'Skilled Worker' Questions

[Monks]

Hello, forumers.

I originally posted these queries elsewhere a few months ago as I didn't want to clog-up the forum by posting a thread on a topic that may have been covered before. I recieved no reply, however, so please forgive me for enquiring again on this thread:

I have been dreaming about moving to British Columbia for a number of years now, but I have unfortunately been held back by other commitments. However, I now find myself in a position where I am able to seriously consider the prospect of making my dream of moving abroad become a reality.

I am a British national with no criminal convictions, and I am a fully-qualified electrician with a time-served apprenticeship behind me. I have only just recently qualified, though, so I don't have the luxury of saying that I have 'X' amount of qualified years on my CV. However, if possible, I am willing to work for a year or so on an apprentice wage in Canada if that is a way that I can make the move happen.

I have completed a self-assessment form on the 'Citizenship and Immigration Canada' website and, fortunately, I score quite highly. That said, I am a little confused about a few things on the eligibility criteria, which I have listed below:

1. Skilled workers with a valid offer of arranged employment.

3. Skilled workers with one year of continuous full-time or equivalent part-time paid work experience in at least one of the following eligible occupations within the last ten years

For the sake of clarity (and perhaps I'm stating the obvious here), if I am interpreting the first stipulation correctly does that imply that if I attain an offer of employment I won't need 'X' amount of qualified experience? If this is true, are many people successful in pursuing this route? Also, if I am unable to immigrate this way, is my only option to then rack-up at least one year's experience with the 'qualified' tag (or can the time served during my apprenticeship contribute towards this condition)?

As I have already said, if accepting a lower wage helps in the short-term, I don't mind taking that temporary hit as I have money saved to support myself financially as well. If I am eligible - and I've read that the criteria is changing soon so I might not be when it is revised - what should be my next step? Should I bother with an immigration agency, or should I just go for it on my own? Should I start applying for jobs in Canada right away? What else can I do to help my case?

Any help and/ or advice would be much appreciated as I am desperate to move to Canada in the very near future and, as I have always lived in the UK, I have nobody I can talk to with relevant experience or knowledge on what I need to do to both work and live in Canada permanently.

Many thanks.

[Auld Yin]

Firstly the programme for skilled workers has been suspended until early next year to allow the Government to address the backlog of applications. You may still try to find pre-arranged employment and find a job that way. It is a difficult thing to do from the UK, particularly when your experience level is so low.

[Monks]

Originally Posted by Auld Yin

Firstly the programme for skilled workers has been suspended until early next year to allow the Government to address the backlog of applications. You may still try to find pre-arranged employment and find a job that way. It is a difficult thing to do from the UK, particularly when your experience level is so low.

Thanks for the reply. Obviously I accept the reality of the difficulties that I face in pursuing the move, but at least now I know that the door isn't completely shut for me in the short-term. I suppose I might as well start applying to companies and researching immigration more now. I know a decent knowledge of French might help my cause as well, so maybe I'll try learning some (pity I only learned German at school!).

As an aside, I'm not sure if it is a worthwhile gamble, but my old college tutor told me a few weeks ago that his son (who is a similar age to myself) just booked a ticket to Australia and he found a carpentry job within a few weeks of arriving. I don't know if many people have been succesful with this approach in Canada, though.

[G-Mo]

How old are you?

[Monks]

Originally Posted by G-Mo

How old are you?

I'm in my mid-20s. Will that be a problem?

I know it is an uphill battle, but I'm desperate for a change at the moment and it feels like the right time (for a multitude of reasons) to do something different before I look back and regret not using my time up more wisely. I've been wondering about signing up for one of those 'gap year' companies that find you temporary employment doing all sorts of things (not necessarily trades) just so I can get a feel of whether I'd like to move permanently as well; a close friend of mine did this for a few months in Canada and New Zealand and really enjoyed the experience, and he did something completely different to his day job. It might be an option for me, I suppose.

Not quite sure what to do now. Are there other areas of Canada that are easier for foreigners to gain 'skilled work' employment in? I've looked at other countries in Europe, but the problems with the Eurozone at the moment have somewhat put me off taking advantage of my EU passport at the moment.