Gulf Bird

Hello every one

I am an Omani National. My British mother passed away when I am 15. I live and work in Oman ( now made redundant ) and seriously thinking of moving to the UK

What are my chances of finding a job there ? My background is IT
Is the fact that I am half omani, half british will help me reside in the UK ?
Which part of the UK has better chance ?

nottmbantam

Hello, and sorry to hear of your current predicament.

I left the UK about a year ago to come and work in Saudi,and since then the economic recession has gotten a lot worse, the unemployment rates are increasing, with many businesses and companies in financial trouble.

So, I don't work there at the moment, but I know that I wouldn't like to be going there right now to look for work. Plus, the UK can be quite an expensive place to live, lots of taxes to pay and basic cost of living can be dear - eg housing, transport.

I don't know where you stand with the visa and residence question, but perhaps for the time being, it might be better to try and find another job in Oman?

Just my opinion, but hope everything works out well for you. Good luck.

Gulf Bird

many thanks for such a quick opinion. I am considering also other GCC states. especially Saudi, as I have worked there ( riyad ) before

TheDreamer

What sort of IT experience have you got?

shakh your bootie

Hello Gulf Bird. I assume that you don't currently hold dual nationality - you may well be entitled to a British passport. Have a look at the leaflet on children born overseas to British mothers below:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/sit...ationleaflets/

The British Embassy should be able to help.

As for work over here, yes it is slightly more difficult to find work. The unemployment rate is, however, only 6% which means that 94% of the population do have jobs - it vaguely irritates me when people spout doom and gloom about the recession....

Sure, go live in a different country for a while. Life's too short.

Gulf Bird

Thanks shakh for the encoragment.

I hold a university degree in computer sciences ( focus : database management ). Unfortunately the jobs I held both in muscat and riyad were not related to IT.

Hello.Kitty

yes, in the UK it's easier to find a job if you don't mind what you do - there are no unwritten rules that such-and-such a job is for a certain "type of person"... so while looking for your dream job, you could pretty easily go and work in a supermarket or a restaurant and still earn a minimal, but decent wage.

Your main concern - as with anywhere - will be where to stay. Rent is payable monthly (with no exceptions!) but you will have to pay the equivalent of one month's rent as a deposit... so befor you get they keys, you'll have to find the money for 2 months' rent, which could be anything from £1000 to £2000 for a studio/1 bed place... depending of course where you are.

Traditionally, the South of England (including London) has more going for it in terms of jobs, but it is also more expensive... although everything is relative, so I'd say that evening living in Brighton or London is slightly less expensive than Dubai - again, depending on the area.

I'd give it a go. You'll probably need some kind of visa, but the fact that you're half-British will stand you in good stead.

TheDreamer

Gulf Bird, I'm being absolutely frank and honest to you for your own good. You have absolutely no chance of being employed in IT in UK.

I was an IT contractor for over 16 years when I lived in UK and I must have dealt with tens of IT agencies so I know what I'm talking about.

Even those who graduated in IT in UK had very little chance of getting a job in IT. It must even be worse now. IT qualifications don't matter it's the hands on experience which employers are after.

In any case, there's nothing to lose by finding some IT agencies online and phoning a few of them to see what they have to say to you. But you first should sort out your UK citizenship.

Personally I don't like living in UK but it may be different for you as I lived there for more than 27 years I think that would be more than enough for most people!!

typical

Depends how old she is. There are plenty of IT companies with graduate schemes (indeed, I was on one and helped design one). Most take (youngish) career changers as well as fresh grads, though she'd need to be able to understand pseudocode at the very least. With a decent CS degree and maybe some interesting other experience, that'd be a goer. Agency work without experience is incredibly unlikely though, yes.

Then there's web design, which is remarkably easy to set up in. Particularly if you can combine half decent design skills with technical nous.

Gulf Bird

Many Thanks indeed.

I appreciate the advice.

It looks I need to think about it more. I probably will visit the UK ( on a thin budget ) and spend sometime there to have a feel first how things are now

The Dean

The unemployment rate is, however, only 6% which means that 94% of the population do have jobs

Not necessarily, my old boot.

It is widely believed that the numbers are distorted by those who say they would like to work, but have not registered as jobless because - quite simply - they think there's no point. Also, new mums who extend their maternity leave beyond the legal minimum time are excluded, etc, etc.

A better indicator may be NI contributions, which are apparently down by almost 20% on 08/09 v 07/08............ a quite worrying statistic (although I haven't checked it myself).

Hello.Kitty

tbh, I think many professionals don't sign on the dole cos they know that they'll never get a job through them and that their houshold income will be over the threshold entitling them to the £50/week handout (whoop-dee-doo!). I reckon there's a certain element of the population who don't think they'll be out of work long enough to warrant all the hassle of signing on...

Anyhow...

typical

I can imagine most professionals wouldn't want to be seen around the job centre, too! Though I spent a few months signing on, and it wasn't the worst experience in the world. Quite quickly clock who really wants a job and who's just going through the motions, though.

Hello.Kitty

I dunno... I wouldn't be too proud to do so. It's just whenever I had "the opportunity" they virtually laughed at me.

Besides, companies looking for professionals aren't going to advertise at the Jobcentre either. I guess they expect more get-up-and-go.

typical

Why would they laugh at you?

They do pay your NI while you're signing on, which is perhaps worth something too.

The staff didn't even try offering me jobs from their books - there were a couple of jobs I might have gone for five years earlier, mind you, had I been jobless then.