Justcol

Now the usual flood of negativity has waned
sounds like you're doing everything right. You're doing the research and it seems, coming into it with eyes wide open and having family here is always a help.
As you are aware house prices are very high but not unattainable. Have been here 13 years now and wouldn't change a thing (apart from our prime minister)
good luck with your plans

Gallagher09

Haha Thank you very much JustCol.

As you said we are doing this with our eyes as wide open as possible .

Us in Wales really like what your PM is doing withing your country expecially compared to boris.

It is great to hear a bit of positivity , thanks again.

BEVS

OK. Out of interest what have your NZ family members told you of heating & hot water sys in NZ. I am just wondering what you are expecting to be doing within the gasfitting and/or plumbing trade here in NZ.

I'm also a bit confused about the job offer and start date as it doesn't work quite like that for immigration purposes.

If you want to see what your UK overseas quals and work experience will be matched with then perhaps take a look at the assorted exam papers.

I have just re-read and seen this

Where did you send your skill assessment application ? Which trade?

Gallagher09

I have been doing my own research on the varied varied systems you use out there and also in my interview they informed me on the work I would be doing.

You can stay as confused it's okay. I have no start date , just a date we have in my mind.

The company has guided me in the right direction as they have employed several overseas tradies...

I was just looking for peofor experiences that have been in my situation.

IrishDigger

Here is one bloke that would not want to change your Prime Minister,

Bo-Jangles

Another one here that feels incredibly lucky to have been here under her watch this past year or so - so far we have remained relatively free of COVID and the potential outcome under any other of the alternatives really is quite unthinkable.

Justcol

It's funny how the world sees us.
white island victims complain about lack of support.
Mosque shooting victims complain about lack of support.
Covid response was merely doing what the majority of the country were saying should happen.
Racism is rife.
Unemployment is low but the standard of living for low earners is extremely poor.
Al Noor was for Ardern what the Falklands conflict was for Thatcher, and she unashamedly milked it for every ounce of self promotion.
Ardern has a large support base among the more gullible sections of society, young tree huggers and old ladies
It's sad to see how many people overseas fall for the masquerade

However none of this has anything to do with the subject matter of the thread

Justcol

You may want to crack on with your application.

obersturmbannführer Ardern has announced another immigration shake up. Looks like this one is targeting skilled migrants under the guise of training and up Skilling our hoards of great unwashed. Its little more than a Maori vote buying exercise at the expense of the other 85% of the population but the woke idiots will probably jump on board in support of any changes

BEVS

Yes. If it were possible that would have been wise so I have spent a little time looking at possible options. Unfortunately it isn't possible from what I have read. Anyone else with anything else please chip in.

Gasfitting is not even an occupation with a shortage of workers right now, let alone seen as critical so no temp work visa at this time.

The SMC resident route would have been about it I think --- if there would be enough points + the job offer acceptable to Dept of Labour and INZ + quals assess --- however that is suspended right now and even when re-opened will be virtually locked due to a large backlog.

Yes again Col . Policies are altering per assorted news bulletins via INZ, which is why I asked about which possible visa route had been put forward. We get this every few years or so , a major shake up. The year we came out there was one and many of us SMC applicants scrambled to uplift the temp work visas or permits in tandem with the SMC residency application to ensure it was all points worthy.

Public opinion has been swinging against migrant & int student numbers for a while now. This past year has only made that notion worse. Started back really with the hgv drivers I suppose.

Anyway. There is no route in as a gasfitter at present. 2022 and poss 2023 may well see not much change to that.

Immy policies and listings are reviewed twice a year. April /Oct. It is done in consultation with assorted agencies, industry and ministries.

I'll make a couple of posts ref the 3 trades under this particular umbrella. It may help give some clarity on how it all knits together , from assessment to registrations and licensing to employment offers.

BEVS

Okay. So I am not sure why you have taken offence . If it was the couple of questions, those were not asked to pry . They were asked to help get a better picture of the lay of the land for you as you asked for help but the info was a bit vague. The aim was to help.

The normal way is to state what trade quals one has + what work experience. That helps no end in ascertaining at what level those may be comparable to here in NZ.

In times past a job offer would have been a golden egg but that is not the case now following the past year and the forthcoming tightening up changes to immy policies. In any case a company was not free to offer you an open ended employment offer, especially for a trade which is not seen as in shortage - gasfitting. It would need approval .

What the company itself may have done in the past will not be relevant to what will be needed to be done & proved to employ an overseas migrant worker from now on.

I'd ask which of the three trades, that are under the pgdb umbrella ,have you applied for an assessment of your overseas quals. Gasfitting : Plumbing : Drainlaying : but I don't need another flea in my ear so I shall assume then gasfitting per your posts and that you have paid one fee. As this is the trade you are applying under then if you come to NZ that will be the trade you will be supervised under, not plumbing.

A successful assessment simply means that the overseas person's qualifications and experience are at the same level as that of an NZ final year apprentice. You will not be seen as qualified to be a gasfitter until you have sucessfully sat the PGDB registration in whatever form that currently comes in. It is usually a written exam - and I linked to past papers of those - and on the tools / on site work assessments. Once that is done you will be able to uplift a gasfitter practicing license.

Plumbing ; gasfitting & drainlaying are not rolled into one here in New Zealand, although one can train/apprentice for all 3 trades, and then uplift the necessary qualifications and then licenses. Each trade requires a separate assessment.

We - that is myself/husband and other plumbers/gasfitters that we met up with over the weekend would suggest that research into sys out here is of not much use in the grand scheme of things. You'll be supervised for a year anyway and told how things are done and dusted. There isn't really much at all by way of differing systems and appliances anyway. Better to start with that old-fashioned thing - homework.

Here is some reading matter :-
•The Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006 (the Act) is part of a building industry legislative framework that also includes, but is not limited to, the:
•Gas Act 1992
•Gas (Safety and Measurement) Regulations 2010
•Building Act 2004
•Building Regulations 1992 which also contains the Building Code
•Building Code and Compliance Documents
•Standards that are used for compliance.

BEVS

Going back to this and to make things clear not just for you but also for anyone else looking in.

I am hoping this is a mis-type in some way as the pgdb does not itself undertake any assessments of overseas quals and work exp. If you have somehow sent to the pgdb direct then get in touch with them and ask what they did with whatever you sent. . Not sure where you paid your 400 quid but I am hoping it is via the assessment agency direct and that you entered the assessment details online.

No. The assessment agency will do a tick box check and also possibly an actual contact trace. This is to ascertain if the overseas quals and work experience submitted matches that of the training standard and units here in NZ. In other words the on the tools, practical and theory training that the apprentices undertake. If it passes the assessment then the overseas person can work under supervision until they have passed the PGDB registration process. Until that point the overseas person is NZ unqualified .

Well that is a matter between the company and yourself. What can be stated is that you will not be an NZ qualified gasfitter even after a successful assessment. That will take a written exam and perhaps on site assessments of working practices and standards.

An hourly rate will need to be at least $27 an hour. Median employed wage for a qualified, registered, licensed NZ gasfitter with NZ work exp is around $30 ph, sometimes more . Newly licensed would not be paid that of experienced NZ gasfitters.

BEVS

Now we come to this which my words will not be popular but, as JustCol has also mentioned , there are rules , regs and policies which cover offering any form of employment to someone from overseas.

As I wrote before you will need to be very careful with this. Both you and the company as this , to be blunt, is not kosher. At best the company is not aware of the process and checks and maybe are wanting to give you easy to hear news on a job front rather than the knock back reality . I don't care one way or another of course - in case more fleas are coming my way - but if a family are brave enough to wish to shift themselves all around the world , then all any of us old hands can do is help best we can to help them get here but with a good injection of reality without raining on a parade. However the above in quotes is of concern.

So. Lets get into visas as without that you won't be going anywhere. I did ask about this but there wasn't an answer which of course is fine but it would have been helpful.

Gasfitting:
It is not an occupation with a shortage of workers here in NZ. It is not on any shortage list . It is quite a short apprenticeship . This occupation is not under-supplied in the Hawkes Bay area at all. Neither is it over-supplied though. However the fact remains that this occupation is not seen to have a shortage of workers/tradesmen or people that could be trained up for the work.

What this in essence has meant is that any company wanting to offer an overseas gasfitter a job would have to prove that there is no NZ citizen or resident that could take up that work ; nor any one NZ person that could be apprenticed or trained for the work. The company has to not just say it , they have to prove it. That they have adequate training and apprentices. That they have publically advertised the vacancy. That the vacancy is a true job offer . Not just that, the NZ Dept of Labour would apply a labour market test to double check the vacancy could not be filled somehow by NZers and the NZ Dept of Immigration also check. That would be the quality of the job offer , the rate of pay , local unemployment, . Previous vacancies. Movement of trade labour etc.

If a company had an ongoing shortage of workers as per hospitality , farming , healthcare and the like , then these bodies would apply to NZ Immigration to be 'accredited' employers. That would mean they would pay a fee to allow them to hire people from overseas as and when the need arose.

In the case above the company is not in need of a gasfitter as ,from what has been written, there is no urgency or need to hire . As has already been mentioned the trade is not in shortage of qualified workers so come the time the company will be able to hire locally and that will be expected of the company .

Now , it might have been that this company could have squeaked in a temp work visa, via approval in principle, despite not actually needing a gasfitter BUT from November 2021 there will be an alteration to the temporary work visa policies. They are being amalgamated into one and will be employer driven. This does not mean that NZ employers will be more free to offer vacancies to people from overseas . It will mean they are less free to do this. It is a tightening up.

All employers wishing to offer work to someone from overseas will need to become "NZ immigration accredited" in a new sense of the phrase. They will need to pass checks to do this. If they offer a job to an overseas person then they are really, really going to need to be able to prove that there is no NZ resident or citizen that could take up that work - or that could be trained up for it. There will be a job check & there is a fee to the prospective employer for that. Assorted agencies will check on this and if needs be they will offer incentives that the work goes to a local rather than to the oversea person & they could even put forward possible candidates. The job contract will need to be certain and tight. The wage ideally above median ( which other tradesmen working for said company might just get a bit miffed over ) and the prospective employee perhaps offering something extra of need to NZ -----> in this case it is gasfitting which requires upskilling and training so that won't help. That a relocation package might be offered may not be seen in a good light at all, especially for a trade that is not in shortage, as that $$$ could be put towards training a Kiwi which is the current mood and trend. You get my drift?

These posts are meant to inform and help. They are not meant for any other reason.

BEVS

If the skilled migrant residency category was open and not back logged I would be advising to get the hell on with that and have that company send over a firm job offer right now having done the INZ approval in principle but that isn't going to happen.

A start date of the beginning of 2022 is going to put any temp work visa application under the new stricter rulings, but never say never on that one if the company genuinely has an ongoing shortage of gasfitters and apprentices all of the time and can prove that over the past year and the up-coming next 6 months + is willing to pay the fees.. I remain concerned it is a shoehorning to help a hopeful immigrant which may have been reasonably fine years ago somehow but not now in the current climate with the very new policy changes. If such an application was to be unsuccessful , then it shoots this family in the foot for any other application.

Further , temp work visa can be notorious for not enabling the migrant to then apply for NZ residency and I do feel this will become harder to achieve rather than easier. NZ wants migrants & the $$ that brings but on its terms . Leave when no longer needed.

So. My thoughts.

This bloke wants to bring his family to NZ and has family here. He has been offered what looks like an easy route in via a not so good airy fairy job offer, at a time when NZ immy policies are becoming much more restrictive and which could end up shooting him in the foot.

He has not been clear about his trade quals and work exp . Hopefully it is NVQ/C&G's to level 3 or even better 4 + Gas Safe and all the other bumph.

If he has good plumbing qualifications and associated ongoing work experience then this is the better trade to go for. It is not strictly in shortage but it is on the construction and infrastructure shortage listing. This means that , unlike gasfitting, it is acknowledged that there is a need for more plumbers. Note that this could change . Lists are reviewed bi-annually.

I would further suggest that he looks to Canterbury for a job opening in the plumbing trade ( not gasfitting) . A larger city with known ongoing works. More plausible & away from 'family' and friends in a company . However the plumbing trade is marked on that list for all regions so could apply to Hawkes Bay .

One would need to be aware that temp work visas do not necessarily lead to residency, so care would need to be taken to uplift PGDB licensing , preferably to certifying standard and also a good above median wage via employment. That would make for a good residency application under the skilled migrant category once it reopens, the backlog is cleared and if there are no changes to that - which there could well be.

This would require a further skills assessment , this time for plumbing. Do that towards the end of this year and once a firm , in the hand, job offer is in place under the new policies. Not before.