BigAl123 Posted December 26, 2014 Report Share Posted December 26, 2014 Hi, my wife and I are moving out to Perth(possibly NOR) in the next couple of months. We were out there in may of this year for a couple of weeks to get our PR visas stamped. The thing is there was a lot of talk of an economic downturn, which was a bit of concern as I was hoping to secure a job as a building site manager(I am currently a site manager for the UK's largest residential house builder). I hold all the relevant UK qualifications ie NVQ level 6 diploma in construction management, ICIOB, Tech-IOSH, NEBOSH Cert, first aid, ect, my questions are; were the merchants of doom correct about the economy? are my UK qualifications recognised? any tips on getting a job without having the elusive WA experience. Any advice will be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted December 26, 2014 Report Share Posted December 26, 2014 Good and bad news the bad - yes, the economy is sliding in the wrong direction and there have been a lot of jobs lost and even the reserve bank has warned of possible recession. The good - there are still lots of new houses been built. I would look at seek.com and also consider getting in touch with building companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl123 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Hi, thanks for responding. Not what I wanted to hear, about the economy that is, but as long as there are houses being built then I should be able to find work. Be it in a managerial role or by getting back on the tools. Kind regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 My one word of caution though is to research things carefully. While houses are going up fast and furious at the moment. I can't comment on what they will be doing in several months time. There is up to a 12 month lag here between signing to build and a build starting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonleannejack Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Hi mate, house building is booming at the minute and will be for the foreseeable. I too am a residential site manager who was in your position a couple of years back. I eventually got an opportunity after a great deal of perseverance. The construction manager actually told me after my six months probation that no one else within the company wanted to give me a go due to lack of WA experience. I have since won awards and in the bosses words and become a major asset to the company. So it's not all negative, you have just got to be prepared to work in any capacity until an opportunity comes along.If you need any advice of the ins and outs of how residential works over here let me know. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl123 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 I've been looking on seek and also in the Western Australian to get a feel for things, but until I actually land on Perth's sunny shores on a permanent basis it'll all be up in the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 I'm currently in a similar position to yourself, I'm a gas fitter by trade with a pr visa and have been trying to contact possible employers for a role for around six months with many wanting WA experience. We fly out at the end of January and I have found a lot more company's are interested now it's only a matter of weeks till I get there, I recently managed to get a Skype interview which went really well and hope for some good news in the new year, just keep pluging away and don't let it get you down if you get a negative response. I searched for the company's in my field then contacted them direct rather than looking for jobs advertised as they need the role filling asap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl123 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 Cheers Jon and Keith for your posts. Read through some of your earlier posts Jon and was feeling a little bit down in the mouth, until I noticed the dates. Might be trying to pick your brains later, that is if I can prize the ipad out of my wife's hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki7266 Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 This is very true most of the agencies I recruit through are not interested if you are still in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarCon Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Big Al Make sure you bring hard copies of your UK qualifications and refs, as you may need to get registered as a supervisor. Check out the Building commissions web site regarding site supervisors... Ps..You will find that site management doesn't pay that well.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl123 Posted January 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Hi Marcon, To be a site supervisor/manager over in Perth will I need to be registered as a 'Building Practitioner' or will a 'White Card' do? In the UK I hold the CSCS Black Site Managers card and its virtually impossible to get a site management job with one of the top builders without one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonleannejack Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 (edited) Hi Marcon,To be a site supervisor/manager over in Perth will I need to be registered as a 'Building Practitioner' or will a 'White Card' do? In the UK I hold the CSCS Black Site Managers card and its virtually impossible to get a site management job with one of the top builders without one. Nah you don't need to worry about that just yet. White Card will suffice. Companies have what they call a nominated registered builder which fulfills the requirements. Not all the supervisors at our place have there ticket. Obviously if you have or are working towards it, it will help with the chances of gaining employment. You can do training towards your registration through HIA or go back to TAFE .. Think they can recognise prior learning. Edited January 14, 2015 by jonleannejack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl123 Posted January 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Well that sounds promising, I know that I can do my white card online and I'll look into any other training that I can do in the UK which will be transferable to WA. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl123 Posted January 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Does anyone know what the average annual salary is for a mid level site supervisor ? I've been looking on seek and it's showing between $90,000 and $120,000pa. I was wondering if this is correct as I've been watching a programme called 'wanted down under' and the salaries that are being quoted doesn't marry up with those advertised on seek. In the UK the average salary for a site manager(site supervisor) is £40,000 to £45,000 and it would be useful to see how they compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.