Hi All,

Have finally had my electrical experience recognised by Alberta, phew.

Am now thinking of taking a course with ACE Trades and Technical Institute | Red Seal Trade Refresher, Apprenticeship Training, ITA, AIT has anybody had any experience with them ?

Thanks in advance.

Rob

Hi

Can I ask...have you got a job offer?
Or are you just starting down the road of 'finding out more'..?

We are approx 2 yrs down the line, Hubby is a Sparky and we are in Alberta!

There is a bit of a story of us getting his Journeyman status...!

No job offer, to be honest I am pursuing the idea of getting the local qualification and then apply for PR and or a Job offer. Am out in the next couple of weeks to do the course mentioned above, once I have done the course I will know if I can sit the exam or what I need to do/learn to sit the exam.

Apparently I can work under supervision if I can get a visa and must take the exam within a year of landing. Not sure what that makes me.

Ok...honesty time.!
There is some work around BUT the oil & gas laid-off alot of guy's so there is competition for every job....
Having said that, Ontario seems to be advertising for Electricians.!!
Pay scale is a bit lower, but that is where any experience you have may help.

We had an Electrical contracting company and a Building company in the UK...but our life was crazy (70-80 hr weeks), kids unhappy in school and so on...hubby had applied for lots of jobs in Canada, but without his Journeymans certs, he wasn't given much of a look.

We looked away from the popular area's and he was offered a job, subject to the Canadian company being given a positive LMO, now called an LMIA (1st one was refused, 2nd was accepted).

We packed up, arrived in Edmonton, smiled nicely at the Immigration Officer...who gave us One year permits!

So Hubby had to work full time, study the code book (try and find one on the net, or if some kind person has it as a download)..it was a bugger!

Having read on this forum about a course, we searched for it and found ACE...
Hubby doesn't regret it for a minute...the terminology used here IS different...and so finding your way around the code book was nearly impossible.
The tutor on the course ( i'm told) was fantastic, and is the only reason he passed the theory part of the exam.
He say the practical was OK.

It is not enough to have done the 17th Edition and think you know enough...make sure your maths is up to grade...Ohm's Law etc WILL be used!

Hubby is a bit of a Maths Geek, so he was able to keep-up with the course, but there were a number who couldn't...again he said the tutor helped as much as time would allow.

If you are allowed to sit the challenge exam, you have to pass the theory.
This then allows the process to go onto the practical...
This does not happen all at once, there was a month's wait (for hubby) for notification that he had passed the theory. Then had to call in to book the next step.

My understanding is that, as an Electrician, you will need a job offer with an employer who has permission to employ a non-canadian, if you can find this, you can apply for a work permit and arrive quicker.

If you want to apply for PR and wait...double check the Immigration website...they keep 'tweeking' the rules!
A friend (an electrician) applied for PR with his wife as the main applicant and it has taken over 2 yrs for them to get.

If you are determined and sink your teeth into it, you may be ok...
If your coming for the course anyway, write up a resume and get out and about..Canadians on the whole are polite but showing your face works a million times better than an email dropped into someones junk file...or into a computerized system that cannot read your resume and dumps it!!

Hope this hasn't confused you!?

Firstly thank you for the time you took and the information you provided it will certainly help, I am no maths geek so will definitely have to brush up on the equations.

One thing I have learn't is that this process keeps throwing up hurdles, as you overcome one you encounter the next and whilst initially they seem insurmountable if you persevere they eventually give way.

What I am thinking of doing is coming over on a study visa to improve my qualifications whilst simultaneously applying for PR. Hopefully once I have completed the college course the economy will have improved I will have obtained the red seal, eternal optimist!

Thanks again.