# Going to auz



## Seabass (Jul 28, 2013)

Hi there was just wondering of anyone had any stories or info on working in auz,
I'm 27 fully qualified sparks started pretty much from school so got quite abut of experience. I want to go to perth on a year working visa to see if i line it and then if i like it maybe try get sponsored and stay,but have been told with out my OTSR ( offshore technical skills record) will be hard to get recognition for my Certs from uk which I think will cost about £1600. Just wanted to see if any one else has been down this route and if yes the way they went about it.
Cheers


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## WarrenG (Apr 25, 2012)

Seabass tread carefully. 

I looked at doing a simliar thing several years back and discovered that it is all a load of hype and just a money spinners for Oz.

The claims of crying out for sparks is, well not so clean cut.

As said things may have changed again since I started going through the process but this info may give you some angles to check out.

This is my personal experience, but to put it in a nut shell you will be expected to forget what you've done in the UK and retrain in Oz irrespective of what level you are at now.

The Offshore Technical Skills Record could be used towards your permenant resident visa application but it didn't mean that you would be able to work as a spark when you moved to Oz. For that you need a license for the state you intend to work in. To get the license you would need to retrain.

Run by Vetassess (http://www.vetassess.com.au/), you had to complete a paperwork assessment around AUS $600. which contained your working history, skills set, certification, tools lists, experience etc, etc and if successful you were invited to take a trade skills assessment in the UK at a college that they visit (around AUS $1600).

The trade assessment in the UK was a practical exam, a written exam and interview as I understood it. I say understood because I booked one but cancelled it before hand.

I hit top marks for the paperwork assessment and was invited to take the practical assessment of which I booked. It was then that I discovered that in order to work in Oz as a spark I would need to retrain in what they called gap training.

I have my own business in the UK and I'm very highly qualified but I was told that I would need to go to college to study their electrotechnical courses and wiring rules when in Oz to be able to apply for a licence.

It mean't that if I had been lucky enough to find work, I would have had to have been supervised, unable to make any final connections, needed to carry a log book for 12 months (which needed to signed by a supervisor on a daily basis) go to college and of course I wouldn't have be paid the rate of an electrician.

I was lucky to sweet talk the girl at Vetassess to find out what happened once you had passed the practical assessment.

She told me that they normally don't give this information out until you have passed the assessment but sent me a pdf of the next steps. It was a pdf of the steps you needed to take to gaining your qualification in Oz. Thats at the point when I back tracked.

As I say this is just my experience and the figures are I'd say about 3 years ago but as I said at the start of my post tread carefully.

For me, giving up a business and selling up in the UK to go to Oz to retrain and work as an apprentice wasn't viable. I need to be able to put a roof over our heads and food on the table, difficult if your on a low wage.

I hope this info helps you and good luck with what you decide.


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## Chris Kennedy (Nov 19, 2007)

Ask the experts.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Show up down there, get a station wagon and an old beat up wooden ladder, put a cardboard and sharpie sign on the side that says "Dirt Cheap Electrician" and you are on your way to endless work. 


Make sure to stash the cardboard sign when cops are around.


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## Seabass (Jul 28, 2013)

Thanks for all the info mate, yeah heard you have to pretty much do part of an apprenticeship again, as I don't have kids and don't own a house yet over here still really thinking about it even if I come back after a year be a good life experience


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## WarrenG (Apr 25, 2012)

Seabass said:


> Thanks for all the info mate, yeah heard you have to pretty much do part of an apprenticeship again, as I don't have kids and don't own a house yet over here still really thinking about it even if I come back after a year be a good life experience


Nothing ventured, nothing gained...:thumbsup:


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## Paulusgnome (Mar 28, 2009)

You will need to get the electrical registration sorted out before you can legally work as an electrician. It will be similar to the requirements for working in New Zealand - we share a common set of regulations with Australia.
What this typically means is that you will have to, as a minimum, pass an exam in the electrical regulations and pass a practical assessment. If you have passed all of the electrical theory in the UK, you may well be exempt from these.
A couple of weeks back, I had the pleasure of sharing an electrical regs class with a bunch of English, Irish and South African electricians who are here to work on the Christchurch rebuild. Its a bit of an ordeal, but I guess the powers that be need to know that the electricians are up to speed before letting them loose.
My advice is for you to see if you can get as much as possible of this accreditation sorted out before you leave home, it is a lot more certain this way that you won't arrive on this side of the globe to an unpleasant surprise.


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