Dumyat

I was interested to see if anyone on BE Canada either works as or knows any Surveyors (in Canada they are called Real Estate Appraisers there) who have recently emigrated to Canada. If so, how easy is it to get an LMO and temporary work permit for this type of job?

On that point, if an LMO is going to be issued, how long do they have to advertise the job in Canada? Is it possible to custom-design a job and offer it to me straight away?

I've spent a week going through the usual channels: British consulate, CIC, visa companies, immigration lawyers but all to no avail. I've recently returned from a few days seeing property companies in Toronto and the feedback has been positive however the sticking point (unsurprisingly) has been whether or not I could get a visa.

Bit of a Catch-22 really: no job without a visa and no visa without a job offer first!

Any advice is much appreciated, thanks

Sammypeeps

Hi there,

Not really going to be that much help but wanted to say hi anyhow!

I am not a chartered surveyor as I didn't complete all of my APC - changed careers but here in Nova Scotia I have reverted back somewhat! I work for the Province and they want me to get 'Appraiser' status here (not that I will complete it as I desperately want to go home - another story).

Anyhow, RICS is very highly regarded by all of the surveyors here, apparantly RICS will not allow Canadian 'Appraisers' to become MRICS until they have been qualified as 'Appraisers' and working in the industry for 7 years!

There are many of the international companies here - Cushman Wakefield, CBRE etc so I would have thought that your best bet would be to go investigate opportunities through those type of firms as they will without doubt have the ability to arrange visas. I take it you specialize in Commercial?

So all in all, I probably can't be much help but just thought I post anyhow!

Good luck and if you have any other questions by all means send me a message!

Dumyat

Thanks, that's interesting. I had meetings in Toronto last week and got round most of the big firms however, they were understandably keen to find out about my visa status.

I reckon I'm about 6 months off doing the APC so that is another issue in amongst everything else. I spoke to the AIC people as well and providing I get through the APC, it should only take another year to 18 months to get through their exams which is encouraging as I've heard it can take about 5 years from scratch.

Can I ask how you got your visa?

Sammypeeps

Hi

Interesting you would have to do AIC exams as well? I guess they only let you in if you have the MRCIS. Do not be afraid - I can assure you (I have done some of the exams through the Post graduate Certificate program at the University of BC, - they are nothing compared to what you would have been through in your degree) Helpful tho to get used to some of the terminology -which is a little different.

Also, you should also be aware that the marking system here is very very different. I received a 2:1 (67% average) for my Land Management degree, was very pleased, in the top 15 of graduates but discoverd that 66% would be a very very low grade here? In the courses I did for the PGCV here I got consistent grades over 80% some in the 90% - unheard of in my degree course in England - so be careful when disclosing your transcripts - unless of course you have As across the board!!

I did not come on a visa, my husband and I gained Permanently Residency status before we arrived throught the Provincial Nominee Program under the Skilled Worker stream. I had arranged a job before arriving - that job actually fell through within a couple of days and we had nowhere to live, no jobs and no car - but we made it anyhow!!

Dumyat

Yes, RE: APC/AIC, I've been in touch with them and there is apparently a reciprocal arrangement between the two therefore, I'm looking to get the APC out of the way and then go onto the Canadian version soon afterwards. I think from memory just doing the AIC qualification on its own takes quite a few years to get.

Thanks for the heads up on the qualification side of things - It's good to know going forward.

Sammypeeps

If you have a related degree as I did, 'Land Management BSc', then you just have to do the PGCV at the University of BC - I only had to take 4 of the 6 modules due to my prior degree course; have a mentor for 2 years (which is just someone qualified who signs for you - I havnt seen mine in months!); complete a case study module - which is two terms; then sit the final exam/interview thingy!

Would not take more than 2 years if you have a related degree - which you must if you are already on the APC program. To be honest I am surprised you would have to do anything related to the AIC if you get your MRICS? But they do like you to have 'Canadian' qualifications here - 'British' ones are not good enough apparantly!

Good luck

rmok

Hi guys - I would be really interested to hear more about how you got on at the meetings in Toronto Dumyat. I'm a British Chartered Surveyor (3 years post-qualified) currently working in London and moving over to Toronto in September. Afraid I can't help with the visa query as I'm coming over on a PR visa via my Canadian partner. I'm going to start looking for work around early summer and therefore it would be great to hear which companies you met and what the feedback is. How is the job market out there? Were they keen on European experience? Also, do you know of any good websites or recruitment agents that specialise in commercial real estate out there? I'm currently working for a global firm who have an office in Toronto, however I specialise in hotels and as they don't have a team out there I will more than likely have to look elsewhere or consider changing sector...
Any feedback, thoughts, advice would be great. Let me know if there's anything I can help with. For what its worth, my experience in the past has always been to target Directors/MD's directly and if they like your experience, etc, they will sort out visas, etc.

Dumyat

Hello Rmok,

My trip was organised very ad hoc and I took a bit of a gamble going out there...however, the advice I got from this end was that there was no point sending out CVs etc and the best way to show that I was serious was to get across there so I booked a 5 day visit. The first people I got in touch with before I went out there were the RICS who have a small (but helpful) Canadian regional office. They were able to point me in the right direction in terms of contacts.

My position is slightly different in that I still have to sit the APC which I am hoping to do later this year if at all possible here in Scotland. My understanding is that being qualified is pretty much a necessity here in the UK in terms of career progression. In Canada however, I found it is slightly different. Whilst the RICS is operational, they are a small outfit and the main body/exam which you go for is the Appraisal Institute of Canada who pretty much run the show over there. I made some enquiries on this one and if you are MRICS then the time limit for training up and getting through the AIC exams is around 18 months. (Also see this thread above for more info)

In terms of contacts, two large Canadian firms that you may want to follow up with are Avison Young and Altus Group. The people I saw there were very helpful and they are big players in the market there. Most of the other firms (that you are probably thinking of already!) are in Toronto and the market there is typical of the surveying world in that most people know each other. That is to say that if you don't have any luck with one company, they will probably point you in the right direction of another. In terms of hotel vals specifically, I met someone who specialises in that if you need a name going forward then PM me.

Good luck!

rmok

Hi there - thanks for the info. It would be great if you could send me the contact in hotels. Tried to PM you but its restricted to people who have posted more than 3 posts! Also, what was the general market like when you were there - is there still lots of recruitment going on? And what was the feedback on European experience - are they keen on expats?!
So you're in Scotland - I grew up in Edinburgh and did half my APC experience in Glasgow at Drivers Jonas Deloitte. If you need any info or contacts in Edinburgh or Glasgow then PM me and I'll try to help you out.
R

Dumyat

I've PM'd you so hopefully you can see/read it.

thanks