Hi Linz

Oompa is quite right in what she is saying. I'm an Electrician and was dead set on Barrie as it looks great and ticks all the boxes for us regarding lifestyles and activities, set on the shores of Lake Simcoe. Unfortunately as Oompa says with the recession hitting Canada it is more a case of going where the jobs are, we are now bound for Alberta as we have made contacts in Lethbridge and are now really looking forward to visiting that area in July.
I have no Job offer but hope to secure one when we go over.
Regarding the Red Seal your OH would first have to secure and prove his required amount of hours experience before they would let him take the exam.
I myself must prove 9000 hours which I hope I can, I will have 4 years experience in July which puts me there or thereabouts.
Again unfortunately as Oompa stated it would mean your OH waiting 4 years. The only thing I could suggest is to apply for FSW once your OH has 1 years experience in plumbing, if you meet the 67 points, then you will at least have opportunity to get PR if successful. You could also try and secure a position with a company/contractor as an apprentice plumber which you do not need the red seal for but you would probably find this very hard to do as they would have to prove they can't find any Canadians to do the same things.
One other thing, although plumber is on the NOC list of 38 at the moment it may or may not be removed at any point in the future depending on demand, if this happens then the skilled worker route would no longer be an option.
Sorry for the bad news, best of luck!!!

ok ok

first of all christmas you do a great job on here and i admire your efforts perhaps we can agree to disagree on some matters though

I believe we are often at opposite ends of the spectrum from the " go for it you have only got one life" to the " what if, its a risk, extra cautious approach dot all the I's cross all the T's etc

I am far to much at one end and from where I am standing you are often at the very other end

between us we have given some great advice reflected in answers to posts where we have both had an input

but I must also stress i do have first hand experience of what I am talking about I do live in rural Canada and and I have been successful at the community identified part of the process I never speak of topics that I have not experienced from the sharp end
eg crim rehab , visa extensions, non accompanying kids, dodgy meds , giving the wrong details on a PR application and trying to get forgiveness from CHC, and whats the reality is in Rural ns plus endless other mountains we have had to climb in our not so straight forward situation.

Yes folk can dot all the I's and cross the T's yes they can take every precaution etc etc etc but you will find most that do are still festering away on the other side of the pond and many will never make it all

not even sure there are any laws regarding qualifications?? if so nobody obeys them honestly life is not ruled by rules and regs which is why we moved here
there is no law against us asking freddy brit plumber from up the road to repair our leaking lavvy so long as he declares what we pay him on his tax return

what we have done is no more risky than anyone who comes to canada prior to PR eg anyone coming on TWP etc

even those that have PR and come to a job are at enormous risk with job lay offs etc

for the OP you do not need to have stepped foot in NS you build your ties when you get here

yes we dont have kids but to me our dogs are loved more than I coudl ever love a child and having to fly them back would be terrible so we did take a rsik with their well being but it may well turn out all ok in the end

if not we have had a fantastic year and still have another 6 months at least and even then we could extend visas furhter

we do not regret a thing ( well have meds in canada was abig mistake but thats another story)

we have "lived" every moment since being here i would have expired with stress and frustration if we had waited patiently in the uk queue and it would have cost us so very much more financially

there are someon here who seem to toy with the idea of coming to canada but dont make the jump

of course its a risk its giant life changing leap

but I still stand firm with my belief that its in your hands ( everything apart form the meds that is)

if you really really want to make canada your home then its possible and can be done

my concern is new members can be put off when they get to many no you cant it aint possible types of answers I was at first then though sod its its an internet forum its not CIC

in fact the dooms day merchants made me all the more determied to prove them wrong

just do a great application be honest dont let anyone or anything stand in your way and never give up you will be canadian before you know it

huge big fat chunks of luck to all
x

Hi Linzz
i have been plumbing in Toronto for 6 months, if your better half tries to get work unlicenced with a firm he will get lousy money, even licensed is not much better. There is not much about at the mo, we have guys driving from up country as the new build has grinded to a halt. It will pick up again by the time you would arrive in a few years time. You definitely need to work with someone at first to get used to the different way of working. As for getting the licence i took a folder full of certificates to the office in Church St toronto,they did not know what they were looking at,the only items they took copies of was city & guilds and a letter of experience from my employer i did not have to provide any more info whatsoever. They will send you a temp license, you can take the exam the next day for $100. Its 125 questions with a 70% pass mark,you get 3 attempts, if if it does not work out you can do a part time course at george brown college 2 nights a week for ten weeks @ $360.00
good luck with your application

Tony

Hi Tony,

Thanks for all the info - did you have to prove 8000 hrs of work tho before you could take the test? Mark will not be setting up on his own for a while after we get there purely so he can get experience etc. We were under the impression that plumbers were on good salaries there? We have looked it up on Jobsites etc. He is also looking at completing his Oil and LPG courses here in uk - do you think is worthwhile? He is currently doing his City and Guilds and NVQ.
Thanks

I completely agree. I used to live life with lots of risks, bumming around with world with no permanent job, throwing myself out of airplanes, bungee jumping, swimming with sharks, etc................and then I had kids!

I'm sorry but you cannot understand the responsibility that brings unless you have them, and the feeling of having to provide a safe and secure environment for them. Trust me, dogs are NOT the same thing!! I adore my dog, but it's very different from having a child. I know you said that you took a risk taking your dogs to Canada via the NS CIS route - but dogs don't require educating or healthcare. Both of which are things that the OP would not qualify for on a visitors visa, and both of which are rather essential for children.

Plus you've now had approx 9 months without being able to work and have admitted previously that money is getting incredibly tight for you - to do that with a child to provide for would just be irresponsible in my view.

There is no law against that, you are correct. But the plumber is breaking the law - him working without the requisite licence is illegal. That's 'Freddy's' choice, but I don't think it's a good idea that we encourage others on the forum to do the same.

That may be the case for those without children or other responsibilities, but again I'd have to say there is a huge difference for those with children. At least on a TWP you are entitled to healthcare, child benefit and education for your children - none of which you are entitled to as a visitor.

Again, we will have to respectfully agree to disagree!! I can completely understand where you are coming from - I would have done exactly the same as you had it just been myself and my husband, but with two children to provide for, there is no way I would contemplate it.

Good to exchange points of view, as always, though!

I had to post this job opening - no idea if it will be of any help to you though. Help wanted - Plumber, full time, benefits, great company. Call today: <tel no. removed>. Email: <email address removed> Fax: <fax no. removed>. <company name removed>

Its in a town called Gravenhurst, which is one hour north of Barrie -(2 hours north of Toronto) pretty, pretty Muskoka town - full of community spirit where some folk I know dont even have a lock on their front door (you could/would call it a hick town). People wonderful & friendly. Property amazingly cheap, loads of lakes to swim in BUT very hard in the winter & if you lose your job, your screwed cos there's little little work there.

Hi Linzz
i did not have to give any information apart from my c&g and letter of experience, no proof of hours worked, nothing, but then again I have been a plumber for over 30 years. My eldest son ( he is 23 yrs old) came over two years ago, again he showed his certs and letter of experience, nothing else. As I said guys are comming in from Kingston, Barrie and beyond to work or go to college to pass the license exam, some of these guys have been on the tools for over 20 years and only got 40%, its not a walk in the park, the whole emigration & licence thing is hard work, you really have to visit the place ask lots of questions and above all have enough money to get you through the first year. As regards the gas and oil qualifications, I did all the gas back home but have not applied here until I have settled a bit longer, if you were getting paid to do the courses at home I would do it there, if not I would wait until you get over here, again you would have to sit exams here and with out experience it would be a struggle.
There is quite a big signifigance between plumbing here & the UK and I am learning something new most days.
Research as much as you can before you make any final decisions & most of all have the financial back up to see you through the first 12 months. Salaries are pretty fair here for plumbers but only once you have your licence, like anywhere in the world companies will take advantage of your inexperience & pay you peanuts whilst you are learning!!
best wishes
Tony

Hi Tony,

Thank you for your replies - they have been really helpful - one more question tho!
Do you think it would be worth my OH taking the test etc when we come over for a Reccie? Can he even do that or does he have to have a job offer? If he can do the test during the Reccie and pass then hopefully he will find employment a little quicker......what do you think?
Thanks again

hi linz
sorry for the delay in replying, as regarding the plumbing exam you cannot take the exam without your sin card, so basically as soon as we got the ok to emigrate we came over applied for all the neccessary cards using a relatives address, when the sin card arrived i went with my paperwork to the ministry downtown then waited for the temp licence to arrive then went to the ministry the next day with my $100.00 to take the exam, they are twice daily on a first come first served basis (with all the other trades) you are given a copy of the code book and a calculator,you have 3 hours plus 1 extra hour if you need it, i would say about 40% of the guys took the extra hour.
i hope this helps
best wishes
tony