Some Questions

hdowney

Ok so most people may have realised by now I am planning on applying for the IEC when it opens up in December And am hopeful to be in Canada by October of next year.

So. I am going to get my medical done (but I am not sure if the outcome of that will be good or bad - in the process of trying to lose weight and fix a few health issues that have cropped up. I am also B12 deficient and will be for the rest of my life - and whether I will 'pass' so to speak).

So I know that 'passing' the medical has an effect on whether you can work with kids/old folk etc. I have a Fetac level 5 in Childcare. I haven't worked much in said industry because of the above mentioned health thingys. (I didn't/couldn't get them sorted before now, been in the process of sorting them etc etc etc and didn't believe I should work with kids unless I could commit 100% of myself to them yakno).

I also have a City and Guilds Diploma in IT - specifically in the Office Suite and a bit about the ins and outs of hardware but not much.

So to the questions. RE the Diploma. If I was to look for a FAS course or similar to do for this year to upskill or ad-on skills to that, what should I be looking for. To broaden the IT term etc. Suggestions greatly received.

And then what is the employment prospects like for both of these careers in Canada - various locations (I haven't pinpointed where I want to go yet, job availability would be a factor). I ask about both cos A, I don't know which of the two I'd rather do atm and B, if my medical doesn't go well that strikes the Childcare off completely and leaves me just the IT side of things.

I also know that I probably cannot do much upskilling courses whilst on my WHV so anything I can do I need to do here before I travel.

Sorry for the long windedness etc and thanks in advance for any answers

againstthetide

What do you do in IT?
Where I am in Edmonton has plenty of IT work from support to admin to Dev

hdowney

againstthetide wrote: »

What do you do in IT?
Where I am in Edmonton has plenty of IT work from support to admin to Dev

As said I work well with the office suite, I also have payroll and accounts (although only an official quali in the payroll not the accounts). Don't have much hands on experience in them though cos I came out of the dip into a bleedin recession!!! Wondering what areas might be good to upskill in re IT to help myself land jobs over there.

againstthetide

If you did something like the A+ it would give you a good coverage between you office certificate as well.
The outlook for IT is limited according to the government
For example my support job in Toronto has this outlook:

http://www.workingincanada.gc.ca/report-eng.do?area=9219&lang=eng&noc=2282&action=final&regionKeyword=Toronto%2C+Ontario&s=2&source=2&titleKeyword=software+technical+support+analyst#report_tabs_container2

Check out the various regions and jobs to get an idea of the rates of pay and what has a good outlook

hdowney

againstthetide wrote: »

If you did something like the A+ it would give you a good coverage between you office certificate as well.
The outlook for IT is limited according to the government
For example my support job in Toronto has this outlook:

http://www.workingincanada.gc.ca/report-eng.do?area=9219&lang=eng&noc=2282&action=final&regionKeyword=Toronto%2C+Ontario&s=2&source=2&titleKeyword=software+technical+support+analyst#report_tabs_container2

Check out the various regions and jobs to get an idea of the rates of pay and what has a good outlook

What is A+?

againstthetide

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx

hdowney

againstthetide wrote: »

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx

Looked at that cheers I am gonna go see tomorrow about doing the A+ Essentials and A+ Technician thru blended course with FAS

Colonel Panic

againstthetide wrote: »

What do you do in IT?
Where I am in Edmonton has plenty of IT work from support to admin to Dev

What sort of development work? What's the city like?

againstthetide

Colonel Panic wrote: »

What sort of development work? What's the city like?

I don't do any dev so the jobs are meaningless to me.
From what I saw when I was looking developers of all levels were in demand.
City is pretty good, it's got all what you would expect a city of a million people would have
Public transport is good
Cost of living is less than either Toronto or Vancouver and good access to national parks and the mountains!