kai

hello,

I'm thinking of moving to NZ. I'm a London heating engineer/plumber with city and guilds in H&V and ACS qualifications. I was wondering if anyone out there could give any advice about the best way to appoach the immigration system, or if anyone has info about life in NZ as an expat gasfitter/plumber it would be good to hear from you.

cheers,

kaihttp://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

karonious

First of all, welcome to the forum - karma to you!
I suggest you wait for 'BEVS here' to come on line. She is the plumbing guru and will quickly set you right. However, in the meantime I didn't want you to feel ignored so answered your post
Life in the antipodes is great - get over here!

BEVS

Kia Ora and welcome to this forum.

Are you hoping to emigrate or come out for a couple of years to see if NZ is for you. Are you coming with family?

"When did you gain your C&G ? Do you have the old-fangled C&G certificate 1 and also certificate 2 which is the advanced certificate which would have the three components on it.
Or do you have a later C&G. If so, what level please?
Are you a time-served tradesman with a three or four year apprenticeship under your belt or did you receive your training in another way.

When you say you have ACS, I take it you have your core gas and perhaps some other modules like heaters etc. Are you CORGI registered ? Do you hold a current CORGI card?


Which work visa you apply for will depend on whether you wish to remain and settle or simply just to work here for a few years.
Also, which visa you would chooose depends on what qualifications you have in your trade.

My husband is a UK C&G plumber gasfitter. C&G 1 and 2 [ advanced] with a four year apprenticeship. He held ACS core gas and lpg core plus 8 modules. He has been in the trade for over 30 years. We have lived in New Zealand for 3 years. He is currently an NZ registered plumber & looking to become an NZ craftsman plumber
.
We emigrated here and came over as skilled migrants. We gained points for my husbands UK qualifications and bonus points for the plumbing trade being on the log term shortage list with the New Zealand Immigration Service. We also gained points as my husband had an NZ job in plumbing to come to.
We did not start our emigration process straight away. The NZ employer wanted my husband to start work soon as possible and we needed to sell our house. So, we applied for a work visa first and once in New Zealand we started the emigration paperwork.

THere are no shortage of jobs for plumbers in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Immigration Service [NZIS] have lists which state all the skills which New Zealand needs more of.
There are two lists.

Long Term Shortage list - Plumber is on that
Immediate Shortage List - Gasfitter is on that.

If you are a fully qualified UK plumber , then that would be the trade skill to emigrate on.

With New Zealand Immigration, it is getting an NZ job offer first before you are issued with a work visa. Many people think it is the other way around.You cannot get a work visa without a job offer.

If you are looking to emigrate, then it is about how many points you have and whether your qualifications and work experience are wanted by New Zealand. Plumber is very much wanted. Gasfitter to a lesser degree.
If you want to emigrate and have the qualifications and work experience PLUS you also have an NZ job to come to , then you are in clover .

The plumbing , gasfitting and drainlaying trade in New Zealand is regulated by the Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying Board of New Zealand. PGDB. You are not allowed to work at the trade without a licence and the PGDB issue the licenses. There are several levels of licence.
To be seen as fully qualified New Zealand plumber or gasfitter, you will be required to sit exams . If you are thinking of becoming self-employer at the trade then that is a further two exams, one of which is a business paper. Until you sit the exams, you can work at the trade under a Limited licence.

Whether you wish to emigrate or just work in New Zealand for 2/3 years, your trade qualifications will need to be assessed under the ANZRA agreement. NZIS [ New Zealand Immigration Service] will want to know that you are skilled in your trade and to what level.

NZQA - New Zealand Qualification Authority , assess overseas qualifications.

For the plumbing trade though, it is the PGDB that would assess your qualifications. NZIS accept the decision of the PGDB and NZQA.

Rates of pay vary. I've known plumbers on just $17.50 an hour. $25 is more reasonable.

Some plumbing and gasfitting aspects do , of course, differ from the UK as you would expect. There is little reticulated gas here. If you want to work on that , then your choice of locations in NZ will be limited. Mostly gas is bottled.
Some say that the plumbing here is 30 years behind the times. My husband finds some of the methods old-fashioned and some make him smile but overall, he says ,plumbing is plumbing. You just have to get into the NZ way .

They use crox tools here and braze joints. Little in the way of fittings is used. Oxy-acetylene is the norm. Boss white wasn't seen three years ago, but it was shown to my husband a couple of months back at the plumbers merchants - new in ! They don't use it though as many don't trust it.
Water pressures are different here of course and pipe sizes also.

There are some companies operating in New Zealand that install central heating,if that is the line of work you are into. Not many ,but they are out there.
My husband works on new-build houses . Houses here are timber framed.

Take a good look around the PGDB web site. [click the link] Read the newsletters. Look at the exam questions and answers to give you some insight.

Also ONGAS.

Come back to us with your thoughts and we will point you in the right direction to get you started.

cornerofsilence

Hi Bev

Great post as always I think you have said it all.

We have been in the plumbing gasfititng games for over 35 years and my husbands father was also a plumber.

Thanks are different here in lots of ways. Wages do not vary much as there is a lot of price fixing between firms in the same location.

Good Luck to all plumbers coming here you will find things very different.

Susan

jayson2

hi, i am a plumber gasman myself, check out if your quals are going to be accepted here. the rules change by the day, we have new regs for africa i,m thinking of giving it up, cheers

BEVS

The rules don't change by the day. What makes you say that . The ANZRA standard remains the same. The PGDB require an advanced level comparable to or more than the NZ national certificate plus a good 5 years working experience before allowing an overseas plumber to sit registration exams.

The NZIS standard doesn't change either. For the trade skill to be recognised for points , the NZQA level of 3 or 4 must be met.

He can't just check out if his quals are accepted. It's not as simple or easy as that. He would have to submit for an overseas qual assessment .This costs $$$ hundred dollars. He would need his quals certified. Submit proof of work experience. Collate references & proof of training and/or apprenticeship.

It's important that he have the correct level of overseas qualifications in place BEFORE he goes for the PGDB assessment to ensure a positive outcome, otherwise he could be liable for further training here in NZ and would not be allowed to sit registration exams. Stuck !!
This would affect his earning power as he would have to remain on a Limited Licence. Further, he would need to find an employer who would be willing for him to sign up with an ITO and possibly be away for block courses. Then there would be the question of fees which are not cheap . So - it's better to be as prepared as possible & not waste the overseas experience, training and quals he already has.

Once the assessment is in place he would be stuck with it. That's why I have asked the OP to come back with exact details of his quals. At least he would know exactly what would be required of him if he were to come to NZ and plumb.

BEVS

So - what qualifications,training & experience do you have out of interest?

The more the merrier.

jayson2

o.k. the rules dont change by the day,maybe by the year! who are you bev? i would`nt advise anybody to be a plumber gasfitter in this country, take up painting you will earn just as much without all the reg,licence,levy,c.b.licencing,fees of keep training ect.good luck but be warned.

BEVS

HHmm. Who are you ? Are you a migrant or a Kiwi trained in the trade in NZ? Share your experience. It's good to have a balance of viewpoints and actual migrant experiences of the process and of working in NZ.

Please feel free to search my posts . They will tell you who I and my husband are.

For those plumbers wishing to migrate to NZ , they cannot simply change trade . They have to use what skills, training and experience they have in order to arrive , live , work in New Zealand .
Once a person is granted PR and satisfied any proviso on their PR stickers , then they are, of course , free to persue other options if they wish.

I agree that the regulatory board needs a good shake up to actually properly regulate. Perhaps it should take a leaf out of the UK book. It's already moving towards the UK CORGI idea of competance based licencing for gas work. Thank goodness really when you think its all supposed to be about health and safety for the consumer & maintaining ANZRA standards.

The licence is not a bad idea. At least a consumer can check what level of plumbing tradesman they are getting.

The fees are a bit steep but perhaps if those in the trade would adhere to the rules then the disiplinary levy wouldn't be so bad. Many in the NZ trade don't keep their own rules and thats a bit of a laugh aint it when you consider what they make fully qualified overseas plumbers go through . Many of those migrants come in as extremely skilled and have decades of experience and have probably run their own successful businesses yet that is not recognised.

My husband is a plumber here in NZ. He's happy enough in his work. He wouldn't want to do something else. It's what he knows and is comfortable with. He is extremely good at it.

The aim of the plumbing posts is to ensure an overseas migrant understands what will be required of him should he /she choose to come to NZ as a skilled migrant plumber/gasfitter. They then can balance that up with what they hope NZ will offer them as a lifestyle change .

Many overseas plumbers give up the trade once arrived, simply because of the way the regulatory board treats them . Many stay in the trade despite the hurdles to overcome. It's an individual choice which only the would-be migrant can make.

Bobcat

What an excellent post Bev

We get plumbing queries 'for Africa' in the Australian section........ to date no-one has been such a wealth of knowledge as yourself.

I found in WA my Advanced City & Guilds certificate wasn't worth the paper its printed on; and being a member of the Institute of Plumbing carried no weight at all. I had served a 5 year apprenticeship from aged 16 to 21 and had been in the game since 1964. I had taught plumbing in Bermuda, Africa, PNG, and the Solomon Islands but here in WA I had to go back to school in order to ply my trade?

I opted for a career change instead. Plumbing had been very good to me; but I'm very happy now doing something else.

BEVS

Thanks Bobcat.

It's all about letting plumbers know what they could be in for IMHO. It's also nice to know it's worth the effort.

Husband was the same. Fully qualified UK plumber & gasfitter. Decades of experience and all that stuff. Bottom line is that in NZ it is worth zip and you have to take registration exams as though you were a final year apprentice. Even then, you must remain employed until you sit two further exams, one of which is a business paper. We wish we had been better informed. It may have altered our decision to come here to NZ.

Having said all of that, for some folks , their trade skill is the only way to arrive in NZ and so they must use it to gain their heart desire - emmigration to NZ..

Also, if they are in the middle of training or are staying in the UK to further their plumbing trade qualification up a level , then it's better they can consider to do this because if the qualification doesn't even meet the basic standard required to take registration exams, then they could find themselves in a worse position than they expected and have to fork out more time and money going back into training to gain an NZ recognised certificate just to be allowed to take plumbing registration exams. That's , of course, if they intend to remain in the trade once they have unconditional Permanent Residency.

What's with the african connection ?

Is it some sort of spoof post?

I don't get it . Mind you I had a head boil moment today and an idea , both of which required a lie down.

It's Friday. I think a will be in order later.

Bobcat

What's with the african connection ?

Quote:
Jayson wrote - we have new regs for africa
Quote:
Bobcat wrote - We get plumbing queries 'for Africa' in the Australian section
Is it some sort of spoof post?


It means heaps, lots of, plenty etc............ it's a saying we had over in Africa.

Africa being a vast continent and what have you.

BEVS

Ah! I had never heard or read it before and then up it pops, twice in one day.

jayson2

o.k.bev you sounded like you were one of the board. i am a pome from way back, live in ch-ch. i understand about the immigration skills requirement, i was useing a painter to point to the difference in the amount of b.s. needed to become a plumber. i have craftsman status in plum and gas, but do not agree with the pgdb requirements of registration/licence/levies/training/self certification etc. when i trained as apprentice in uk it was 5yrs c&g exams then you were a plumber,we also did gas and drainlaying. registration was optional you did not have to join an exclusive club to be able to work,there were no fees to pay, if you work as a plumber here without that exclusive membership you can be fined up to 10,000dollars, good scheem eh? my point is that you are either a plumber or not, and if you are then you should not have to pay to go to work. as yo noted in one of your previous blogs the board was sacked by the finance minister for being pig headed trouble is the c.e.o. who runs the show is still there. you mention the corgi idea of uk, i believe that it is only volantary, is that right? health and safety is important thats why we have osh/consumers gaurantee act/district courts that take care of any problems, i dont know of any major threats to the nations health caused by plumbers/gas/drain tradesmen. you say that a consumer can check tradesmen out through licencing but they dont,(never been asked for my licence) all they want is a cheap job. the diss levy was brought in so the pgdb could pay for the councils to take cowboys in the trade to court as the councils would not do it because it costs to much for the gains that they got, the gain is still not much but we pay. plumbing is not rocket science but the way that pgdb carries on you would think that it was! nice to blog with you bev you are in nelson where i have connections. i arrived in nelson 30yrs ago with a mate of mine (he is still there) we were caught in a time warp, (london to nelson), and so moved to ch-ch, he eventually moved back after many years we visit frequently, i also have a daughter in motueka, nelson is a lovely part of the country where we intend to retire, cheers.

BEVS

Then you haven't properly read my posts for the past 4 years. I'll get to the rest later.
I'm not blogging.
Which decade did you do your UK apprenticeship and where ?

Wrong .
I'm not sure you understand the stringent requirements of CORGI Perhaps you need to update.

FWIW I think it is disgraceful that a board is brought into being to regulate a trade in dis-array by its own and ANZRA governments admission and then gives a bye to the 'old hands' without properly testing them. Shocking.

The rest of your points will have to wait. It is too late and it is Friday.