Hi

The Mrs and I are planning to move to Manitoba next year.

We have a nipper due in February too.

I'm a civil engineer and she's a teacher at a special school (secondary).

We've had our Provincial Nomination letter and have sent off the pack to London.

The in-laws have a farm near Selkirk (Brits that moved out about 10 years ago from Yorkshire). We have visited quite a few times, and travelled onwards to other cities, but really like what we've seen in MB.

The plan is to set up shop somewhere outside Winnipeg, as I reckon we'll both be working in the city.

I have loads of questions, but for the moment, hello and any top tips from the Manitobans?

Cheers

What kind of work do you do you do? i.e. are you a site based engineer or more of the consultancy type? I used to work on site but thought I'd give consulting a try in Canada (mainly due to the super cold winters in winnipeg.

I'd be looking for work with a consultant, in a toasty office!

I'm chartered with the ICE too, but I understand that doesn't get me PEng - I've seen a couple of posts here about that.

How are you getting on?

I only graduated in 2004 so I dont think I'm doing too badly! I work in a nice office with 7.5 hour days, on more money than i was in the UK. Its true you can't just switch your proffessional status from te UK to Canada as you need at least 12 months experience in a UK environment. I've just started on the road to proffessional status, it should take about 4 years.

I'd definitly contact the APEGM (www.apegm.mb.ca) though, i know if you have the right paperwork you can use some of your UK experience to "tick the right boxes", you may be able to become a PEng after your 12 months Canadian experience.

12 months in a Canadian enviroment i meant really! Let me know if your still looking for work in Winnipeg, I know of plenty of places that are hiring engineers. They all seem to have ran from manitoba to the States or Alberta, so there's a real shortage of engineers in this province.

Yup - looking around at the moment - but we won't be over until the middle of next year I would guess.

Currently working in maritime at the moment - not a great deal of use in Manitoba I suspect!

However, I'm not too concerned, as I'm definitely a generalist and considering a project management role if possible.

What kind of work are you doing at the moment?

Cheers

I have my degree in Civil and Structural engineering so currently I'm working for a structural engineers, mostly designing apartment cpmplexes and similar structures. Theres also a lot of site visits, which is a fantastic way to see the rest of the province and Canada. As my company only has around 9 employees, its given me the chance to be more involved with project management and contracts, bids etc, responsibility that would take me years to get in the UK!