing for a while. Its not good on the head to think about it so much!

Re: Canada or NZ
 

With respect to heavy equipment operator & Canada. Do check to see what is required in terms of recognised qualifications in Canada vs UK. Also being a heavy equipment operator may require you to be a member of a union with all the attendent bullshit about seniority and serving your time. And do remember that there are a lot of Canadian heavy equipment operators that you'd be competing against. My brother-in-law is one. He works wharf and breakwater construction May-Nov & lives in his mothers basement over the winter. It is, in most places in Canada, very much a seasonal trade. Probably less so in NZ.

Re: Canada or NZ
 

Thanks, we were at a expo at the start of last year but mainly to look at oz but we got chatting to a canadian company called Northern construction, think they're a big company. well they mentioned the union that we'd have to join, ive got a leaflet on it that i'll need to look out again. Planning on giving them a ring this week to see what the situation is. I'll have a look and see what other companies there are.

I did wonder how much of the year they usually work so thanks for answering that. We were told by someone on another forum in NZ that it might be the same during the winter there but i dont see why because the winters arent really harsh and even here in scotland its rare for him to be off work during winter unless it's very heavy snow. I did ask the NZ company wether they could guarantee all year round work and they didnt answer the question. Maybe its been all my annoying questions that have put them off :rofl: These sort of things need to be asked tho!

I'll see what I can find out about the licences he would need to do. I know for oz and nz its fairly simple to resit them to their equivalent so im hoping it'll be similar for canada

If anyone has any other advice or info that would be great :)

Re: Canada or NZ
 

Unless things have changed, you've not had an interview directly with any companies, so surely there is no job offer to wait for.

As discussed on the NZ forum you still seem confused with the standard operating procedures and business ethics of recruitment agencies. Recruitment consultants, real estate agents and used car salesman are interchangeable roles in terms of the gushing and smiling and tell you what you want to hear school of operation. :lol:

Recruitment agents like to keep you dangling on a string, thinking that they have something for you. All they've done is signed you up as a possible candidate for future jobs that may or may not exist at this time. They may or may not decide to put your CV forward for any jobs and usually when they do have a vacancy to apply for they will ask you first if you are interested in a specific role.

I don't understand why you think you are being 'mucked around' by NZ as a whole, you're but a very short way down a very long path to emigration. If you're still in this undecided where to go phase especially, seems you just want to go anywhere that will give you a job which isn't the ideal starting point.

As for daft coments about consumersism and cheap imported rubbish, I thought NZ had cornered the market on cheap old tat and $2 shops, but that's just my perception of the shopping malls being banged out every day of the week and driving around the car park ten times to find a space. In the seven years I live in Auckland they have built two substantial new malls, both proclaimed at the time to be the biggest in the country and are now expanding a third to be bigger still. Shopping is as much a favoured weekend pastimes as it is anywhere else in the world, we just have less choice and less money to spend but it doesn't stop people 'looking'. Seems they found that in terms of shops that if you build it, they will come!!

Re: Canada or NZ
 

Another blunt but honest reply. Thanks. I wasnt going to reply because I'm probably feeling a bit oversensitive at the moment and dont want to end up sounding grumpy. Your definitely right about the recruitment consultants and its our fault for being too eager with the whole process and probably getting ahead of ourselfs but its easily done when you've never done this sort of thing before and you have them on the phone saying how interested the company is and they're going to email or ring soon and organise a offer. They're words not mine. He also sent us the visa forms to have a look at and familiarize ourselfs with, also accomodation and other types of handy info. So yeah our fault for being easily led along.

One thing I dont agree with is about us being undecided about which country to go to. We're a young couple with no kids or any other responsibilities so whats wrong with considering our options? Nothings happened with Canada yet, as i said we we're just considering it because we found a company whos been advertising in the Uk for operators. It's just something to look into. Theres of course differences between the two countries and both have their pro's and negatives but we can see ourselfs living in either one and would give it our best shot no matter where we go.

Anyway thats your opinion and thanks for it.