stuabroad

This thread is really all about you setting the correct expectations. So deep breath...


First off, forget about the Canada vs UK thing, it's all irrelevant if you can't work here. (You already have enough sources of information now to be able to decide if you will survive in Canada or not. Positive Mental Attitude is your friend).

So...to answer the point about employment, having a degree means nothing to an employer in the way experience does. A degree is only a basic indicator of some intellectual ability (not always true) and that you can read and write (not always true). You both need experience to get on the ladder from an immigration perspective - in any country – for a job that pays a professional’s Salary. (You can get a work permit any time to go work in a hotel for 6 months, but that’s not what we’re talking about).

I don't work in engineering but I work in high-tech and the game changes every 2 or 3 years. This is good news - if your other half can finish his degree and get in with a larger engineering company, he may be able to spread his wings quickly into the areas he actually wants to work in....a little way down the road.

Understand that renewable energy is still a very small sector in comparison to others. I would invest alot of energy in finding avenues of recruitment where the actual recruiters know about the subject matter. Often in engineering/technology, they do not. So finding any renewable energy publication or industry magazine/periodical should help you find specialist recruiters. At the same time, get onto LinkedIn and network extensively like a good Canadian – it’s the Corporate Facebook over here. It’s mainly the way recruiters find people here outside of word of mouth. The geography is such that the cities are all very far apart. This means that each city is a small microcosm – it’s nothing like the UK where you have people from all over Europe moving around all the time. Doesn’t work like that here.

As I said, noone is going to look at you in Canada without experience. One of the base restrictions of the Temporary Work Permit is that even if you get a written job offer from a Canadian employer, you still have to prove to CIC Canada via a Labor Market Opinion (LMO) that you are a better choice than the same local applying for the same job. Check out the WIKI. There’s no way round it. The only thing they care about is whether you have any experience, not how many degrees you have. If the hubby has a highly-skilled job on the NOC code list then he may be able to get that experience fairly quickly in the UK. If he finds the right company with a Canadian office here or in the US, he may be able to get an inter-company transfer.
But it’s a long slog. Not trying to put a damper on your thinking but I believe the Canada vs UK details are kinda obscuring what I just listed, which has to be your fist stop. BE has saved my life a few times, use it and research what the options are, read the Wiki articles. Get on LinkedIn Canada and start networking! Cheers

MillieF

Christmas, why not please? What's an engineer here, is it a technician or something?

christmasoompa

My husband has a degree, but it's not in anything to do with renewable energy. Mind you, I don't think they even had renewable energy much 20 years ago when he did it.

He's not an engineer though, although he's done lots of engineer type duties in technical roles. But the UK wouldn't be a problem for your husband, it's only Canada where you cannot call yourself an engineer unless licensed. This may help give you the info on what he'd need if he wanted to get an engineering job in Canada - http://www.engineerscanada.ca/e/en_faq.cfm#a3

But if you start a new thread with a relevant title, hopefully forum members who are engineers will be able to tell him what his job title would be in Canada.

HTH.

christmasoompa

See the link I've just posted, hopefully that will help. I don't know much about it as I'm not an engineer and neither is my husband, but just from reading forum posts (often by my lovely former fellow mod, Iaink), I know that engineer is a protected title in Canada and to call yourself one you must be licensed.

saz1983

I have to step in on the engineer thing - i work for an engineering company and it is their pet hate that people without engineering degrees call themselves engineers - in the UK or Canada. Wherever you are strictly speaking you need an engineering degree to call yourself an engineer (eg BEng or MEng) in the UK once qualified they can become chartered engineers in their field e.g. mechanical, civil, chemical etc. In Canada you have to do your P.Eng which is professional engineer which gives you a license and insurance to sign off on things like designs (they get a stamp and everything- with a beaver on it!). They also wear a ring to show that they are an engineer.

The guy who comes in to fix your photocopier is not an engineer.

It sounds like the OP's other half is not an engineer but still has relevant qualifications. Here in Canada he would likely be called a technician, and most likely called that in the UK too. I would say there is great opportunities for people here who have a trade. I do know that engineers here are very well respected and can make a lot of money. With the level of infrastructure development and natural resource extraction here there is a lot of work for engineers, but also a lot of competition.

On whether or not the OP should move, it's a decision only you can make. I've lived in both the UK (Scotland and England) and Canada (Toronto) and both have their good and bad points. Canada can be overwhelming for many, particularly due to it's sheer size and variations. Many people become disillusioned with UK life and think that the grass is greener on the other side, but it all depends on what you want to do and what you think will be best for your family. I find Canada to more expensive on the whole to live, although that is offset by the fact that I make more money here. I struggle with the distances to travel places and the disconnect within cities and suburbs as well as the horrific traffic in Toronto. I love the weather here, I don't like the lack of culture and "old stuff" and lastly - don't underestimate how much you might miss your friends and family and all the little things you take for granted. Sounds silly but I miss Marks and Sparks sandwiches and I miss the BBC! It's not easy to pick up one life and port to to another country. But, if you have a sense of adventure and an open mind it can be a great experience - like others have said though, it's not cheap to emigrate. There is no shame in trying something and deciding you don't like it, if you get the opportunity then go for it other wise you'd be wondering "what if" for the rest of your life.

stuabroad

Let me help you with that:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...on/media-hint/

Elaine77

Thanks everyone, I see where you a coming from with regard to the degree for an engineer. I think the USA is the same in that you would be a technician without a degree but in the Uk you don't have to have a degree to be an engineer as we do know some engineers (mechanical mostly) who do not have degrees but trained at diploma level and then gained experience through employment.... Also jobs advertised for "engineers" in the Uk often don't list a degree as a requirement just a diploma and experience... That being said my husband is better at working not writing and academia is not where his strengths lie.. Mine are, I'm doing a degree, I'm on LinkedIn and do a lot of networking etc... Maybe I should have been the engineer (if didn't loathe maths and physics so much anyway!)

Oink

You can be a train engineer in Canada without a degree.

oopsbuddy

Me too, I thought! At least it was meant to be useful and supportive...!

Mikeypm

Always best to take onboard all the feedback postive or negative feedback. Most people on this forum have either been through the process or are going through the process. They are merely trying to give the OP an objective view, having lurked in the background and reviewed the comments on this thread the OP seems very defensive and does seem to take things very seriously, the BE Forum at its core is a wonderful resource combined with some good wit and banter. I would suggest the OP relaxes, takes a deep breath grabs a brew and takes the time to go back through and review the constructive comments for what they are which is contructive advice and also takes the time to review the wiki

januarymix

M&S Rules.

Welcome, OP and good luck with the move. I don't mean to slate (I am not even in Canada) but I think the forum users have given you kind, well meaning advice.

The UK is also fuelled by the Daily Mail culture, it's enough to make one think the UK (and mostly everything else it covers) is the worst. The premise of such newspapers is make them angry, laugh or cry. Emotional coverage helps their newspaper sell.

Good luck with the contact search, and with the desire to move to Canada.

I must admit I didn't realise oink was being sarcastic myself.