Time to leave Melbourne??

Mdawg

i arrived in melbourne 5 months ago from ireland and been looking for work ever since.
qualified civil engineer at home with over 4 years experience but cant get a look in with any work here. Need australian experience so im told.
i have been just doing labouring work on sites but getting fed up of that, hardly the australian dream!
havent met many people either so im just working during the week and staying in at the weekends, be as well off sitting at home on the dole.
considering a move to perth as heard that there was work to be got there, but then again i was told that there is engineering work to be got everywhere in australia.
getting fed up of this country and considering just cutting the losses and heading back to europe or to canada.
any suggestions would be appreciated.

AngryHippie

Have you tried any agencies ?
If you've got a degree try hays and see what you shake loose, stay on seek, be prepared to go anywhere in Oz and you'll find something. National Broadband network going to tender, QLD repairing after floods and cyclones....there is work out there

busyliving

Mdawg wrote: »

i arrived in melbourne 5 months ago from ireland and been looking for work ever since.
qualified civil engineer at home with over 4 years experience but cant get a look in with any work here. Need australian experience so im told.
i have been just doing labouring work on sites but getting fed up of that, hardly the australian dream!
havent met many people either so im just working during the week and staying in at the weekends, be as well off sitting at home on the dole.
considering a move to perth as heard that there was work to be got there, but then again i was told that there is engineering work to be got everywhere in australia.
getting fed up of this country and considering just cutting the losses and heading back to europe or to canada.
any suggestions would be appreciated.

Mate I’m in Perth and its fairly quiet over this side, in today’s paper there is only few brickies jobs up and no engineer jobs. Its hit a bit of slow over here, according to my house mates there was some amount of work to be had here before xmas.

But you should give hays a go and also try looking a mine work...as an engineer I’d reckon you could make a killing, but it’s not the work if you want a social life but if you did it for a month and saved up you could rethink your situation

luder

Are you on a WHV..? Most of the agencies dont want to know about you if you have a whv...they just see you as a backpacker. Sad point but true.

A lot of it really is about who you know and contacts etc...a bit like home really.

Ive been talking to a good few people and they had similar problems in melbourne, difficult finding permanent work, and work in thier specific area.

Randomname37

Hi, im a town planner with a whv went to Randstadt on Bourke Street and got a job three days after arriving try them, seems that they are more than happy to accept Irish qualifications and people on whv's!

cormaclynch

OP,

What experience do you have, site or design?

If site have you gone direct to the companies? If not try contacting these companies direct and you might get lucky

Thiess
Leighton Holdings
John Holland
Abigroup
Fulton Hogan
Cut and Fill
Bovis

I know the regional rail link is starting in the next few months and there will be a recruiting drive for that soon so any rail experience promote it. Also state in any cover letter that you're willing to travel for work etc, always helps

If you have any surveying experience try hitting up the surveying companies
Try gertzel surveying, gertzel.com.au
farrengroup.com.au
reedscon.com.au

n900guy

Here's the EURES list for civil engineer jobs in the last month:

Denmark: 38 job(s) matched

Germany: 522 job(s) matched

Austria: 21 job(s) matched

Czech Republic: 16 job(s) matched

Finland: 102 job(s) matched

France: 406 job(s) matched

Liechtenstein: 1 job(s) matched

Netherlands: 175 job(s) matched

Slovakia: 3 job(s) matched

Switzerland: 7 job(s) matched

United Kingdom: 20263 job(s) matched

Slovenia: 5 job(s) matched

Sweden: 114 job(s) matched

Norway: 39 job(s) matched

Belgium: 52 job(s) matched

Italy: 1 job(s) matched

Lithuania: 7 job(s) matched

J85

Fulton Hogan have been in Ireland few months ago and have taken on people to go to Queensland with less experience than you and leightons are in Dublin next week looking for Engineers. (they offered flights, 4 year visa etc..)

So there must be a shortage of Engineers in Australia (Most seem too be looking for people in Queensland or Perth.

These two companies are obviously aimed at site rather than design tho so depends on your experience. (Seem to be looking for heavy civils experience)

I wouldn’t give up hope ye would look country wide tho and try Irish pubs too see can u pick up any contacts. WHV is not ideal but surely a safer bet than flying someone around the world at least you are in country. Would push that went out on WHV cas didnt want to wait for 1year+ to get visa and see no future in ireland and intend staying for 4 years+ if can get sponsored. (If you have a little portfolio of pics if you have worked on decent projects in Ireland usually goes down well if you get an interview in particular)

Mdawg

AngryHippie wrote: »

Have you tried any agencies ?
If you've got a degree try hays and see what you shake loose, stay on seek, be prepared to go anywhere in Oz and you'll find something. National Broadband network going to tender, QLD repairing after floods and cyclones....there is work out there

i have contaced a good few of the agencies, none of them have been much help, as for Hays, the guy i was talking to said " listen mate i have nothing for lads who are straight off the boat"
Lack of australian experience is doing me no favours

Mdawg

cormaclynch wrote: »

OP,

What experience do you have, site or design?

If site have you gone direct to the companies? If not try contacting these companies direct and you might get lucky

Thiess
Leighton Holdings
John Holland
Abigroup
Fulton Hogan
Cut and Fill
Bovis

I know the regional rail link is starting in the next few months and there will be a recruiting drive for that soon so any rail experience promote it. Also state in any cover letter that you're willing to travel for work etc, always helps

If you have any surveying experience try hitting up the surveying companies
Try gertzel surveying, gertzel.com.au
farrengroup.com.au
reedscon.com.au

thanks for your reply. i have contacted all those companies and i havent heard anything back from any of them.
my experience is all site based working for both main contractors and with designers.
am willing to travel to most cities but not interested in working in the middle of nowhere.

missmyler

Mdawg wrote: »

havent met many people either so im just working during the week and staying in at the weekends, be as well off sitting at home on the dole.

Why don't you join the "Possible Melbourne Boards Beers" thread if you're looking for people to mix with?

melb

Mdawg wrote: »

i have contaced a good few of the agencies, none of them have been much help, as for Hays, the guy i was talking to said " listen mate i have nothing for lads who are straight off the boat"
Lack of australian experience is doing me no favours

Hays have a bad reputation but there is no way that anyone working there said that to you.

cormaclynch

melb wrote: »

Hays have a bad reputation but there is no way that anyone working there said that to you.

Ah come on, If he said it happened then you have to believe him!

Its not too unbelievable too if you ask me. He might have just caught someone at a bad time and they said it.

OP,

I pm'd you.

courty08

I'm going into my final year of civil engineering and obviously heading to Australia is more of a probability than a possibility. How hard is it to find a graduate position? I will have about 6 months experience, but, and I haven't looked into this much yet, I will hope to get a Skilled Migration Visa. As I said I haven't looked into much yet as it's going to be a while yet before I will be going, so I don't how hard it is to get one. Perhaps someone will be able to tell me. Hopefully a lot of the jobs haven't dried up by the time I get out there, just trying to way up my options now. I have an Irish contact in a company in Perth who actually got a graduate engineering job so that may help.

gustafo

courty08 wrote: »

I'm going into my final year of civil engineering and obviously heading to Australia is more of a probability than a possibility. How hard is it to find a graduate position? I will have about 6 months experience, but, and I haven't looked into this much yet, I will hope to get a Skilled Migration Visa. As I said I haven't looked into much yet as it's going to be a while yet before I will be going, so I don't how hard it is to get one. Perhaps someone will be able to tell me. Hopefully a lot of the jobs haven't dried up by the time I get out there, just trying to way up my options now. I have an Irish contact in a company in Perth who actually got a graduate engineering job so that may help.

it wont be easy to get a skilled migration visa if you don't have a few years experience you best bet would be to get a whv and try and get sponsered when there.

Doop

Dont really have a whole load of advice myself, would you consider getting a job
outside of civil ? surely anythings better than sitting on the dole in ireland?

As I was reading this thread came upon this advertisement on jobs.ie
http://www.jobs.ie/ApplyForJob.aspx?Id=1102758

You'd wonder why they're advertising here, when theres folk like you who cant find work out there. Sometimes you wonder if they're actually advertising a job. Anyway, jus wanted to throw in the link for you, might be of intrest

FlowersByRay

Get out of melbourne, its a great city and i spent my time working there but its coming into there winter, head to perth or brisbane, the weather will be better there. Once there get any job. Its a well know fact its easier to get a job when you already have one.