DougandZoe

Hi, I'm new to this so bare with me. Me my OH and young family are looking into moving to NZ. Very early stages as still investigating and researching.

I retrained as a plumber nearly 3 years ago and have gained C&G level 2&3 qualifications and am currently working towards getting Gas Safe registered. Does anybody know if these qualifications are recognised in NZ? I have been on the tools for 2years working for myself and sub-contracting. Is this long enough working experience?

Also can anybody help with a guide to potential earnings in NZ. We'd probably be looking at Wellington or Nelson as areas to live? I know this is lots of questions and a bit waffle but if anybody can help I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for any advice received.

teeym

Cue BEVS.........

BEVS

Once more unto the breach...............

BEVS

Hi guys.

We've been in NZ nearly 6 years now. My OH is a plumber/gasfitter and is currently working in the trade here.


H'okay. If you are considering emigrating to NZ under the skilled migrant category and using your husbands trade skill, then you should check what points you could gain. The skilled migrant category works on points you see.
Check out the POINTS INDICATOR from the New Zealand Immy website. Click the links

Yes. G&G is recognised by the New Zealand Immigration Service. Ideally you need to become a UK fully certified plumber. These days that seems to be NVQ 3 / C&G 3 and above & should include at least core gas and some ACS modules
.
Two years work exp would get you 10 points.

There is another consideration though and that is that plumber and gasfitter is one of those occupations where NZ registration is required. This is where the Plumbing Board of New Zealand comes in , but I'll come to that later.

Rate of pay depends on employer and from person to person.
Please READ HERE for an NZ guideline. Of course some employers will try to pay less. Some more. Rates also depend on which area of NZ. For instance a city employer may pay more.

If you would be applying for a temporary work permit or NZ residency with a job offer, then that job offer must be full time, permanent and for the 'going rate' for the skilled trade. It also has to be for what NZIS and Dept of Labour feels is a living wage. It shouldn't be for less.
From memory ( as I can't find the actual wording at the moment) NZIS would want to see a job being offered at around $45,000 for it to be deemed the correct rate of pay for a skilled trade worker starting out in NZ.
I do know of plumbers who have come in and worked for less and still been granted PR though. One started at $37,000 pa a few years back ( this was the rate the employer paid all his plumbers as it is a maint business, so NZIS accepted that) but now earns $55,000.

My husband started on $45K pa and now earns $58 to $60K pa .


I'm sure you are aware that there is a global recession at the moment.
Are your plans to come long term or are you thinking of starting the process soon?
I ask because the job situation here in NZ is no different to the UK or elsewhere. Trade jobs can be a bit thin on the ground.
Thinking of Wellington or Nelson is great ....but .... there may be no work /job to be had. Better to just leave the idea of where to settle open and see where the work is.

Some months ago, most all of the trade occupations were removed from the NZIS - New Zealand Immigration Service - shortages lists.
This means that New Zealand Dept of Labour feels that there are enough New Zealand trade residents and citizens to fill the currrent trade vacancies.

The impact of this for you with regard to the emigrating process is that :-

1 - You cannot claim points for the trade being in 'absolute shortage' ( When you try the points indicator, you will see what I mean)
2 - An NZ employer could not offer you a plumbing job until they prove to NZIS that there is no resident or citizen that could fill that vacancy. As you will see fromt he points indicator , a job offer means 50 points.
3 - If you have enough points to submit an application without a job offer, you may well be offered a Work to Residence visa instead. This means that NZIS would want to see you finding a full time NZ job in your trade, here in NZ , before granting you a Residency permit. There are time limits placed on this.

I'll come to the Plumbing Board of New Zealand now. Please DO have a good read of the PGDB link I will put up. I have read so many posts now from plumbers and gasfitters who didn't totally take on board what is involved to become a registered plumber or gasfitter in New Zealand. It is important to understand as it will cost time & money.

One part is linked to the New Zealand Immigration application as it involves how your UK qualifications are initially assessed. The 2nd part will impact on how you can do your trade job here in New Zealand.

Here is THE LINK to the PGDB website. Please download and read the process for overseas plumbers and/or gasfitters.
Thanks.

Getting your UK trade quals and work exp assessed.

There are two reasons why this needs to be done

1 - For the New Zealand Immigration Service.

NZIS will accept your trade certificates for visa purposes however there is also a requirement to be trade registered here in NZ. This is overseen by the PGDB of NZ. You already have the link.
NZ registration cannot happen outside of New Zealand. It is a 4 day course of assessments and an exam which happens in Wellington. Of course, NZIS realise this but they will still want to know that the NZ PGDB feel you can eventually become NZ registered.
This means that you would obtain a pre-assessment from the PGDB. If they are happy with what they see, they will give you a letter inviting you to take their PGDB registration assessment and exam. It is this letter you would submit to NZIS , along with your trade qual certs and proof of work experience.

As far as I am aware, you would need a good C&G level 3 ( include gaswork) and they also like to see around 5 years 'on the tools'. There is nothing to stop you paying the $400 NZD though to see the lay of the land right now for you with only two years work exp , if you can afford it.

The 2nd part of the PGDB is for after you are here in NZ living and working within the trade. You would be allowed to work in the trade under a PGDB limited license but you would want to become fully recognised as NZ registered . This would mean the 4 days of assessment and an exam. Cost $3500 NZD. The exam inclides NZ working practices, Oz/NZ standards and codes etc. You would need to be au fait with this before attempting it. You would also need to know summat about the differing working ways here in NZ. For instance brazing joints etc.

Anyway, that would be for the future once living and working here in NZ but you really do need to be prepared for it and accept that it is what you have to do.

Look at the NZIS points indicator. Think whether you will go where the work is within NZ. Decide if you are prepared to do what it takes to become NZ plumbing registered once here........

and good luck.

Come back to us with any questions or thoughts. Be they schools, cost of living ..anything.

DougandZoe

Hi Bevs, thanks for the speedy and informative response.

I supppose our time frame would be sometime over the next 2-3years (ideally before daughter starts school, she's 2 next month) so there's no immediate rush. We're heading over in feb/mar 2011 for a bit of an explore and to try and get a proper feel for the place. Whether we start the process before then we're undecided.
I have been in touch with PDGB and quite a helpful chap has answered a few things for me so thanks for that.

I'm sure i've a million questions but lets start with this for now. $45k as a starting salary would this be a good enough salary to support the family ( 2adults and 2 kids)? I ask this as 2nd child is on the way in July so there would be only me earning to begin with. I know that may be a little hard to answer as everybody is different but a little help with this would be a great start. I don't expect us to make too much on the house here in th UK so savings are not going to last long.

Thanks again and no doubt there will be lots more to ask and many more posts over the coming months.

BEVS

Ref. Cost of living and wages, I'd start another thread - topic. You'll get more people looking into a new topic and thread.

bro69

One thing to consider is you will need to get NZ qualifications too. There are lots of UK plumbers I deal with who not not have their NZ qualifications which for some silly reason is different to the rest of the world.

When you get to NZ you have to prictice and then pass an exam to get your NZ papers. I met a South African who is UK qualified but failed the exam by 1 point which threw all his plans out, we did manage to get him working but not at the money he could get with his full quals.

DougandZoe

[QUOTE=bro69;8395248]One thing to consider is you will need to get NZ qualifications too. There are lots of UK plumbers I deal with who not not have their NZ qualifications which for some silly reason is different to the rest of the world.


So to get your NZ qualifications is that not part of the registration process, as in taking the exams and workmanship tests? OR do you need to gain seperate qualifications once your there? May be a silly question on my part but I guess I should ask it.

Thanks

BEVS

No. They will not have to get NZ qualifications. They will need to submit the pre-assessment paperwork and then go onto take the full assessment if they wish to be NZ registered.

For the record. The NZ trade qualification is called the National Certificate. It is achieved through 4/5 years of apprenticeship, block coursework and on the tools experience.

Actually, NZ is coming into line with Australia. Each country has it's own methods. NZ is no different in that respect to be fair.


As per above. You don't have to gain an NZ qualification. You already have overseas qualifications which will be assessed . You will do the overseas pre and full assessments.

That is the pre-assessment which is a paperwork assessment where you send in your trade certs and proof of work exp etc. Then once you are here you would pay for the full assessment to become NZ registered. That is the 4 days of practical assessments and tests plus a written exam. The exam is the registration exam 9192. Total cost os $3500 from memory.
It's not taking an NZ qualification as such. It is having your practical and theoretical knowledge tested to show you can do what you say you can do....if you see what I mean.
For the 4 days of assessments you really need to be au fait with NZ working practices . The standards and the codes - as you would expect. So, you will have to have knowledge of these. I do have a read list for when you are interested. You can also practice using previous papers.

BEVS

Perhaps I should add for claity.....

If the overseas qualification and work experience is not of the standard looked for , then the PGDB will not allow that person to take the full 4 day assessment to become NZ registered. They will suggest further training and/or an NZ apprenticeship.

That standard is the same as is required by the New Zealand Immigration service.

The standard that the PGDB and NZIS look for is that which matches their own trade apprenticeship training and should cover most all of the same training.

The standard for a UK tradesman appears to be around the NVQ3 or above. C&G level 3 or above. Prior to this the older qualifications C&G certificate 1 and advanced ( in 3 parts). They like to see 5 years on the tools and/or apprenticeship.

DougandZoe

Thanks for clearing that up for me Bevs. I was a little confused

A read list when you have the time would be great thanks:.
How would I go about finding out about previous papers?
Do the PDGB produce a regulations book or something similar like the Water Regs and Corgi books over here?

Thanks once again

BEVS

OK. I'll sort the current read list out for you during the week.

You can find the previous registration papers on the POGDB website.

Look under the PGDB website . Examinations and then past exam papers.

Link

DougandZoe

Thanks, your a star

Be good to try and get a abit of a head start, no matter when we decide to make the move.

Craftsman

A few years ago plumbers like electricians were rarer than hen's teeth! especially in the rural areas, The recession God Bless it, caused a complete change around and in my case I now have electricians applying for work, where before we couldn't get any and had to take overseas tradesmen, I guess the same for plumbers.

Why do new people to NZ want to settle in Wellington or another city, when work outside those areas is still there? I know that Plumbers in this town charge a arm and a leg per hour for their work, maybe you could consider the rural sector as an option, yes not so glamerous as the cities but ask yourself what lifestyle you want when you arrive city life or country life?

I know this didn't exactly give you the answer you were wanting, but all info is valuable info. I have some contacts in the plumbing world I'll ask if they have any views on new employees, they will be able to give me a feel for employment in this area at least, and I'll pass it on via this blog...

cheers

BEVS

Plumbers are no longer on the NZIS shortage list Craftsman. Neither immediate nor long-term. Therefore an NZ employer would not be able to offer a non-resident or non-citizen employment unless they could prove to NZIS and the Dept of Employment that there was no such PR or Citizen that could do that job . Nor be trained for that job. The Dept of Labour also applies a market test. They don;t just take an employers word for a shortage. They wold refer the vacancy to the local and surrounding work and income offices..

Also, overseas plumbers cannot charge 'an arm nor a leg' as they cannot become self-employed. They must work for an NZ trade employer so their rate of pay will be pegged by
1 - The employer
2 - The going rate for a newly arrived migrant or temp worker
3 - The skill rate for the trade pegged by the Dept of Labour and NZIS.

Most trade migrants go where the work is. Mostly that will be the larger towns and cities simply because they must have full time , permanent contracts. Building and maintenance work is more plentiful. More chance for their OH to find work.