Hi

My husband, me and family are looking to move to Canada as soon as possible

He is a fully qualified carpenter with over 20yrs work experience - we know that the construction industry is great right now but we're coming up against a brick wall when it comes to finding a job offer. Either we never hear from a company we have contacted directly ( is it because of the paperwork and wait involved in hiring an immigrant?) or we find its linked to a recruitment company who then start going on about fees for their services etc.

Can someone please help? We feel like we're never going to get there....

You should contact

Human Resources Development Canada HRDC and get some official help and guidelines for your work search.

As I mentioned in an earlier post there are issues with Canadian experience and legal rules about hiring a Canadian citizen first before companies look outside the Canada for workers.
I would look out for job fairs here or in UK and go along or even come out to Canada check it out here.
Get the job first before you sell everything - streets still aren't paved with gold

good luck