Hi there. I'm a Brit with Canadian citizenship and i'm considering a move to Vancouver Island. I've been thinking about heading over to Canada since i got my citizenship (my mum is from there) and now i have met a Canadian lad i have a good excuse. I have many questions as you can imagine, but i'll start with one of my most primary concerns! From what i can gather, whether you are highly qualified or not, you may have to start from scratch over there as it is preferable to have Canadian experience. I'm in my early 30's and prepared to start from scratch; i've actually found a project management course that i want to do once i am there. My concern is casual work whilst i continue my studies. I have a degree (fairly useless Pol.Sociology) and i have a lot of experience in the restaurant trade as well as experience in admin/reception/graduate recruitment. Pretty low level stuff, so as you can see i am not too proud to work in a cafe or whatever i can get!

Is it really hard to find work as an immigrant? I understand networking is key? My partner lives in Victoria so i will be moving there.

Also, as a Canadian citizen, what do i need in order to work? Over here we have national insurance numbers, where do i get one of those over there?!!

Many thanks for your advice chaps!

You need a SIN from Service BC. Experience required depends on the employer and if they like your qualifications & experience. Some industries do, my UK experience when I came over was what got me over, got me a job (several) and helped me progress. Without it it would have meant started way down the ladder, below the bottom rung, as it was I had job offers and could slip in at the same level of seniority I was at in my UK job.

This one is easy. Just go to any Service Canada and present your ID.

Lots of us do!

I think it is true that in career positions many people find they have to take a step back in seniority and earnings to take a step forward. Learn how things get done and earn a bit of trust. Not in every case if you have in-demand skills, but it is fairly common. Starting from scratch is a bit too dramatic.

Having a degree can be useful. It doesn't always matter what the degree is in.

I can't imagine it will be that difficult to pick up casual service work in Victoria.

This is very helpful, thank you guys!

Yeah, it all depends on your line of work and how desperate the company is to hire someone.

I got a job in a week on about the same as I was making in the UK, and I'm now making about 50% more than I was there.

There's nothing wrong with being on the bottom rung - less further to fall!

Ha! Well, quite!