scotspark

Hi there i am an construction electrician thinking of moving to canada . I have been looking at taking the 12month work permit route as i have a company willing to sponsor me but when looking at getting recertified as a spark over there in the application states i must have min 9000hrs on site experience . My question is does your apprenticeship count towards this 9000hrs because i have only been fully qualified for just over one year which alone is nowhere close . Also does anyone know the standard fee for an LMO because i have been quoted $5000 which seems to me very expensive ! Any info would be very welcome thanx

In all i have over 6 years experience on-site and am qualified SJIB 17th edition Inspection & Testing , SVQ level 3 cheers

nldfc

$5,000 for an LMO That doesnt seem right to me , I didnt think there was a fee for an LMO . I could be well wide of the mark though

scotspark

yeah thats what i thought ! gonna get a few more quotes from lawyers first

mojovibe

Yes your apprenticeship is included, so with your 6 years experience you should have an average of 11520 hours based on a 40 hour week. I wouldn't worry about periodics/verification of installations, they don't exist as yet in Canada, nor does the JIB.

Who's quoted you $5000.00 for an LMO? was it one of these so called immigration consultants? You might be better going down the FSW route. You only need to prove a years experience of the NOC required trade that your applying for. Then you need to challenge the IP red seal exam.

Good luck with you choice, and beware of dodgy consultants, keep posting for more information as there quite a few sparky related trades on here.

scotspark

Yes I'll defo look at that option cheers . My gf's sister is an immigration lawyer so she passed us on to this guy but in all he reckons $8000 for the whole WP application which everyone seems to agree is way to high !
Thanks for the advice much appreciated !

mojovibe

Yes that's about what they all charge, there is one that comes highly recommended on here but I can't remember their name. You shouldn't need to use one if your applying from the UK. The one you spoke to should have told you that your time would be included in the 9000 hours, if they didn't know that then its obvious what kind of lawyer they are.

christmasoompa

That seems very overpriced for a LMO/TWP application, and I can't see why you'd need to pay anybody to help you with it anyway. The employer has to apply for the LMO (which is free), it's not something you are allowed to do, and then the TWP is only a 2 or 3 page form. Plus you can probably apply at the airport, so may not even need to do that form!

I think there is definitely a place for immigration consultants, but not for a TWP application, it's so easy and should only cost you $150 in visa fees so $8000 is just ridiculous imo.

Also, I thought that your apprenticeship didn't count towards your Red Seal hours, but Mojovibe appears to know more than I.

matt-tasha

Hi ya, my hubby is an electrician also, i have been reading that the apprenticiship hours are not included neither not that it matter for my hubby as he's been an electrician for 20 years.......there is so much confliciting advice out there so good luck!! lol

scotspark

Contacted training office today and the 9000hrs on-site experience can include ur time as an apprentice ! Thank god

Im leaving next week ( toronto) to get Qualifications assessed properly aswell as meet immigration lawyer and new boss hopefully!

mojovibe

Yes I though they would be. Because if you think about it, if you are a Canadian, you wouldn't be able to work out of the Province that you served your time in till you were about 27 years old. The following link might be of use to you. http://www.ellischart.ca/home.jsp

jerseytocanada

Apprentship definitely does not count.

scotspark

Hi jersey , where did u receive this info can I ask ? I have contacted ministry training and they assured me that my time as a trainee was sufficient as well as my 1 year exp . If that was case then I would need to spend extra 4 1/2 years gaining 9000 hours to train for something I was already qualified to sit as I am already qualified spark in uk ?

Alphawolf

Hi Scotspark

I too was/am a qualified spark in the UK albeit I didn't sit a formal apprenticeship from school, I did my training during a 5 year stint in the Royal Navy then did my qualifications as part of my resettlement, as a result of this they have said I will have to prove the 8775 hours even though I have been an Electrician now since 2005 July.
I went in to see the AITB here in Alberta last week who said as much to me, I have been given the impression and been told byother sparks on here before that only the hands on time during your apprenticeship is counted not classroom time. This seems absurd to me to break it down like this but on my application form it clearly states that only "hands on work experience time" is counted.

"Hands-On work experience is timeyou spent performing the tasks of the trade. The required experience is different for each trade. Hands on work experience does NOT include time you spent attending training. For example, time you spent attending safety training is not hands-on experience"

An option I would definately suggest you consider is to obtain work as a 3rd/4th yr apprentice here which you can do without the redseal, this way you can learn on the job, and as I have found so far, there are many differences, the terminology is different, the connections are different, even the way the switches work is different, it is a learning curve that, which is not to say you couldn't do it at all, I believe a more experienced Electrician would only be able to acclimatise to quickly.
With your 1 yr post apprentice experience you could achieve your FSW visa and therefore PR where you would be free to secure an apprentice position. This is the way I have gone and I am glad I have, believe me, employers here are not shy at getting rid of employees if they are not producing the goods.
At the place I am working, 15 guys got let go at the morning break yesterday, no warnings just thanks for the effort and see ya, I was in shock to say the least
Anyway best of luck any questions bud just ask.

Just to add, the fee for the red seal is $450 non refundable if you do not qualify, the exam is 100 questions, 3 hours, multi choice open book. If you fail the 1st take it is $100 for the retake, if you fail that then you must have at least 40 more hours in Canadian training on the job.

mojovibe

I have heard similiar stories about lads and lasses having to go through their training again to be electricians and other trades, after being time served in the British armed forces. But as long as scotspark can prove his 9000 hours hands on along side his college time he should be ok. I did 3 years on part time day and evening back then, but still worked more than 40 hours a week on top. But since then I have at least 25 years experience in electrical and mechanical installation and repair. I'm sure that scotspark has worked plenty of overtime, and that his cheif wil back it up along with his other experience.

I know its quite tricky at first with the methods and terminology that are used in North America compared to the UK. I can beleive you can look quite a fool for the first few weeks on the job. Probably might look like your not even a sparky. And I can beleive that Canadian employers would bullet you as soon as they see that you're not up to speed. Especially in the current climate, just as they would do over here. I have had an experience in the US a few years back, experiencing the same different working culture and terminology, codes and methods also found in Canada.

Anyway its good to see that there's someone else on here with a first class account of experience as working as a Canadian sparky trained elsewhere. Thats willing to share their experience and knowledge of how it actually is.

scotspark

yes i think after adding up my hands on experience ill still be over the 9000 hours limit so hopefully i can convince the training board i am experienced enough and competent enough to be able to sit red seal exam . I have all my training trainscripts with assessment records . Also have a reference from boss stating start dates and what type of on-site experience i have . I guess ill have better idea after meeting with them on what my options are b it addition training over there or red seal !
Yes I understand that with the differences over there there will b a learning period involved but i was thinking because ive not been in industry for say 20/30 years it will b easier to adapt now to the new terminology n wiring codes etc. Ive spoken to boss of company over there n he did say it will be a challenge for the first few months so i think he understands n will be patient with me lol

Anyway thanx again 4 great advice bn really helpful