Kimi-Deacon

Looks like we are staying in the UK for another 6 Months and OH has opportunity to do some training he has the choice of Prince2, or Linux which would be of more use in NZ, or do you guys recommend something else.

He works in Telecommunications, and has a degree in telecommunication engineering, and is a Chartered Engineer. Has worked in IT and Telecoms for 15 yrs.

We were thinking of moving to Wellington, would this be the best area for us to live in, for him to gain employment.

Any advice appreciated guys

joggerfan

Lots of development work in Wellington so might be better off there. Having said that Auckland has a lions share of big business.

Forget anywhere else apart from C'Church perhaps.

Would be better to try and secure a position and then let the job take you there rather than having to choose the location first. Just my opinion.

Smiler68

As an IT Manager in Auckland some of the big ones for me are:

1) SQL experience, if he also looks in to BI (SSIS and BIDS)
2) Prince 2 is fine, but sees like they tend to go for PMP here
3) BA expeience is also a good one, knowing UML 2
4) VMWare

What is he aiming to do when you come?

Also bit of advice is don't apply to Telecom. Gen-i or Vodafone direct, do through an agency, once you apply you are known to them and nobody will reprensent you afterwards.

simonmarkellis

Shouldn't have any problems getting employment in Wellington!!! Candle are a good recruitment company and got me my job with Gen-i - Loads of contacts there with Telecom...

paulst30

Everytime i see a job advert for an IT position it seems you guys are looking for somone who is superman?

To gain the sort of accreditation in SQL, Cisco and CiW or Programming i'd need to wait for another 6 years before coming to NZ.

I think the Qz is - Is there enough lower end IT jobs, that we can build up an experience from what we have and get our teeth into something??

Telecommunications sounds like a very interesting job, Broadband and all that jazz. It's amazing how interested you get in something else once you go down a different path

good luck

Kimi-Deacon

Know what you mean about them wanting you to be superman, trouble is they dont want to pay superman's wages. There must be a lot of clever kiwis with all those qualifications that are getting crap wages. So you can see why they are all leaving. Sorry to be negative guys but thats the way we are feeling at the moment.

paulst30

Yes i hear what you mean. Each one of those courses can cost me £1500 and then the added fact that you have to do it in your job to keep the knowledge there. Its quite frightening to know that with all that you could easily get an ubber wage here in scotland. I've never known any company i've worked for that uses SQL on a daily basis enough to warrant a job.

However, thats not the reason people move

anyway, sorry for hi-jacking your thread

Kimi-Deacon

No probs mate, its good to hear other peoples opinions. True with the qualifications you could get top Dollar in the UK, just dont get the stunning scenery that you get in NZ. OH has good job, with good employer here, and we dont live in a bad part of the UK, but we are drawn to NZ

paulst30

Yes i'm drawn to NZ too, and money isnt really that important to my wife and I. There's an old saying in glasgow that most stick by and are too scared to prove wrong and thats:

There's love, money and health, and you can have all three. If you have love and money, your health will suffer, etc etc.

There no doubt about love and health, hence the reason i dont have any money hahahah

But seriously there's more to life i guess

Smiler68

The only plus side for me is that the experience is wonderful, to get the sort of exposure to VMware, SQL, Management, Budget, etc that I have would take me years in the UK.

Yes superman without the pay is right, the pay is awful, especially in Auckland, used to have a life and money in the UK, but now I just have life and very little money. The employers love to pay pitance and work people hard.

Lots of Gov jobs in Welly and I believe your money will go further than Auckland, but sure someone has experience of both Welly and Auckland and can give some tips.

Kimi-Deacon

Out of interest, how good are the kiwi's at providing training within the workplace?

paulst30

I agree that experience counts for everything as i'm basically doing an MCSE's job on a HNC in Computing, but i know much more than on paper. When you're in the job you just get on with it, fix things learn and fire fight your way through the years.

However, if there is such a skills shortage in NZ (according to the government) then why not try and attract people over by paying better wages? The bigger companies like Fujitsu, Unisys, Brother and the councils surely can afford it. Maybe not the smaller places, but i heard a story of someone that went for the job interview, got a job offer, moved over only to find the salary wasn't what was advertised, and they made a mistake.

Thats a pretty cruel mistake to make if you ask me. I'm not sure i could chance loosing what i've built up here, just to be left with nothing over there.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

Smiler68

On the job training is good as most companies are in a mess and need expats to fix them up, so hands on training is excellent.

I have just set a 3 year strategy and my staff didn't have a clue and no input, you will find that people in NZ live for today and maybe next week is long term. So looking forward 3 years is impossible.

If you want a change of scenary, get to the top quick in your career then NZ is a good place, once you have gone to the top and got the experience you can then go to Aus or Europe and sell yourself, my plan anyway.

There are plenty of jobs sub $50k in Auckland, but you will need a decent income to live.

Kimi-Deacon

Thanks for that smiler68 its good to hear that they recognize the need for training. As long as we have enough money to get by then thats fine, kids grown up now so only us 2 and a cat to worry about, mind you if you see the size of the cat,its like feeding 2 kids