petek84

hi,
im looking for a bit of help,
I am at the first stages of considering a move to Australia from the UK with my partner and our son.
I am considering South Australia.
I am a qualified plumber (30 yrs old) with 14 years experience currently working for British Gas. Im also Gas registered with 18 months experience in domestic gas.
I understand I will be submitting an EOI for visa subclass 189, as well as completing a skills assessment in the UK beforehand (possibly through vetassess) if needed.
Once our visa is granted, what would our next stages be once landing in Australia with regards to qualifications/licenses/work etc. Ive read many things about gap training/white cards/blue cards/rainbow cards... If anyone could shed some light on what sort of training would need to be done in order to get my current qualifications recognised over there inc costs/timescales, that would be much appreciated.

Also if anyone has any idea on what sort of cost the whole experience will be.
Thanks for any help in advance!

msmyrtle

Skills assessment comes before the EOI, and it is definitely needed for a 189 visa.

Just be careful when the time comes not to overstate your work experience - I think you're including the time as an apprentice, a few years will be considered necessary for training.

Don't worry about white/blue cards, it's a health and safety course that you take before you can work on a jobsite. I did it online in an hour and really doesn't say anything new.

Someone with a trades background can probably speak more about the cost but I estimate I spent around $5000 AUD on my PR application (engineer). I imagine the cost will be higher because applicants are now charged per person as opposed to 1 fee per family.

petek84

Hi,
Thanks for the reply,the main worry for me is how to go about working as a plumber in oz,
And whether to sort it all when I arrive by working a low paid labouring job or whether I can do most of the paperwork etc before I leave
Thanks

old.sparkles

Plumbing is a licensed trade so you will need to do a practical skills assessment in addition to references and qualification checking. Total cost is somewhere between $2500 and $3000 for the skills assessment and you need to have a look at the Vetassess site for criteria.

If you are successful, you will be able to apply for a supervised workers license when you arrive, and what state you go to will affect how you progress from there, There will likely be some gap training to do.

Not a plumber but gap training for sparks was $2500 which included Occ Health and Safety but not white card, plus had to complete a period of supervised work and logbook / e-profiling to gain cert III.

Visa cost for 189 is now closer to $4000 and you'll have medicals and police checks on top of that, plus all the copying and certifying of documents sent to Vetassess.

petek84

Thanks for the detailed info old.sparks
Any idea what I should expect to earn while on a temp licence and rough guide to how long until I am able to gain full license?
Is it worth the whole experience of the visa and training as far as working and lifestyle goes?
Thank

Plumber26

Hi Pete,

I'm a qualified plumber from the uk where I gained 15 years experience. I was successful in my visa application and have been living in Australia for four years.

I haven't worked in the industry in all that time as they make it almost impossible for you to work in the plumbing industry out here. It's all about extracting as much money out of you as they can for unnecessary courses and teaching you how to suck eggs. I appreciate that plumbing is slightly different out here regulations wise, but the costs, time and training overkill is not practical for any family man that need to earn a living in the mean time. The official body, the plumbing industry council are very unhelpful and every time you ring them and speak to a different person,you get a contradicting answer from the last. This body has now been disbanded, but the QBCC are just as bad. No one in the industry seems to have a clear pathway and yes it really is that bad, it's almost as if they don't want overseas plumbers working over here. You will lay a fortune for your visas and then when you get here you can't work. Even if you jump through numerous hoops to get your provisional licence in order to work for someone on minimum wages for two years there are still more a lot of costs, red tape and going from pillar to post to get your full licence. You will sit a test in the uk before even coming here also, set out by the Australian Government and have to pay for the privilege of obtaining a trades recognition certificate. When you get here, they will tell you this piece of paper is worthless. I know a few other uk plumbers over here who are now bus and taxi drivers. My advice to you if you are coming, forget your qualifications and experience and to change your career once here. You will still have to spend a lot of money on another training course, but at least you will be earning far more money and won't have to deal with an industry that doesn't want you to succeed. You need a licence for absolutely everything out here, even to make coffee (no joke). These licenses have to be renewed every 1 to 3 years. Renewal is a simple process, you just pay to renew, but it's just another way to extract money from the hard working man. Please don't get me wrong, it's a great life out here and I absolutely love it,but just weigh up the training costs against the industry rates of pay. Eg. Spend 5k for plumbing course and then work 2 years for $20 an hour if you're lucky or spend 5k on an IT course and earn $40 an hour. Hope this makes sense. Where have all the plumbers gone!