JonboyE

I think you received some good advice from the woman at Robert Half. Of course, it depends on what you do, the industry and the number of other Canadians looking for work. In some jobs skills are easily transferable. In accounting an employer could worry that a newbie might take some time to understand Canadian taxes, work practices and employment regulations. Given two candidates with equal ability many employers will opt for the "safe" option of hiring the person with Canadian experience.

So it comes back to the old problem: you need Canadian experience to get a good job, but how do you get experience without a job? There are two ways:

1 Have skills and experience an employer needs that Canadians don't have, or
2 Offer better value for money to the employer than a Canadian.

Depending on where you are and your background you may have 1. Regardless, you can offer 2.

I came to Vancouver in 1999. One recruitment agency said that I could get an equivalent job and salary to the one I had in the UK, but it would take some time. "Expect to take 6 months, but bring enough money to last a year", I was told. At Robert Half they told me that I could expect to earn $X with that elusive Canadian experience, but should pitch for $Y if I really wanted to work.

I decided to go for $Y and found work within a week of looking. After 6 months it was increased to $X. As far as I was concerned, earning a modest salary gaining Canadian experience was much better than sitting at home using up my savings.

Your fiancee should consider completing his qualifications once he gets to Canada. With both the CGA and the CMA you can take the courses while working full-time. Recruitment agencies generally work for the larger companies. These will often insist on a designated accountant for senior positions and the part-qualified opportunities are taken by accounting students.

A better source of work will be smaller commercial companies. These tend to consider ability over education and like value for money most of all. These companies don't use recruitment agencies but advertise in local papers and increasingly on sites like craigslist. Many will start their recruitment process by asking around so networking is very important.

To summarize: you don't HAVE to take a pay and seniority cut to work in Canada, but it can be a very good plan.


Back on topic. We bought a house before we landed. We put a 20% deposit with our offer (because we wanted to delay completion till we arrived) and increased this to 35% on completion. Our realtor used a mortgage broker who found a bank willing to lend the other 65% even though we didn't have a job between us.

cov-canuck

It does depend on the field...I know that my OH and I started new jobs within 2 weeks of starting to look, our salaries were higher than they were in England, and my salary has gone up 34% in 2 years at my current company, significantly higher than I could have imagined in the Midlands.

act1980

Hi, thanks for your post.

Can I ask how he would study while working? Would certain companies be prepared to pay for the study? And would he have to do it in his own time or could he take a day out each week?

Thanks and Happy New Year to all!!

act1980

Wow that's amazing. OH is an Accountant but only part qualifed which I think is going to be the problem

Does anyone have any idea what part qualified accountants get paid and also what fully qualified accountants get paid?

Thanks!

JonboyE

CGA courses are delivered on-line so you can study where and when you want. In theory they are designed to require 20 hours a week of study, and if it is a topic you struggle with you might need to take this time. Other subjects come a little easier.

You can download the lectures to an mp3 player and listen to these in on the way to work. There is set reading and exercises to do and you can fit these in whenever you want. Each week there is an assignment that you have to complete, submit on time and pass in order to qualify to sit the exam. I found that a very useful discipline to keep me on track to cover all the material for the exams. You are assigned to a moderated group of fellow students on a message board much like this, and an un-moderated forum where you can interact freely with other students, so you do develop some sense of community and can bounce ideas, difficulties and frustrations off others in the same boat.

I found that staying 1 1/2 hours after work four four days a week plus a full day at the weekend (and the "found" time like listening to the lectures whilst driving and reading on the throne) was enough. Add in a bit extra for revision and practicing past papers before the exams and you are on track. You don't need to take time off work. The exams are in the evening or at weekends and the only course that requires you to be physically present, public speaking, is also held on weekends.

There are a total of 21 exams to pass and the CGA run 4 sessions a year so it is a five year slog from start to finish. Your OH will probably get some exemptions based on the exams he has passed in the UK which help. Some people also double up during the easier foundation stage by taking one course on-line with the CGA and at the same time take another course with a night school that is approved by the CGA. As a newcomer it is a great way to meet people. I made some very good friends at night school.

CGA courses cost between $500 and $1,000 each and there are a couple of bits of software and reference books you need to buy. Some employers will help, others don't. It is simply a matter of negotiation. I didn't ask my first employer to pay. As I was claiming to be able to do the job from day one I thought it a bit cheeky to ask for money to pay to be trained to do it at the same time! Later on I negotiated it in. I ended up paying for about 30% of my courses and my employers the other 70%. I also see employers with the policy of the staff pay for their own courses, but are re-reimbursed when they pass. If you have to pay out of your own pocket there are some fairly generous tax credits which help a lot.

Accounting is a graduate profession in Canada. If your OH does not have a degree he can combine his CGA with an academic course, either online with Laurentian University or with a local Polytechnic. Unfortunately it means even more courses.

It is worth it? Most definitely. In Vancouver a designated controller (someone who manages the accounting function and sets accounting policy) will typically earn between $75,000 to $90,000 in a small company and easily 20% more in a larger one. A part qualified accountant doing a similar job would expect between $55,000 and $70,000 in a small company. They would not get the opportunity to work at the larger ones. As well as the money, the designation is a door opener to more rewarding (in all senses of the word) positions