Plumber registration
 

Hi
My husband is a fully qualified plumber with over 10 years time served experience. We have heard that it is a good idea to get registered through PDGB before looking for work to secure a job offer? We have had a look on their website but it isnt very clear what process is. Has anyone else completed the process and become registered? We know so far that you submit an application to the board before the last Tuesday of every month and then you wait to hear from them.

What documents are you required to send along with the application? He has been self employed since 2004, will he have to show his accounts etc? He doesnt not have his accounts for the past 12 months as we were on a gap year travelling.. will this effect things? We tried to emigrate to Australia but they wouldnt do a skills assessment without him having his previous 12 months accounts.
Where are the examination centres in the UK?

Our plan was to get him registered and then start applying for jobs or even fly out there on reccy and hopefully line some interviews up.

We are just starting out the process so any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Plumber registration
 

Hi again Bennetts1000.
I hope you managed to get a refund on the EOI you submitted back in September.

please click the links throughout the post .

I really should get my finger out and do an article for the BE Wiki ref Plumber/Gasfitter NZ. :o

Well it will certainly help if the PGDB have pre-assessed your husband's UK quals so you could re-assure any NZ employer that he could, in time, become fully NZ registered. Until that time, if he was offered employment in this trade, he could work but it would be as an unqualified NZ plumber. It would be under a resitricted license where all his work must be supervised and signed off.

The step by step process is HERE.

Have you done the pre-assessment or not? The very first step is to complete the pre-assessment form & send it in with all your qualifications and proof of work experience to the PGDB . They will look at it and arrange a telephone interview with your husband. From that they will decide whether or not your husband would be eligible to sit the NZ PGDB registration or not.

Send in everything you have. Write a covering letter explaining that you were travelling for a year. Give them 5 complete years worth of proof, info etc. Include the a/cs. Invoices showing assorted works. Customer refs.& , of course, the qualification certificates. ( Certified copies of the trade certificates will suffice) Also, if you have it still, a listing of the modules for the NVQ is helpful.

There aren't any to my knowledge. In order to sit the PGDB NZ registration exam and tests of practical workmanship one really needs to have been working in the trade here in NZ. New Zealand has it's own rules, regs and methods. So if the PGDB pre-assess your husband as being eligible to sit the PGDB registration exam and tests , then that will happen here in New Zealand.

Nopes as per the above. It's not really possible for him to get registered. All he can do is get himself pre-assessed by the PGDB. Once he gets past that, he can show any employer the PGDB letter that states he is eligible to take full registration.

Please have a browse of some of the 9192 exam papers. That's without the practical tests of workmanship. The exams are better than they were though as it used to be all closed book. He wold also need to practice NZ ways. Brazing joints for instance if he doesn't do that now.

As previously mentioned in a post Sept 2011 plumbers are not in shortage here in NZ. Any NZ employer wanting to offer him employment must prove there is no NZ resident or citizen that could do that work, unless the employer is what is called 'accredited' with New Zealand Immigration Service.
Yes. Boots on ground is the way to go for a trade job. Be aware that it's not strictly kosher to enter NZ on a visitors visa to look for work. People do it though. If he did find a job then he could perhaps uplift a temporary work permit to get him started.

Here is a link to a current thread about Canterbury and Christchurch. Although I have seen no change to the shortages lists regarding plumbers, it may well be that there would be an accredited NZ employer at the expos looking for a plumber.

Please note that even once he gains his full NZ registration he would not be allowed to become self-employed. For that there are further examinations to Craftsman level.

Re: Plumber registration
 

Thanks BEVS, we are a little bit better in the picture now, we really appreciate all your advice! We've had a look on the Pre-Assessment Form and it states that he will have to provide a NZQA report with the Pre-Assessment Form, is this applicable to my hubby with him holding City & Guilds NVQ Plumbing Levels 1-3? As we have heard that these are exempt from assessment? Is this right? If so, would it just be a case of sending off the Pre-Assessment Form together with all the other documents they are asking for?

Re: Plumber registration
 

I would suggest there is no need for a full NZQA report as the PGDB have an understanding of the UK NVQ system. In the past there were about 6 countries where the PGDB would accept the overseas qualifications for pre-assessment. All other countries were not recognised at all. The NZQA requirement could well be for those countries where the overseas quals were not recognised at all and so could not be assessed by the PGDB.

However, I would strongly suggest you ask them direct as policy changes from time to time.

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Please come back with the response to this.