British Expats - Gas Fitter

British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)

- New Zealand (https://britishexpats.com/forum/new-zealand-83/)

- - Gas Fitter (https://britishexpats.com/forum/new-zealand-83/gas-fitter-534974/)

Hello I am thinking of coming over to either NZ or Aus on my own. I am 26 and have worked for British Gas for just over 7 years (14 months as an apprentice with them) have qualifications in Nat gas, LPG, and unvented systems and am corgi registered. Have spoken to a mate of mine who lives in NZ and thinks it will be easy getting in and finding a job but I am not so sure after reading all of the topics on here. Have contacted a visa agency (visa bureau) reg Aus and they have said I would be better off going on a working visa for a max of 2 years even though I should have enough points to qualify in theory. (still waiting for a reply as to why) Any advice on how likely I am to qualify for NZ or best way to go about it?.
I think without a plumbing qualification it looks very difficult to enter either country.

:thumbsup:

You need BEVShere!!! Good luck :thumbsup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by stinkypete (Post 6319859)

I see my missus (j19fmm) beat me to it, "BevsHere" is the one you need to speak to. I am a Plumber but not CORGI or OFTEC, domestic/wet only and Bev is who you need to speak to, her OH is a British Plumber/Gasfitter and is registered and licensed with the NZPGDB. I started a thread ages ago called NZ Plumbers which Bev pumped loads of useful info into.
We'd love to move to NZ and looks like we have to use the OH's Teaching degree to get in.
Hope this helps.
Paul.

OK cheers :thumbsup:

It is the weekend and I have been working.
I have work on Monday too.

I have seen your thread and will get to it in the next couple of days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stinkypete (Post 6319859)

Back to this & sorry for the delay.

Gasfitter is on the New Zealand Immigrations immediate shortage list. It is also seen as a skilled occupation.

This means you could apply to migrate to New Zealand as a skilled migrant provided you can claim enough points. Please have a go at the POINTS INDICATOR . [click the blue link]

As the skill is only on the Immediate shortage list you cannot claim points for absolute shortage.

In order to find out if your UK gas qualifications will meet the standard you really need a preliminary assessment from the PGDB of NZ. This is the plumbers and gasfitters board here. Download the applicaton form and send to the PGDB or email [email protected] for information and advice.

If you get a positive outcome from the PGDB then you should be able to claim 50 points for your UK gas qualifications even though they do not include C&G to advanced stage. The standard normally looked for is C&G/NVQ level 3 but as you have been trained by BG , have ACS and CORGI you may be OK.

The New Zealand Immigration Service use the PGDB to check about the qualifications. It is a requirement that a plumber and a gasfitter be eligible to sit PGDB registration exams and assessments once here, that is why you need the PGDB preliminary assessment.

To boost your points, you could try to find a job offer as a gasfitter.

OK thanks, I have C&G/NVQ level 3 as although the training was only 14 months they just crammed more in to college time and less on the tools. Do I still need to go through PGDB with these qualifications?.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stinkypete (Post 6357462)

Yes. Ultimately , you will still need to have the PGDB preliminary assessment if you wish to apply for NZ permanent residency. This is because it is one of the occupations where registration is a requirement.

As you are a gasfitter , you don't need to have your qualifications assessed by NZQA, However NZIS do require that any overseas gasfitter coming into NZ be assessed by the PGDB as being eligible to become NZ PGDB registered. Registration is a requirement & part of the standard required.

As you have NVQ level 3 plus your ACS components and CORGI I would think you will be OK for a positive PGDB assessment. If you also have evidence of the training modules etc , that will be very helpful for the PGDB. You should be able to obtain that through your tech college. Also gather together evidence of your work experience and your years on the tools. You can include the training time.

There is nothing to stop you submitting an EOI if you have enough points but if you are pulled from the pool and offered an ITA, then you really do need your PGDB assessment . Cost $400 NZD

Your other hurdle will be obtaining a job offer, if you need this for the points. Gasfitters have found this quite hard from the UK. You would be able to work here as a gasfitter under a PGDB limited licence with a temporary work permit. This would give you a few more points when applying for PR. It may be that NZIS would offer you a Residence from Work instead of PR. This would be because of the registration requirement. Registration is 4 days of exams and assessments in Wellington NZ. It costs $3500 NZD.

Cheers BEVS :thumbsup:

Hi almost the same question as stinkypete. My OH also a corgi reg gas fitter nvq3 with his electrics. He does not have his plumbing qual but has the experience (which counts for nothing i know). We are hoping to go to Australia rather than NZ. We are wanting to come over as soon as funds allow and when he has a job in place (going over with our 2 kiddies, they aint cheap). Can anyone please offer any advise on if any companies are likely to employ him with the quals that he does have, what visa is best, and where we go from here. I have read about all different assessments he will need to take. We dont know where to turn first.
Any advise appreciated from anyone
nicola:)

Hiya
My OH is a plumber over here in the UK. We have eventually been offered a work to residence visa. Which means we have three months to get over. We found the process of going through the skilled migrant category somewhat different from the impression on the immigration website. We applied under the plumbing category which meant that you had to be registered to work in N.Z. but it was catch 22. You cannot get registered from here, you have to be in N.Z. After explaining this to N.Z.Immigration they said as long as we could prove that we would be eligible to get registered, meaning that we had to get the PGDB to assess OH qualifications. It eventually worked, I think you just have to be persistent and not give up. It took a while to get it all sorted. Now we're going YIPEEEE!!!!

Dawn

Definately start the process with Pgdb first. My experience was that I started that at least 2 months before the immigration process and still had to wait. Immigration wanted confirmation that my qualifications were accepted in NZ prior to issuing an Invitation to apply, and I didn't get that until I had had a late night interview with the Pgdb. Only after I had the confirmation from the Pgdb that I would be invited to the course in Wellington and forwarded that onto the immigration dept, did things progress....I am currently trying to find every bit of information concerning my past jobs that I can, in order to convince Immigration that I am as good as I say I am!!!

Apparently the problem the Pgdb have with gasfitters coming from the UK with ACS qualifications is the difference between how they deem themselves in NZ compared to the UK....ie; an engineer over here can call themselves an 'gas' engineer even if they have just the basics and a module to do, say gas fires. They might have had years of experience in gas fires and be very good at it. However all they have done is gas fires.
An engineer in NZ once he has gained his qualifications has a lot wider education covering the whole spectrum of gas.... as can be seen by the questions asked in the past paper section of the Pgdb website.

In my interview I had to convince the interviewer {who had a comprehensive knowledge and experience in all things plumbing, gasfitting and drainage} that my experience and qualifications were indeed enough to satisfy him that I had a wide basis on which I could claim being a gas engineer.

I hope that his helps in some way, all I can say is to keep listening to Bevs!!!!
regards
Nick

Riverside and Spawny. :wub: :heart: Where have you both been ?

It gets lonely out here in NZ plumbing , gasfitting & stinky drains cyber space y'know.

Spawny. I just want to say how pleased I am that you have a WTR.

When NZIS altered their policy for the plumbing and gasfitting trade a while back to include the PGDB registration it became a spinning hellhole of a catch 22 situation. No plumber/gasfitter could get PR because of the impossibility of getting a full PGDB registration . It is just so lovely to read that NZIS have taken a sensible course on this new rule and are accepting the letter from the PGDB regarding eligibility to sit the wretched PGDB registration assessments.

What would be even better is that the PGDB further acknowledges that overseas plumbing and gasfitting tradesmen are needed in NZ & develop a licence to cover this. In other words, they pass the prelim. assessment and are given a provisional temporary PGDB licence specific to the overseas tradesman which would satisfy the NZIS without all this hoop jumping.

Riverside.
Many of the gasfitters here have less knowledge than the UK counterpart simply because there is not the demand. They may have been taught all things gas during their apprenticeship but few ever touched gas once they were given their registration yet could still work on a gas appliance or installation if one came along. :ohmy:
The PGDB have only just brought in competence based licensing. Personally I think it is an excellent move and long overdue.

As you can see from the gasfitting exam papers , it's not hard. Husband had 8+ACS modules from memory . Had been gasfitting for decades and walked their written exam. Heck ! I did a timed 'mock' for fun and I passed the blooming thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicola27 (Post 6677669)

If he wants to work at gasfitting in New Zealand , he will need to prove he is able at the job.

I read that you say you want to go to Australia rather than New Zealand. Are you asking about actually emigrating to New Zealand as your 2nd choice? No worries if you are but I'm not sure if you think you will be able to come into NZ first and then bounce to Oz as a gasfitter in which case it is not as simple as that.

Reticulated gas is only in parts of New Zealand. It is not nationwide. Most of the gas in other areas is bottled gas. Gas central heating is not the norm here. You do get some gas fires and some gas hobs.

If you are thinking you may want to come and live in New Zealand with your hubby working as a gasfitter , then the very first thing you should do is have your UK gas qualifications assessed by the PGDB. This will cost you $400 NZD.
you can download the form and guide from HERE click the bold type to access the link.

Riverside and Spawny are better placed than I to tell you how the process has been for them as they are currently going through it. My husband and I emigrated here 4 years ago , so that is all done and dusted for us.

What you do is to fill in the form and send off your UK quals , work experience and anything and everything that proves yur ability and qualifications as a UK gasfitter. The PGDB will make a preliminary assessment of this information and if they think you meet their standards they will send you a letter confirming this. You may have to attend a telephone interview as Riverside did.

You need that letter from the PGDB to satisfy the New Zealand Immigration people. Your UK quals will not be enough. What NZ immigration wants to know is that the Plumbing Board of New Zealand thinks your UK gas quals and experience are of a good enough standard to allow you to take their registration exams and assessment.

So , if you want to come to NZ to live and work , then your first port of call is the PGDB prelim assessment.

I would think that the NZ gas employers would also prefer to see an overseas applicant that has at least been preliminary assessed by the PGDB. It would help any application for a gasfitting job.
We did exactly this when we were coming out. Husband had both his plumbing and gasfitting assessed by the PGDB and he was able to show prospective Nz employers that not only did he have his UK quals and experience but that they all met the requirements and standards here too. ;)

If you are wanting to come live and work in NZ on a temporary basis for a few years and then return to the UK, then you must find a gasfitting job offer. Once you have that you can apply for a temporary work permit. You and your gasfitting employer would apply for a PGDB limited licence for your husband. He would be legally allowed to work in NZ in the gasfitting trade but all his work would be directly supervised and signed off by a competant NZ registered gasfitter. He would be a gasfitters mate of sorts. It is possible to do this if that is what you want.

It will be very hard for him to get a gasfitting job from the UK. What gas work does he do?

Quite often plumbing, drainlaying and gasfitting services are at a one-stop type company

i.e.Southern Plumbing and Gasfitting

another for gas central heating

Rockgas

It really is a matter of getting your CV together and using the NZ yellow pages to target prospective NZ employers. Taranaki, Invercargill may have gasfitting work. There is also a new development happening near Christchurch I think that will have reticulated gas.
Some more links

Gasco

Ongas