Qualified Electrician looking for work - advice needed

aoraki

Hi folks,
not sure if this is the correct place to be posting this, I'm sure I'll be told if it's not. I have a close relative that apprenticed to an Irish electrical contractor and finished his apprenticeship shortly before the company went bust. This happened late last year and thank god that he at least got his apprenticeship and his certification finished before it happened.

He's been looking for another job since then however, mainly in Ireland, and not having any luck. He's been doing small bits and pieces here and there, but he's not having any luck finding something more sustainable and I can see it's beginning to get him down. I know with the current state of the country and the construction industry in particular that there are a lot of people in the same boat.

So I'm just looking to see if there were other people that were in the same boat that got themselves a job and what steps they took to achieve this. He's talking about emigrating and has a couple of places in mind. Where would be the best places to go if you were looking for work as an electrician? An acquaintance of mine mentioned Norway and Scandinavia as places were Irish electricians are in demand, but it seems that you have to get a special cert to work there and that you need to have worked for at least 2 years AFTER you qualify as an apprentice. Are there extra certs/qualifications that he could do to improve his chances of getting a job? What are the best agencies/websites to look for electrical work here and abroad?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

bongomad

aoraki wrote: »

Hi folks,
not sure if this is the correct place to be posting this, I'm sure I'll be told if it's not. I have a close relative that apprenticed to an Irish electrical contractor and finished his apprenticeship shortly before the company went bust. This happened late last year and thank god that he at least got his apprenticeship and his certification finished before it happened.

He's been looking for another job since then however, mainly in Ireland, and not having any luck. He's been doing small bits and pieces here and there, but he's not having any luck finding something more sustainable and I can see it's beginning to get him down. I know with the current state of the country and the construction industry in particular that there are a lot of people in the same boat.

So I'm just looking to see if there were other people that were in the same boat that got themselves a job and what steps they took to achieve this. He's talking about emigrating and has a couple of places in mind. Where would be the best places to go if you were looking for work as an electrician? An acquaintance of mine mentioned Norway and Scandinavia as places were Irish electricians are in demand, but it seems that you have to get a special cert to work there and that you need to have worked for at least 2 years AFTER you qualify as an apprentice. Are there extra certs/qualifications that he could do to improve his chances of getting a job? What are the best agencies/websites to look for electrical work here and abroad?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

most of canada will want post expierience 52 months, australia dont if hes stiill young would be his best bet! as for norway you would need to be dsb approved its free but takes a couple of months to get worth a shot! as for cert courses some can help some are a complete waste of time , i done the courses for the rigs couldnt get the foot in the door so waste of time & money. maybe he should look into instrumentation courses think you can do them in ballydoyle or something like that and seems to be alot of vacancy's !

aoraki

bongomad wrote: »

most of canada will want post expierience 52 months, australia dont if hes stiill young would be his best bet! as for norway you would need to be dsb approved its free but takes a couple of months to get worth a shot! as for cert courses some can help some are a complete waste of time , i done the courses for the rigs couldnt get the foot in the door so waste of time & money. maybe he should look into instrumentation courses think you can do them in ballydoyle or something like that and seems to be alot of vacancy's !

Thanks for that Bongomad, much appreciated. Didn't realise that Canada was 4 and a half years experience post qualification. With Norway you seem to need 2 years post qualified to get the DSB cert. Those instrumentation courses you mention, are they for the aviation industry? And are those vacancies in Ireland or abroad?

Many thanks again.

bongomad

aoraki wrote: »

Thanks for that Bongomad, much appreciated. Didn't realise that Canada was 4 and a half years experience post qualification. With Norway you seem to need 2 years post qualified to get the DSB cert. Those instrumentation courses you mention, are they for the aviation industry? And are those vacancies in Ireland or abroad?


instrumentation can be used in alot of fields , its big money abroad! some jobs here a friend of mine got a job recently in it!

thomas83

Hi there just read your post there and I hope I can help.. I'm a irish electrician working in Norway at the moment,, electricians are in very high demand here,, we as irish electricians ar highly skilled and our standard is extremely high which the norweigians companys like very much..the only this is he will have to get a cert called a dsb.. It's free to get and all it does is explains to the people when you start work as a sparks here is that you have done your 4 years trainning and your a competent person in dealing in electricity.. The life is very good out here and the money is excellent.. Any questions for me just fire away

Thomas

aoraki wrote: »

Hi folks,
not sure if this is the correct place to be posting this, I'm sure I'll be told if it's not. I have a close relative that apprenticed to an Irish electrical contractor and finished his apprenticeship shortly before the company went bust. This happened late last year and thank god that he at least got his apprenticeship and his certification finished before it happened.

He's been looking for another job since then however, mainly in Ireland, and not having any luck. He's been doing small bits and pieces here and there, but he's not having any luck finding something more sustainable and I can see it's beginning to get him down. I know with the current state of the country and the construction industry in particular that there are a lot of people in the same boat.

So I'm just looking to see if there were other people that were in the same boat that got themselves a job and what steps they took to achieve this. He's talking about emigrating and has a couple of places in mind. Where would be the best places to go if you were looking for work as an electrician? An acquaintance of mine mentioned Norway and Scandinavia as places were Irish electricians are in demand, but it seems that you have to get a special cert to work there and that you need to have worked for at least 2 years AFTER you qualify as an apprentice. Are there extra certs/qualifications that he could do to improve his chances of getting a job? What are the best agencies/websites to look for electrical work here and abroad?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

miss misty

Hi Thomas does the salary reflect the high standard of living in Norway.

thomas83

Hi yes you ar very much right it's extremely expensive to live in Norway but only if you want to live the high life.there is plenty of stores the same standard as lidl and aldi back home were you can shop cheaply and you also have the stores that are m & s standard so the choice is yours..

Beer and wine ar crazy prices here a pint of beer is 11 euro.. I'm lucky enough in where my location is as I'm 30 mins away from Sweden so prices there for everything is 50% less... All norweigians like living cheaply to so you get a wealth of knowledge in tips on what to do and what not to do..

The working day in Norway is very slow if the norweigian guys went any slower the construction site would stop but that's the way it is here and it ain't going to change..

My hours ar from 7 till 2.30 but I get paid till 3..

Ar u working at all back in Ireland

So in total I do a 37.5 hour a week..

miss misty wrote: »

Hi Thomas does the salary reflect the high standard of living in Norway.

miss misty

Actually its my son thats the electrician, hes back in college doing a full time electrical eng degree. He has travelled for 18 mths, and found it difficult to get work as an electrician, loads of restrictions. Or so he says ha ha ha.
Reason I asked about the salary is because I have visited Oslo before and found it so expensive. I thought Ireland was bad until I went to Norway.
Good to hear that you are doing well, I would never think of Norway as the country to move to and its easy to commute home for a visit. I know we travelled with Ryanair and it was really cheap as well.

sparkzter

thomas83 wrote: »

Hi yes you ar very much right it's extremely expensive to live in Norway but only if you want to live the high life.there is plenty of stores the same standard as lidl and aldi back home were you can shop cheaply and you also have the stores that are m & s standard so the choice is yours..

Beer and wine ar crazy prices here a pint of beer is 11 euro.. I'm lucky enough in where my location is as I'm 30 mins away from Sweden so prices there for everything is 50% less... All norweigians like living cheaply to so you get a wealth of knowledge in tips on what to do and what not to do..

The working day in Norway is very slow if the norweigian guys went any slower the construction site would stop but that's the way it is here and it ain't going to change..

My hours ar from 7 till 2.30 but I get paid till 3..

Ar u working at all back in Ireland

So in total I do a 37.5 hour a week..

Hi there Thomas an thanks for your informative posts. Can i enquire how you got the opportunity in Norway? Are you working for an Irish contractor or with Norwegian employer. I heard randridge sent lads out there but I was working at the time in the UK where I was until Xmas. I haven't been able to get work in Ireland since 2009, but have been in the UK with Irish employers for 3 years before Xmas. I am qualified since 1993 so have many years experience. Thanks again.

thomas83

The flights ar very cheap with ryanair all year round. I pay about 30 euro most times when I'm travelling home.. The starting rate for a electrician here is 26 euro a hour and that will go up in time .where im working there is good overtime and you get time and a half and double time after 1 o'clock.. If I could speak decent norweigian I could go for a charge hand position which Iv done back home the rate is 33 euro a hour with performance bonas included..

So he is doing that course for the next 2/3 years

miss misty wrote: »

Actually its my son thats the electrician, hes back in college doing a full time electrical eng degree. He has travelled for 18 mths, and found it difficult to get work as an electrician, loads of restrictions. Or so he says ha ha ha.
Reason I asked about the salary is because I have visited Oslo before and found it so expensive. I thought Ireland was bad until I went to Norway.
Good to hear that you are doing well, I would never think of Norway as the country to move to and its easy to commute home for a visit. I know we travelled with Ryanair and it was really cheap as well.

thomas83

Hi just seen ur post now I am working for a norweigian contractor but at the start it was through a recruitment company,, I will send u the name of the company through a pm because I don't think ur allowed name company names on the public posts,,,, I could be wrong

sparkzter wrote: »

Hi there Thomas an thanks for your informative posts. Can i enquire how you got the opportunity in Norway? Are you working for an Irish contractor or with Norwegian employer. I heard randridge sent lads out there but I was working at the time in the UK where I was until Xmas. I haven't been able to get work in Ireland since 2009, but have been in the UK with Irish employers for 3 years before Xmas. I am qualified since 1993 so have many years experience. Thanks again.

sparkzter

That would be appreciated mate, thanks again for all the info.

jayoyouknow

Howya lads, I was out in norway with icds before xmas 13 for 6 weeks and enjoyed it a lot doin the rotation work...free food and accom is obviously a lovely perk...have just done an interview with randridge for the shetlands and am seemingly just waiting on beds to become available to get over there..is there any other companies i could be applying to for european work at the moment besides these two crowds.????

thomas83

jayoyouknow wrote: »

Howya lads, I was out in norway with icds before xmas 13 for 6 weeks and enjoyed it a lot doin the rotation work...free food and accom is obviously a lovely perk...have just done an interview with randridge for the shetlands and am seemingly just waiting on beds to become available to get over there..is there any other companies i could be applying to for european work at the moment besides these two crowds.????

Hi how's things I was out there on the coop project for 3 weeks,,did they finish that job?

jayoyouknow

thomas83 wrote: »

Hi how's things I was out there on the coop project for 3 weeks,,did they finish that job?

They had two thirds of the building handed over by xmas I think....tthere still workin on it now...I reckon there will be a few lads snagging for the next year there..was a big place...

thomas83

jayoyouknow wrote: »

They had two thirds of the building handed over by xmas I think....tthere still workin on it now...I reckon there will be a few lads snagging for the next year there..was a big place...

The place was very big alright.. Was John gibbons still out there when u wer leaving.. Did u fire of a cv into mercury there hiring hand over fist out in intel

jayoyouknow

He was by..ha...yeah I sent a cv before xmas and I sent one this week...ill ring them tomoro...I worked for mercury thru icds on a small job before xmas so thought I would hear somethin off them...

mfceiling

thomas83 wrote: »

The place was very big alright.. Was John gibbons still out there when u wer leaving.. Did u fire of a cv into mercury there hiring hand over fist out in intel

This isn't really true. Talking to the sparks on my job and they are putting in CV's regularly and not getting a sniff. They were told that mercury have to be seen to be recruiting but in reality aren't bothering. They keep getting the runaround with the same lines. One guy worked with mercury before as a charge hand in Intel and he can't even get back in the door at all.

thomas83

jayoyouknow wrote: »

He was by..ha...yeah I sent a cv before xmas and I sent one this week...ill ring them tomoro...I worked for mercury thru icds on a small job before xmas so thought I would hear somethin off them...

I got a offer from icds to work in hp in Kildare he said there was a good bit of starting there.. It wasn't Gerry silks office it was the icds in dublin..

jayoyouknow

thomas83 wrote: »

I got a offer from icds to work in hp in Kildare he said there was a good bit of starting there.. It wasn't Gerry silks office it was the icds in dublin..

Was that just recently you got the offer??

thomas83

jayoyouknow wrote: »

Was that just recently you got the offer??

Ye the start of jan I got it as I'm sure lots of other sparks did to.. The bloke in dublin just got a list of sparks of Gerry and just starting ringing around.. I didn't take the job as I'm doing a few other bits now at the moment..il pm a number to u if u want to ring him?

Inbox

thomas83 wrote: »

The place was very big alright.. Was John gibbons still out there when u wer leaving.. Did u fire of a cv into mercury there hiring hand over fist out in intel

I keep hearing that. I heard there only taking lads on with degrees now.

Ging Ging

Inbox wrote: »

I keep hearing that. I heard there only taking lads on with degrees now.

I'm sure that happens but I wouldn't imagine its their exclusive policy.

I'm in college and have plenty of lads in my class who are qualified sparks (not me). I can't see any of them returning to work as sparks again unless its as a very specialised technician role or senior position or just a stop gap to get some money together. Im assuming for the vast majority the reason they put in the years and effort in to earn a degree is they are looking for a job as an engineer. I'd imagine all other things being equal a qualified electrician with a related degree would be chosen over a graduate with no working experience. That said we are all currently scrambling, looking for these fabeled engineering jobs.

joeperry

Lads Mercury aren't the only firm out there. I don't know how many there's 7 or 8 big firms out there that i know of.

jayoyouknow

thomas83 wrote: »

Ye the start of jan I got it as I'm sure lots of other sparks did to.. The bloke in dublin just got a list of sparks of Gerry and just starting ringing around.. I didn't take the job as I'm doing a few other bits now at the moment..il pm a number to u if u want to ring him?

I got a call for that myself...thanks anyway I have that mans number...if u ever want to pm me to see bout jobs starting..feel free..no harm sparks helpin each other out eh...

thomas83

jayoyouknow wrote: »

Howya lads, I was out in norway with icds before xmas 13 for 6 weeks and enjoyed it a lot doin the rotation work...free food and accom is obviously a lovely perk...have just done an interview with randridge for the shetlands and am seemingly just waiting on beds to become available to get over there..is there any other companies i could be applying to for european work at the moment besides these two crowds.????

How's things did u ever get work with randridge in the end?