BEVS

If you still have enough points without the job offer, then you could continue to try for PR via the EOI route. You should let NZIS know about the change of circumstance though.

I am assuming that you have had your quals and work exp pre-assessed by the PGDB and they have indicated that they consider your trade standard good enough to allow you to sit their registration assessments and exams.

If you have that letter, offer to fax this over to NZIs to support your application. Also let them know there is a job offer in the pipeline

From that , I would think that you could be offered a Work To Residence visa. This would allow you xx amount of time to enter NZ as a plumber and then xx amount of time to start work within the trade.

I did a search of the PGDB public register for your limited licence & the only entry for your name of George Fisher shows that there is no current licence.
Licences lapse on the 31st March of each year . It isn't a certificate though It's a small card.

If the card is for year 2009/2010 then it isn't showing within the PGDB system. Contact the PGDB direct about this and let them know that there will be a change of supervisor. They will let you know the procedure for the change to these details. In any case, I would imagine that a new form would need to be completed as the supervisory tradesmen needs to countersign your licence. PGDB needs to know who that is.

BEVS

Please do come onto the NZ forum so you can read more abut all things NZ. There are those that work in IT there also.

There is no 'best' area but of course there are more job prospects in the cities. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin.

If you are a tried and tester time served plumber and gasfitter then you shouldn't have a problem with the PGDB pre-assessment which you will if you get an Invitation to Apply for Perm Residency. NZIs may well offer you a Work To Residence though . This means you would have to find a job in the trade to get your PR.

Being 52 should be a barrier to the application.

If your wife has quals etc in IT and is younger then you may want to look at her as the principle applicant. As you know the EOI works on a pointing system and points mean prizes.

The job front for plumbing is very quiet right now due to recession.

I'd really and strongly suggest you come to the NZ forum of this website to ask about areas and schools etc. There are many folks there who are happy to help.

BEVS

If you mean how to go through the immigration process for New Zealand , then please come to the NZ forum of this website as that is a better place for the information. It has an immigration section.

If you mean how to become fully NZ plumbing trade registered, then the PGDB now have a good explanation about what is involved on their site. You can download and view that HERE (please click the link)

Please be aware that you cannot work at plumbing in NZ without a license. Until you become fully NZ registered the only licence you may take up is the limited licence as an employee being supervised.

BEVS

I don;t know if you will see this now as it is somewhat old . My fault for letting the thread slip off my radar.

From your post, I would say you would be OK with the PGDB pre-assessment. There are links about this procedure in my other posts.

As I have previously stated, recession is here in New Zealand right now and the job front is really very quiet.

As for the others, I would suggest you come look at the NZ forum of this website to find out more about the process to emigrate here or to come and work temporarily.
Much depends on your age, circumstances, partners occupation and all sorts of things.

BEVS

I'll keep this one brief as it is really quite old.

You would be better to continue & take your NVQ 3 where you are presently residing.

Apprentices are paid very little here. Mostly it is distance learning and on the job training. If you could get a job here as a trainee you would find it impossible to take up an apprenticeship as you would not be a permanent resident here and therefore liable for international student fees which are sizeable. You need to be in a trade job to sign with an ITO.
It wouldn't be an NVQ3 in any case. Apprentices here take a 4 year National Certificate before they can go onto apply for registration via the PGDB registration exams.

Yes , there are college courses but this wouldn't lead to PGDB registration.

BEVS

OK - Hopefully I've answered all the posts but in reverse order. Typical of me. I'm left handed.

Search for yours.

plumber342

Hi Bev

I am new to this forum thing so am unsure if this is the usual way in which to reply. Just wanted to say thanks for the info on current state of play regarding job situation in N.Z
We are really keen to go back out to N.Z and settle, but am not sure this is a good time to sell our home here and jump through all the hurdles & expense only to struggle to find and stay in work in , .Z.
I have been a plumber for 10 years now, & gas registered for the last 6 years,
I only have a NVQ 2 & am now aware that I will need to take the level 3 to stand a chance of obtaining work in N.Z.

Thanks for your help


Sean

BEVS

Hey ! This thread is as good as anywhere. If you fancy having a browse around the NZ forum of this site , please feel free. If you are set to come to New Zealand then it can be interesting to read about others that are doing the same or have done the same.

Upskilling is a great idea . It's not so much about getting the NZ job offer in the trade. Any employer could take you on to do the plumbing work under a limited licence. You would just be paid so much less as you wouldn't be eligible to become registered. They would get a bargain and you would find yourself with difficulties getting off the limited licence and gaining your full registration.

Getting fully qualified - i.e. the NVQ3 - is about making sure the PGDB will recognise and accept your UK qualifications enough to allow you to take the exams and assessments to become fully NZ registered. Better to be safe than sorry.

See you on the NZ forum perhaps.


I know the housing market is slooow in the UK right now & people are having problems selling.

plumbernick

I've just moved to Wellington and am a plumber from the UK. I have come on a working holiday visa to start out and have been looking for plumbing jobs here.......and there aren't any! There are lots for NZ registered plumbers but as for people like me who want to become registered there's nothing.

I've just come back from the pgdb where I spoke to someone. I can become NZ registered if I do the following...

1. Get my certificates assessed from UK (NVQ's etc) (cost $400)
2. Get a non-apprentice limited certificate
3. Am supervised in a job for the first 2 years
4. Take the tests to become registered (cost $3500)

But I can't get a job with a plumber who is willing to take me on. They are only interested in NZ registered plumbers......

And I can't become registered without somebody taking me on with my limited certificate..........

So I cannot therefore get my skilled visa for my residence......

So your stuck whatever you do!

I cannot also be employed on a permenant basis on my working holiday visa so need to be contract to start off with.

Im a tiler too but have no qualifications for it as I just picked it up whilst in plumbing industry.

So my advice to anyone coming from the UK is only come if you are prepared to do something else for a job for 6 months until you can get in with a plumbing company. If you are trying to get a job with a plumbing company before you get here, then you can pretty much forget it.

BEVS

Actually that isn't quite correct.

Forget step 2 . You don't need it to become registered.

If you pay for the PGDB pre-assessment, $400, and the PGDB come back to you after the pre-assessment to state that your UK quals are good enough to go partway towards registration, then there is nothing to stop you taking that full assessment . You don't need to be employed to do this. You just need to be directed by the PGDB that you can take the full assessment.

What I will say, however, is that because of the rules, regs and working practices, it is better that you have done some NZ plumbing work on the tools work before attempting the assessment & exams.

The limited license is nothing to do with your route towards full Nz registration as a plumber with overseas qualifications and work experience.

You only need the limited licence if you were to work in the NZ plumbing trade before your full registration.

Quote:

Originally Posted by taken from the PGDB IQAS assessment procedure for overseas craftsman plumbers and gasfitters

Step 1 -Pre-Assessment

Documentary evidence of the applicant’s qualifications and
assessment of those qualifications. (14 working days)

Step 2 - Interview to verify documentation and to validate experiential
and technical proficiency (1 hour)


Steps 3 and 4 can be undertaken once the applicant has received notice from the Board that they are eligible to attend the assessment centre. Steps 3 and 4 can be undertaken in either order.

Step 3 - 3 hour examination for each required qualification (plumbing
and/or gasfitting) using questions drawn from the Theory
Assessment Database. Examinations are held in June and
November each year.

Step 4 - Practical Test of Workmanship for each required qualification
(plumbing and/or gasfitting) using the National Competency
Assessment tasks and criteria.

Correct and incorrect in a way.

You cannot be employed on a full time permanent basis whilst on a working holiday visa. That's part of the criteria for any working holiday visa. The whole idea is that you are on holiday for the most part but filling in with some work in between times. Not at all sure that contract work would be OK on this visa.

However ! If you do manage to get yourself a full time job in the plumbing trade as a plumber , then you can apply for a temporary work permit . Nothing at all to stop you doing this. You and the NZ employer would then also apply for the PGDB limited license. You would need to verify your UK quals and work exp in the plumbing trade of course and provide the PGDB pre-assessment result.

Re : Skilled Migrant Category.

If you had enough points even without a job offer , there would be nothing to stop you submitting an EOI for permanent NZ residency. You would need the PGDB pre-assessment to come back positive towards NZ registration though. It would be likely that NZIS would offer you a work to residence visa with this and so you would then need to find a job int he plumbing trade. Not easy in recession I know but you would be given time to do this and at least you would have a legal visa offer from NZIS under your belt and the proof from the PGDB that you are an able bodied plumber. Far better footing than you are on at present.

No NZ plumbing company is going to take on someone on a working holiday visa as that person cannot legally stay in the job.

Actually, that wouldn't be possible as such. Any temporary work visa or permit will be checked out and the skills need to match the job offer. So, you cannot just come to NZ for six months and pick up any job. It would need to be a job offer for which you can show you are skilled and have the experience to do. Equally, you cannot come to NZ and just pick up a non-skilled job as NZIS would check to see whether or not the job could be filled by an NZ resident or citizen.

My thoughts would be that for anyone in the trades right now that really wants to come to New Zealand , you first check how many points you can gain under the SMC, Skilled Migrant Category. If you have over 100 then you could possibly give it a go without a job offer. 140 is what you aim for.
If you do the points but find you need to make up extra points with a job offer, then it is boots on ground. This is recession ! Get yourself to New Zealand and convince an employer they want you .

There is an accredited employers list and it might be worth checking through those for any employer that needs your skill.

Finally, back to the PGDB pre-assessment. I can't stress enough how important it is to understand that the plumbing trade in New Zealand operate a different policy with regards to trade qualifications here. It is the old 4 year apprenticeship and on the tools experience. All their newly fledged plumbers and gasfitters will have done the same as my husband did in the late 1970's. Even when they have done this, they are not fully qualified and registered until they take the registration exams. No such thing as 'technically' a plumber after some course work and some work experience . You either go the whole hog or not. I happen to agree with that.

So - an NVQ 2 will not do. It needs to be at the same level as an advanced craftsman standard. That means the standard a professional plumber and/or gasfitter would reach . That level would be around the NVQ3 .or new fashioned C&G level 3, or the old C&G both certificates 1 and 2 witht he 2nd certificate being in 3 parts.

plumbernick

You obviously know what you are talking about I am not saying otherwise but my point was that for a person wanting to emmigrate to NZ and get in by the fact they are a plumber is slim.

Lets say you get your skills assessed and they say they are fine....

You have very little chance of getting a job with a NZ employer before you leave because they only want NZ registered plumbers.
That's exactly what I've done. But you can't come over and do nothing can you. You need to support yourself money wise while you live here and you need a visa to work.... right? So only option is working holiday. You need to work in the time as you wait for the exams. I am not rich and can't have a 4 month holiday. So I came on a working holiday visa hoping to get in with a plumbing company for a while, and then apply for my skilled visa on the basis of having a job in the industry and go for NZ registration. That was the only option because you can't get a job offer before you get here. You can try!!
It's hopeless.

But there aren't any jobs here for plumbers that are not NZ registered anyway.
You simply cannot get a job with a plumbing firm at the moment without it. Fact.

It is catch 22.
You cannot get a job offer here without being a NZ registered plumber.
You cannot get the skilled visa without a job offer.
You cannot work without a visa

The only way I see it being possible is to get your certs assessed, come over just before the exams and don't work while your here, take the exam with no NZ experience (good luck with that one). Pass. Apply for a job. Get the job, get the visa.......and woops by the way just spent 10 grand there with no gaurantee of passing.

Personally I'm not prepared to spend 2 years even if I had a job offer being supervised and on crap pay, plus all the exams and expense to become legit.

Like you said Bev you have to come prepared for the whole hog. It's not easy at all, they say they need skilled people but then make the process extremely difficult. I'm working as a cermaic tiler now and gave up on plumbing. I don't have any tiling quals either so even though I'm a skilled worker, looks like I'll be going home next year! Im a UK plumber and tradesman but I can't emmigrate to NZ. They won't let me, and you won;t hear that in the british press!

BEVS

I haven't read all your post just skimmed it for now but one thing caught my eye.

Actually, you can. Many plumbing migrants do. They start off on the limited licence and work within the trade. I know this is correct as we and others have done exactly this.


That is not correct. You can if you have enough points ( over 100) and your trade/ professional quals and work exp match the criteria set down by NZIS.

For plumbing and/or gasfitting it is the directive by the PGDB that you have the national standard to be allowed to take their reg exams and assessments. In UK terms that is NVQ 3 . C&G level 3 or in the older C&G it would be cert 1 and 2 to advanced stage. They also like a time served apprenticeship per the NZ standard or around 5 years on the tools. However, it is possible to show them the standard by other means if you have it.
You get this directive by having your quals and work exp pre-assessed by the PGDB . $400. If they accept this , then you can use this to show NZ employers you are up to scratch. You can also use this to prove the standard to NZIS.

Again, many have done exactly this.

Correct. You must apply for a temporary work visa if you wish to work in New Zealand.

If you wish to migrate permanently and have the skills that NZ require then you may apply under the SMC for a permanent residence visa.
If you gain a job offer & the PR is a while coming tthrough , then you can apply for a temp work visa to get you started here.

If you apply for PR , maybe without a job offer on the SMC and NZIS are unsure whether or not you will or can settle they will offer you the Work to Residence visa.

Ok . That is up to you. My husband was two years on the limited license because his dyslexia meant he struggled with the written work. He wasn't on cr*p pay and it didn't bother him to have his work signed off. He was secure to know that he was a fully qualified time-served plumber with 30 yrs experience behind him. Even as a registered plumber the license is still signed off by a master craftsman.

If one wants to take a punt, then one can come to NZ on a reccie with a visitors visa and scout on the ground for job offers.

I realise you have not been successful in getting a job in the trade. I can't say why that is & I am sorry that you have found it all tough going. However, overseas plumbers do gain job offers within the trade and go on to become fully registered and then onto Craftsman licenses.

Lastly, this is recession. There are not as many jobs going around as there would have been this time last year. That is true of most all trades and professions. I can see this being a block to many wishing to emigrate to other countries worldwide.

jayson2

the sooner they deregulate the nz plumbing industry,the better.

BEVS

Get back to painting.

jayson2

we would sertainly be better off:
you seem to be an authority on the nz plumbing trade,what is your expertise in this area?