Dear all,
im'e new to the site so please forgive me if im'e asking questions in the wrong section.
Just about to startfilling simplified uk - Canada simplified application form , prior to doing so could someone help me out ?

1. Qualifications - i have HND Mech Eng 3 yr sandwich course it was at polytechnic. Categories on form are : phd,masters degree, bachelors degree, non university certificate/diploma. I would assume that i should choose the last category as i dont have a degree. However i have read that certificates and diploma's refer to secondary school qualifications in canada?

2. If my application takes 4-5yrs what should ou course or practical course would you advise me to partake in during the wait to enhance my chances of employment. Have been employed for over 20yrs manufacturing industry. Prepared to change career, to iIT , bricklaying -whatever. If i do change career will i need work experience to back it up?

3. By time application would come through could be in my late 40's , will i then be considered surplus to requirements in Canadian jobs market?

4. My wife is a childminder -looks after children at home when their parents work - does such a thing exist in Canada and could she locate employment in that field?

5. My wife is 60% up for a move to Canada at present, if i decide to check out a holiday next year where do you advise i take her and the kids to impress and totally convince her?

Sorry to ask so many questions , but some of your answers may have sway me one way or the other.

Any advice much appreciated.

Hi, aroncai. Sorry, I didn't see this thread until today.

I'm not British, so I'm not all that familiar with the term, "HND." However, after I'd seen it mentioned on this forum a few times, I did a Google search for it and found out what it was.

In Canada certificates and diplomas are not confined to secondary school qualifications. You also can get certificates and diplomas from ploytechnics in Canada, in other words from colleges that give you qualifications that go beyond high school (secondary school), but are considered to be less than a bachelors degree.

However, I should warn you that there are only two kinds of people in Canada who call themselves engineers:

(1) Degreed engineers.

(2) Train drivers, who generally do not have degrees but who, oddly enough, are called engineers as well.

A person who has studied at a college that is the equivalent of a polytechnic is called an engineering technician or engineering technologist, depending on the specific qualification.

Please see the BE Wiki article called Equivalency of Qualifications.

What to say? I'm not a career counsellor. If I had to take a wild stab at an answer, I would suggest studying something that is a logical extension of what you do now, but that is not too demanding from a physical point of view. For example, since you have experience in the manufacturing industry, I could see it making sense for you to study some aspect of IT. Process control stuff or something like that. I'm not a techy sort of person in the least, so I don't know the vocabulary. But you probably get the drift.

I have a friend who is married to a tradesman. He had a hernia operation in 2007. He's in his mid forties, and she told me that he's finding it increasingly demanding, from a physical point of view, to do the kind of work that's required of him. That's why I suggested staying away from anything that would make your job more physically demanding than it already is, e.g., brick laying.

As you get into your fifties, it becomes increasingly difficult to secure premium jobs. But you can still find work. It helps if you maintain a positive and creative approach to job hunting. I suggest you read all the BE Wiki articles in the series on Job Hunting in Canada.

Yes.

Well I personally think it's unwise to try and "convince" your wife in the first place.

I have my doubts as to whether or not Canada is such a wonderful country for someone who comes from another First World country like the UK.

I'm essentially a refugee from Africa. Canada has given my husband and me a decent, secure, safe and quite happy life for nearly thirty one years. It has enabled us to raise our kids in a decent, secure, safe country. My kids' Canadian passports are worth more than their weight in gold, as far as I'm concerned. I'll be eternally grateful to Canada for that.

But is Canada better than the UK? I don't know. I've never lived in the UK. My husband has done extensive stints of work in the UK. There was a time when he commuted to the UK (three weeks in London, one week in Calgary). He believes that the future for Canada is rosier than it is for the UK. He has many reasons for saying that, including the UK's population density and his prediction that Canada will weather climate change better than the UK (no pun intended). Speaking for myself, as I said before, I don't know.

In the nearly three years that I've participated in this forum, I've seen a long parade of British posters coming and going (and some of them, like me, are still here). Some are happily settled in Canada. Some of them, for one reason or another, get the wobblies after a while. The economic circumstances of some of them don't work out as well as they'd hoped. Some of them get homesick. Some of them suffer from culture shock.

It's hard to know, in advance, which category you'll fall into. There are some people who ached to move to Canada. Yet, once they'd made the move, they found the country wasn't for them after all.

I suggest you read the BE Wiki article called Relocation Strategies. It addresses home sickness, potential difficulties at work and culture shock.

I also recommend you read the Wiki called Canada versus Australia, as it describes some of Canada's pros and cons from the point of view of a British person.

I also think it's a good idea to read the Moving back to the UK forum. It gives you insights into people's reasons for returning to the UK.

But, even if you did want to convince your wife, I wouldn't know what would do the trick. What does she like? Big cities? Wilderness areas? Mountains? Ocean? Lakes? Farmland? Cute little towns? Canada is a vast country, covering six time zones. You have to give us some help.

Hi Judy,
and many thanks for answering so many questions. Unaware at the time that i shouldn't post so many questions at once - my apologies to everyone.
My main reason for choosing Canada would be for a safer society for my children. Not very impressed with the way British society is evolving, huge drug related crime, softer sentences and overcrowded prisons etc. Also the weather seems to be getting worse each year - wetter and milder. My children spend more time indoors than out. Winter tends to be mild,wet, cloudy, dark and miserable.
I am also aware that crime and drugs also create problems in Canada but i don't believe your society is so lawless as that of the UK.The great shame is that its the minority that ruin it for the majority of good people of which there are many in the Uk.
However having read much on this site it does seem that most Brits tend to find Canada pays less for similar occupations and job security can be a concern. All that said so long as i could be reasonably sure of sustainability its a chance i would take.
As for my Wife She likes the countryside but not too lonely, she appreciates plenty of company , neighbours and people she can get to know and see on a daily basis.
Is it true that Vancouver experiences weather similar to the Uk for eight months?
Will certainly check out some of the sites youve mentioned. Possibly next year a holiday to Canada to check it out.

Many thanks,

Aroncai.

Is your HND accredited by the Engineering Council U.K. for Incorporated Engineer purposes? There is a database at http://www.engc.org.uk