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-   -   plumber`s story 3 years and waiting (https://britishexpats.com/forum/plumbers-119/plumber%60s-story-3-years-waiting-591702/)

oz miller man Feb 15th 2009 11:53 pm

plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 
just thought id post my experience in the aussie plumbing licence debate.
we first moved to oz in 2003 (sydney) as permanent residents through my partners job.
first thing i did was walk into hayes employment agency (as i had worked through them at various times in the uk) with my uk quals thinking this is going to be easy...
as we all know its not, and my uk city n guilds didnt mean a thing so off they were sent to the tra for assessment, this took 4 months and i was issued a nsw plumbing/draining/gasfiting certificate
in the meantime i had taken a job as a trades assistant working for one man n van subbie who had lost his driving licence drink driving. this gave me a taste of ozzie plumbing...not much to look forward to there im afraid..heaps of digging for drains, chasing pipes in walls, lugging oxy under house`s, red backs staring at you. 2n half hours unpaid travel to jobs and a great wage of $17 an hour im suprised i stuck it out the 3 months i did, but i did get to see how a subbie gets to work and prices to charge(his day rate was $380)
the tra certificate i was issued didt count for much and would only get me a tradesman certificate upon approval from nsw fair trading, and the year at night school tafe wanted was enough to put me off for good..infact it did ,not enough to go back to uk, but enough to do something else.
at the time foxtel digital had just kicked off, so i got into that, spent 5 grand getting van and tools reqd (a lot less than i would have needed to set up as a plumber), a weeks training then i was out on the road , bringing in $40 prh min.
the job was good and even got us out of sydney to the central coast where there was a shortage of installers, for 18 months all was good then the company who i subbed to lost the central coast contract so i was commuting back to sydney.
i then started looking for jobs local on the central coast and got a job changing water meters for gosford council as a subbie, no licences or plumbing quals reqd for this and a wage of $800-$1000 a week, lasted bout 3 months til contract ran out, there was more work coming up fitting water purifiers back in sydney, but we decided after 2 years in oz and having saved up a bit off cash(much easier to save over here) we were going to spend 6 months traveling up the east coast, so everything from the rental went into storage and we set off into the sunset with our 4x4.
after 3 months traveling we were up in byron and find out my partners expecting...well we did have no tv for 3 months.
as it was our first we decided to go back to the uk to the safety net of family. the 2 years we spent back to uk were a hard slog and we couldnt wait to return to oz.
we returned with our one year old son in march 2008 to the north nsw area we fell in love with traveling, the missus got a job straight away and ive been looking after the little one and sorting out my plumbing licences .
i found it a lot easier to do it in queensland and was issued with a pluming/draining provisional. and having kept my corgi uptodate a queensland full gas licence, these i swaped interstate to nsw and was issued a plumbing/draining tradesman certificate and gas supervisors certificate.
i did it this way because a qld gas licence gets you a nsw supervisors cert,
and with that i can get a subbie licence(gas only) or even branch out into other licences like pool building , lpg fitter or builder licence, all seem more apealing than the hoops n loops to go through to do plumbing over here, a job thats not as fun or rewarding as it in uk......i used to hate fitting combi`s everyday but its a lot more fun than digging miles of trenches in the red hot sun with a maddox and long handle shovel thing..
supose what im getting at is dont be put off moving to oz because of the plumbing hassles use your trade to get here then your knowledge as a tradesman to do something else that pays just the same because unless you go down the long expensive road to a full plumber/gasfitter/drainer licence your only going to get $25 prh on books.....$35 subbie.own van/tools/tax, no hols
a security guard gets almost that ??? and only has to turf a few oldies out of the bowling club when they close at 9.30pm.

oh another thing all these licences ive aquired the last year have all been paid for by centerlink.....because after been a resident for 2 years you get heaps of benifits...parenting alowence, rent rebate,free dental
and my surfing has improved heaps
this sure is the lucky country.....even for us whiging plumbers:

Pipkins Feb 16th 2009 7:29 pm

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 
Wow, must have taken some time and effort to get that lot down. A great thread and really interesting to read your story! I am a plumber in England waiting for my visa (176 Qld) at the moment and am hearing lots of bad news, so it is great to read something that gives a different slant on migrating down under! Thanks for this. Maybe I'll look into a career in chasing old ladies off the bowling green, sounds less stressful.

Do I gather you have now gone back to plumbing though? Are you working in NSW or QLD, or both?

Mark

oz miller man Feb 19th 2009 10:22 pm

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 
hi mark
looks like i was rambling on a bit above, just trying to make the point that its not easy to get on as a plumber here but there are plenty of other options.
i think i took all the knockbacks too personal when i first arrived, its hard when youve been doing a trade for 20 years to be told your not good enough to practice the job over here.
from my first encounter with tafe in sydney and them saying " not another pom plumber, what you come here for .theres aussie s working over in london getting £500 a week fitting bathrooms" and me thinking " shit i could get that a day , what do plumbers earn here"
and the guy i was working for as a trades aassistant orever pulling down the way we do things in uk as though there some kind of super plumbers for using silver solder,
laughable really, as there must be 5 times more pipework in a property in the uk than here, and its basic stuff at that, think what you see on your hols in spain or grease- hidden pipework or run externall around propertie second fixed with flexi`s n chrome domes.
sure they do roofing and draining, something i never did in uk . but never in a million years is plumbing more skilled here.
this last year ive been gettin my licences sorted and babysitting(can you say that when its your own), but hes due a placeat daycare so i will be on the lookout for work in the near future, going to try gas work in north nsw first before trying ccompanies on gold coast queensland. after reading the other posts in the plumbing section theres no one setting on provisional plumbers so i may find myself taking something else like i did in sydney,
in the meantime im on the rock n roll..lol
can you imagine gettingdole in the uk as a plumber....was never out of work more than a week back there.
apart from that australia is great we love it and would recommend to anyone..even plumbers
i will keep posted any news i get on the job front

gazclaire Feb 20th 2009 9:58 pm

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 
Well done for knuckling down and getting on with it.
Good luck to you.
Gary

ronnie98 Feb 22nd 2009 2:46 pm

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 
great read, is there much gas about and have you looked into air con?

oz miller man Mar 3rd 2009 6:41 am

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 

Originally Posted by ronnie98 (Post 7310634)
great read, is there much gas about and have you looked into air con?

not something ive looked into but a few people have sugested,as its definitely a trade in demand, still need to be licenced and i imagine some college work would be needed, but the overall cost and time would be along the same lines of setting up plumbing

id love to get into the sola hot water side of things, theres a lot of government funding floating about to get people to swap over to sola and gas hot water, theres a few companies who specialize in this but they use subbies to do the work so still need to be fully licenced.

ive just started looking for jobs as of last few weeks, 2 local plumbing firms wanting trade qualified maintenance plumbers so dont need the full licence, had call from one today he seems keen to meet up for a chat, yet to hear from the other. only paying above award wages, not quite sure what that is but it dont sound like much and he did mention call out work but will know more when we meet up.

got a letter from queensland plumbing & draining board few days ago that says the provisional -full licence course will no longer be enough to get you a contractors licence a minimum of 12 months work experience is also required......not good news for us at all

on a positive note,
the queensland full gas licence is easy to get if your corgi is up to date, the conditions of mine were lpg under supervision as i didnt have lpg on my corgi...fair enough
but once swaped interstate to nsw you get full gas supervisors certificate including work on lpg
great news as its all lpg up here in north nsw and could in theory get a contractors licence through having this or even a gaffers job...nice

ive contacted the 2 main providers of lpg gas "origin" and "agl" in hope of getting on with them....fingers crossed


ill post any more news as it happens
good look to all the plumbers out there

Pipkins Mar 3rd 2009 12:12 pm

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 
Great information again - certainly not rambling. It is so helpful here to read your progress as it happens! We really want to come to Oz but I do want to be able to provide for everyone and it is a big risk if work is hard to come by!

Good luck with the job interviews.

Mark

ronnie98 Mar 3rd 2009 4:01 pm

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 

Originally Posted by oz miller man (Post 7339974)
not something ive looked into but a few people have sugested,as its definitely a trade in demand, still need to be licenced and i imagine some college work would be needed, but the overall cost and time would be along the same lines of setting up plumbing

id love to get into the sola hot water side of things, theres a lot of government funding floating about to get people to swap over to sola and gas hot water, theres a few companies who specialize in this but they use subbies to do the work so still need to be fully licenced.

ive just started looking for jobs as of last few weeks, 2 local plumbing firms wanting trade qualified maintenance plumbers so dont need the full licence, had call from one today he seems keen to meet up for a chat, yet to hear from the other. only paying above award wages, not quite sure what that is but it dont sound like much and he did mention call out work but will know more when we meet up.

got a letter from queensland plumbing & draining board few days ago that says the provisional -full licence course will no longer be enough to get you a contractors licence a minimum of 12 months work experience is also required......not good news for us at all

on a positive note,
the queensland full gas licence is easy to get if your corgi is up to date, the conditions of mine were lpg under supervision as i didnt have lpg on my corgi...fair enough
but once swaped interstate to nsw you get full gas supervisors certificate including work on lpg
great news as its all lpg up here in north nsw and could in theory get a contractors licence through having this or even a gaffers job...nice

ive contacted the 2 main providers of lpg gas "origin" and "agl" in hope of getting on with them....fingers crossed


ill post any more news as it happens
good look to all the plumbers out there

Great, keep us posted!

KateandPhil Mar 9th 2009 11:52 am

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 

Originally Posted by oz miller man (Post 7302968)
hi mark
looks like i was rambling on a bit above, just trying to make the point that its not easy to get on as a plumber here but there are plenty of other options.
i think i took all the knockbacks too personal when i first arrived, its hard when youve been doing a trade for 20 years to be told your not good enough to practice the job over here.
from my first encounter with tafe in sydney and them saying " not another pom plumber, what you come here for .theres aussie s working over in london getting £500 a week fitting bathrooms" and me thinking " shit i could get that a day , what do plumbers earn here"
and the guy i was working for as a trades aassistant orever pulling down the way we do things in uk as though there some kind of super plumbers for using silver solder,
laughable really, as there must be 5 times more pipework in a property in the uk than here, and its basic stuff at that, think what you see on your hols in spain or grease- hidden pipework or run externall around propertie second fixed with flexi`s n chrome domes.
sure they do roofing and draining, something i never did in uk . but never in a million years is plumbing more skilled here.
this last year ive been gettin my licences sorted and babysitting(can you say that when its your own), but hes due a placeat daycare so i will be on the lookout for work in the near future, going to try gas work in north nsw first before trying ccompanies on gold coast queensland. after reading the other posts in the plumbing section theres no one setting on provisional plumbers so i may find myself taking something else like i did in sydney,
in the meantime im on the rock n roll..lol
can you imagine gettingdole in the uk as a plumber....was never out of work more than a week back there.
apart from that australia is great we love it and would recommend to anyone..even plumbers
i will keep posted any news i get on the job front

Hi Oz Miller Man (Miller) does that mean you are from Rotherham? Either way I have been reading your posts I am currently in Rotherham and moving to Brisbane in october. My acops are due in august and was unsure whether it was worth the time and money to renew for 2 months. But having read your posts it would seem it is as you said its easy to swap over if your corgi is upto date. Also as I am sitting the acops in august would it be worth doing lpg over in England too, something else you mentioned in your posts. Read your posts and found them very helpful if there is any good advice you may have it would be grately appreciated. I am emigrating on my skill as a Gasfitter which has just been upgraded to critical on skills needed in Oz so i presumed i could just walk into a job is not the case? Look forward to hearing from you Phil

oz miller man Mar 9th 2009 8:13 pm

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 

Originally Posted by KateandPhil (Post 7359531)
Hi Oz Miller Man (Miller) does that mean you are from Rotherham? Either way I have been reading your posts I am currently in Rotherham and moving to Brisbane in october. My acops are due in august and was unsure whether it was worth the time and money to renew for 2 months. But having read your posts it would seem it is as you said its easy to swap over if your corgi is upto date. Also as I am sitting the acops in august would it be worth doing lpg over in England too, something else you mentioned in your posts. Read your posts and found them very helpful if there is any good advice you may have it would be grately appreciated. I am emigrating on my skill as a Gasfitter which has just been upgraded to critical on skills needed in Oz so i presumed i could just walk into a job is not the case? Look forward to hearing from you Phil

ey up phil,
yes mate im from rotherham came to oz in 2003 but had 2006/07 back in rotherham have been back in australia a year now, in them 2 years back in uk i updated my corgi just to secure a better paid and easier job (gasfitter for ROK on the decent homes then subbed doing heatings). turned out to be a good move as queensland mines and energy recognisee upto date acop so the queensland gas licence was easy to get, defo do the LPG will save you having to do it here. with a full gas licence under your belt i cant see you having much trouble finding work in brisbane. gasfitting work over here has just been another part of the plumbers job along with drains and roofing so theres not many that specialize in this field like you get in the uk and i think the upgrade to critical on the skills list is an indication that more and more people are swapping over to gas water heaters due to the government grants available.
good luck with the move

KateandPhil Mar 10th 2009 9:25 am

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 

Originally Posted by oz miller man (Post 7361057)
ey up phil,
yes mate im from rotherham came to oz in 2003 but had 2006/07 back in rotherham have been back in australia a year now, in them 2 years back in uk i updated my corgi just to secure a better paid and easier job (gasfitter for ROK on the decent homes then subbed doing heatings). turned out to be a good move as queensland mines and energy recognisee upto date acop so the queensland gas licence was easy to get, defo do the LPG will save you having to do it here. with a full gas licence under your belt i cant see you having much trouble finding work in brisbane. gasfitting work over here has just been another part of the plumbers job along with drains and roofing so theres not many that specialize in this field like you get in the uk and i think the upgrade to critical on the skills list is an indication that more and more people are swapping over to gas water heaters due to the government grants available.
good luck with the move

Cheers mate very helpful booked into do my acops and lpg another grand down the drain but will be all worth it when I make it to Aussie! Just out of interest what are you currently doing for work now?

oz miller man Mar 11th 2009 2:39 am

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 
not worked for the last year mate . had the little boy to look after until a day care place comes up and its taken almost that long to get my licences sorted .but because we have been here 2 years we get rent assistance and parenting allowance from center link on top of my partners wage ,enough to get by on so ive been in no rush to take any old job on .
just appreciating the lifestyle and spending time on the beach with my lad was working 60hrs plus a week in the uk just to survive so missed out on a lot.
luckily the mrs enjoys her job and only does 3 days so we now have lots of time off together
also got the surfing bug so trying to master the art of riding waves..

you will find it a lot more laid back out here mate...takes a bit of getting used to at first .

KateandPhil Mar 11th 2009 11:36 am

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 

Originally Posted by oz miller man (Post 7365850)
not worked for the last year mate . had the little boy to look after until a day care place comes up and its taken almost that long to get my licences sorted .but because we have been here 2 years we get rent assistance and parenting allowance from center link on top of my partners wage ,enough to get by on so ive been in no rush to take any old job on .
just appreciating the lifestyle and spending time on the beach with my lad was working 60hrs plus a week in the uk just to survive so missed out on a lot.
luckily the mrs enjoys her job and only does 3 days so we now have lots of time off together
also got the surfing bug so trying to master the art of riding waves..

you will find it a lot more laid back out here mate...takes a bit of getting used to at first .

Sounds like heaven! I've already got the surfing bug plus diving and fishing bug and none of them are too great in Rotherham lol.
Travelled Oz for a year in 2000 so know where you are coming from. Work to live not live to work!
Someone else has said on BE that we can claim from centre link the moment we arrive is that right?

Catch Mar 14th 2009 6:23 am

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 

Originally Posted by KateandPhil (Post 7359531)
Hi Oz Miller Man (Miller) does that mean you are from Rotherham? Either way I have been reading your posts I am currently in Rotherham and moving to Brisbane in october. My acops are due in august and was unsure whether it was worth the time and money to renew for 2 months. But having read your posts it would seem it is as you said its easy to swap over if your corgi is upto date. Also as I am sitting the acops in august would it be worth doing lpg over in England too, something else you mentioned in your posts. Read your posts and found them very helpful if there is any good advice you may have it would be grately appreciated. I am emigrating on my skill as a Gasfitter which has just been upgraded to critical on skills needed in Oz so i presumed i could just walk into a job is not the case? Look forward to hearing from you Phil

Gas fitter on "critical" skills list.That sounds a bit dodgy:huh:

kevpam Mar 14th 2009 8:06 am

Re: plumber`s story 3 years and waiting
 
CATCH I have seen you have been on a few diffrent discussion and you always seam to be negitive .WHY????????????????


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