dudley189

I am hoping to all of you good people in the expat community will be able to give me a shove in the right direction or at least some pearly words of wisdom.

I’m in a bit of a quandary and am not sure what to do. My situation is this:
I am currently still in England but am about to make the move to NZ, coming over on the skilled migrant category/work to residence.
I am a JIB approved electrician and have been offered a provisional practising licence by the EWRB.
I have sent off many e-mails to employment agencies with a view to trying to find out where a work may be but obviously reprise are all saying that they need to seeing the first before they can progress any further, which is understandable.
Now ideally, I would very much like to settle in Christchurch but will obviously end up going where ever I can get a job.
Can anybody tell me, it’s Christchurch a good place to look for electrical jobs and what is the likelihood of me getting any kind of electrical work without a full practising licence?

Another little point that I must admit is worrying me (while I’m in worry mode) is that being a Sparky in good old Blighty, be it in construction or building services, it’s a relatively straightforward affair. General power and lighting with a sprinkling of controls and a soupçon of fault finding. Obviously, this is a summarisation but the thing I’m getting to is that every Kiwi Sparky I have met in the UK seems to be a lot more knowledgeable of things like PLCs, motor control circuits and the design of thereof and generally very well versed in all manner of controls.
Although I like to think that I am widely experienced, it’s typically based around metal munching, shopfitting, commercial and domestic installations.
Now, the point I’m getting to is; are the Kiwi sparks really that more versatile and if so are they willing enough to employ people that aren’t, and then patient enough to wait until they catch up?

It’s all a bit of a worry but I’m sure it can’t be that bad. I know I’m not the only Essex escapee to come over as a spark, but any help or information from you good people would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks!

cappuccino

Hello and welcome. Sorry I can't help you with Christchurch or your work related questions, but wanted to say hi especially as I used to live in Harold Wood!

Justcol

I have a kiwi friend who is a sparky, he found it very difficult to find work,
so much so that he is now having to work in australia and send money back
here to support his family here.
Due to admin cock ups his papers were lost and he had to work without a full licence
for a while and it was very difficult as he had to get someone to pass all his
work which was costly for his employers.
On the other hand i see lots of nwe houses being built all over the place so
there is work out there.

tony72

Hi there dudley189, im an english spark just the same as yourself, jib approved etc and have been here 3 months now.

came over with wife and 3 young children on a WTR visa without even a job offer. i sat my exams/coursework to get the full practising license in june to get them out of the way and get myself on their sparks register.

most companies will employ you on a provisional licence as english sparks are quite well regarded here, but you do need to be here first. i must have emailed 100 people and think i got 2 replies prior to getting here! it was a different matter when i got here though, managed to land a job with one of the best companies in auckland after 2 days. BUT that was in auckland.

try to email companies direct as most companies try not to use agencies because of their costs and mark up etc.

i wouldnt worry about the kiwis telling you about plc's and motor controls etc, this training is part of their apprenticeship and like most electrical theory we are taught in the uk, it very rarely gets used. ie: when was the last time you personnally had to do a cable calc at work? so dont worry about that side of things at all.

having said that, where you said you wanted to settle, christchurch, the sparks in these dare i say, smaller places in nz, have to diversify more because there isnt the level of construction and new builds going on. they can generally do some fault finding and programming on plcs and get by that way.

the work situation here is that, in MY OPINION, roughly 75% of our work is going on around the auckland area. when we first got here we wanted to settle in hawkes bay but after staying there for a week i couldnt find any work so had to move where the work was.

tony.

dudley189

Thanks very much for that; that's a big help.
As I mentioned, ideally I would like to try and settle in Christchurch but, as you quite rightly mention, I'll just have to go where the work is.
I will now certainly sleep better at night and now look forward to getting to NZ.

I've never been to New Zealand or know anyone there, so it really is the great unknown. What you have said has certainly put my mind at rest.

Thanks again.

tony72

no problems dudley, if you need any other advice what so ever just ask.

craigbradley87

hi iam craig i am a 23 year old sparky but have been in oz for the last 20month on a working holiday visa i worked as a electrician trade assistant (even tho did same job as electrician) as jib card doesnt work here in oz and never done the licence as was traveling at the same time. I am coming to nz start of may on a whv when my oz whv expires and want to sort out my prov licence in nz before i come. I would like to get some information on the proccess please of any one that can help. I got all my certs and JIB card and full apprenticipe papers. And two references but are not in any details of type ofwiring systems etc only type of industries i worked in. So if any one can get back to me with some information i would be grateful

Jan n Neil

Give us a shout when you get here i want my drive lights wiring up i can be your first cash in hand job

Batty

Hi - I've sent you a PM with contact details for a company in Christchurch - good luck.

craigbradley87

hi again i just wondering what the current work situation is at the minute in nz as will be arriving in may and looking to get right into work

Flower Pot

Hello
Hubbys a sparky, we've been here 7 months.
He had trouble getting a job offer before we came out so we were granted a WTR, however he got a job as soon as he got here with a big electrical firm in Auckland, worked for 3 months, got our PR, then he changed firms and loves the new one he's with (another well regarded firm in Auckland).
He's just on a prov licence and has had no problems. There seems to be plenty of work around for sparkies round here, check out TradeMe Jobs!
He even got 2 of his mates from his old firm jobs with his new firm! They are always looking for british sparkies as they know they have been trained well.
Hubby reckons the electrical work over here is well easier than the UK as its a bit behind, he goes on something about its all 'twin and earth'... whatever that means?!
Good luck

craigbradley87

hi there flower pot thanks for the information i coming in may time to auckland to work i currently on a whv in oz doing sparky and its ment to be the same as in new zealand and if it is it is well simple compared to home i applying for my prov licence next month some time and will be coming over on a working holiday visa with intension of getting a pr when i there

craigbradley87

hi there again has any one got any information on the process of applying for the provisinal licence eg quals and references to sent time etc as i going in may and going to apply this month some time

BEVS

Here you go.

Contact the EWRB of NZ

You're used to this , so you'll know what's what.