Hi

I was hoping someone could offer some sound advice in helping my Family & I move to Calgary. We are hoping my wife can get a Student visa to Bow Valley College on a Pharmacy tech course and I will get work as a welder. If anyone out there has done similar and if you used agents or not your help would be much appreciated. We have met with Dennis Brazalot and have read the reviews on here which all seem quite negative, However we found him to be informative and knowledgeable. Any info would be helpful.

Thanks

Gavin

Hi, welcome to BE.

If you have the funds to go down the study permit route then it can be a good way in, but it's usually a last resort. As a welder, do you not qualify for the FST program? It would be much more secure (moving with PR rather than on a temporary visa), you can sell up in the UK and go for good (rather than the study permit where you have to show ties to the UK) and of course it will cost a heck of a lot less. If you went over with PR then your wife could still study if she wishes, but she'd pay local tuition rates rather than international tuition rates.

But for a study permit, it's a really simple online application. Absolutely no need to pay a consultant, and particularly not that one!

Good luck.

Hi

Thanks for the quick response. Sounds like you have good knowledge of this subject. I have looked at the FST route but I would have to have a job offer which seems easier said than done getting a job when in the UK. Do you know of any good ways of sourcing a job from the UK.

Be persistent, don't expect replies from unsolicited email applications, assume the recruitment process for advertised jobs to take months, not weeks. If your resume indicates you live overseas and currently have no immigration status in Canada don't expect any response unless you're eminent in your field or work in an occupation that has a skills shortage.

Best thing you can do is fly over and network. At the very least pick up the phone and track down hiring managers, and ensure your resume is in a format that is familiar to Canadian employers.

No, you don't have to have a job offer You have to have EITHER a job offer OR Provincial Certification - a Certificate of Qualification - which may be required to work anyway as welder is a regulated profession (voluntary / compulsary depending on which Province you go to).

For example - for Ontario: https://www.collegeoftrades.ca/trade-assessment (look under the dropdown 'experienced workers from outside Ontario)

BC - go to the bottom of the page 'Challenge Certification' https://www.itabc.ca/program/welder

Alberta: https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/expe...n-certificate/

Hello Gavin

As somebody else suggested, come over and network a bit first. Calgary has had high unemployment over the last few years due to a slow economy. It may take a few months for a local to land any type of job (but I am not a welder). In the meantime look into your certification, they do like their certificates and diplomas here.

unfortunately