bokkie1

Hi all.
I am south African born, but been in the u.k. for 20 years.
My wife is Spanish, and we are thinking about making a better life for ourselves and our 2 young children in Spain.
I am a CNC machine operator in the avaiaton sector and my wife is a travel consultant, so obviously I would need to be in an area where there is motor or aviation production/factories.
I believe that there are a few motor companies based near Valencia, which is why I am considering this area.
Any tips on where I should be searching for jobs in engineering, specifically CNC machine operating would be very gratfully received.
My wife, being Spanish and being a travel agent would be able to go just about anywhere, but my job being more specialised would require a bit more research in which area I should choose.
Any tips/help are welcome.
Thanks all.

EsuriJohn

EADS are based around Sevilla and have huge factories alongside the motorway but I don't suppose they do much machine tool work they seem to be an assembly shop for parts brought from all over Europe.

bokkie1

Thanks for the tip. Not really scared of assembly work, but would prefer to keep with my existing skill set. You sometimes find that big assembly lines attract aftermarket machine shops as well.
Thanks again.

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

agoreira

Yes, we´ve had a few people here that moved there due to work at EADS. They´ve only just started actually producing aircraft (years late, and way over budget, around $5 billion) so there should be work there for years to come.

bokkie1

Thanks for that, guess I'll look into seville as well. Wasn't really on my radar as I believe it gets extremely hot there, but t worth consideration.
The idea is to move very near the coast so working at eads would involve a commute..

Fred James

VAG have a large production facility north of Barcelona employing over 11000 building SEAT and Audi cars.

agoreira

Indeed, Sevilla gets very hot, sofocante as they say. But if you want a job doing what you do now, there won't be a lot of choice, if any. I'm sure you already know, jobs are extremely hard to come by in Spain, hundreds of thousands of well qualified Spanish are all heading in the opposite direction to you, they have failed to find work in Spain. Good luck.

tebo53

Hi Bokkie. I am also a CNC machinist in the aerospace sector. I looked a few years back for CNC work around the coasts but sadly there was none at that time and it has got worse since then. You may find some similar machining work in the main cities but then you are defeating your object. You may find the odd place that does Rolls Royce 'outwork' but they are few and far between! I've had to wait until I can afford to retire early to get my move to Spain but best of luck.

bokkie1

Thanks for all the input. My wife has rubbished the idea of Sevilla as it is to hot and not on the coast. Barcelona is an option, and my old company has a plant in Badalona.
Problem is that then house costs shoot up as well.
There is also a citroen place in Valladolid but that is far to close to the inlaws and nowhere near the coast.
Any idea what there is Valencia way?

snikpoh

Ford have a big plant there.

Fred James

Yes they have been there for nearly 40 years. The first Fiesta was built there. It's about half the size of the SEAT plant.

The production of cars in Spain is now picking up at last so there may be some opportunities now.

jackytoo

Sorry, a foreigner!

Linie

we did'nt know Ford had a plant, my husband is an alias IT contractor, it is only manufacture or is design done as well?

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary