I'm planning on moving to Sydney this time next year. By then I will have been tiling for a year and a half. I've read some of the other threads and things don't seem as simple as I first thought. I now know that I won't walk into a job as a tiler and was wondering how much I could expect to earn as someones apprentice and any qualifications I would need to fulfil the roll. I don't want to go over there and work in another area as I do plan on coming home and continuing as a tiler here. Any info would be greatfully received.

Nice 1 Tim.

think you need minimum 5 years experience and an NVQ level 2 to even get in to work

Getting in isn't a prob as I can get in with my girlfriend. So to even work as an apprentice for someone I'd need a nvq. I trained at pitt, take it this would not be a recognised equivalent?
Cheers for your help anyhoo.
tim

You need to speak to MICK THE TILER as he is from australia.

Originally Posted by tjgtiling

Getting in isn't a prob as I can get in with my girlfriend. So to even work as an apprentice for someone I'd need a nvq. I trained at pitt, take it this would not be a recognised equivalent?
Cheers for your help anyhoo.
tim

In a word, no.

As far as i can remember, your experience is not enough. I went to Melbourne and i got a job easy due to having over 25yrs experience but all the apprentices were attending the tiling school and spending a few days each wek on site with the employer.
I am sure it is different there in that you cant just do a course and then call your self a tiler. I am sure they want you to have 3 years probation after passing your tests.
Thats as i understood it and it may well vary from state to state too. The situation may have changed since 2001 as well.

I'm really jealous mate. I would love to go over there and work, unfortunately I'm over the permitted entry age even though I have an abundance of experience in the tiling industry.
My advise to you is to go over there and be prepared to do whatever work you can get. That will impress the Australian authorities more than saying you are a tiler with very limited experience. You will always be able to find tiling work for friends and neighbours which will enhance your reputation as a tiler. Theres stacks of tiling to be done in Australia - most of it outside work in the glorious sunshine.

Good luck with your move.......... for me though I'm told theres always New Zealand!

Cheers fella for taking the time to reply. Think thats the way its going to be, sort it when I get there. Hope all goes well in New Zealand fella, my mate lives there and he loves it.

Take it easy mate Tim

I'm not sure about the rules down in Sydney, it comes under the State law of New South Wales, and each state has it's own rules and regulations.

Here in Queensland all contractors must be licsensed by the B.S.A (Building Services Authority) to do work direct to the public. To get around this you an get a job with a larger tiling contractor or smaller contractor with plenty of work. You will have to work for someone in the industry for at least 2 years before you can apply for your contractors license from the B.S.A.

You will also be required to have a very good knowledge of tiling products materials and techniques. Able to fix just about anything and be fast yet neat in your work to make it down here. Employers are pretty tough on slack arse tilers and you will have to proform if you wish to keep your job for any length of time.

On a brighter note though the Federal Government has recently realeased some details on how to attract overseas workers down here, I'm not sure of the details as of yet as they are still in the grey area.

We do have a labour shortage down here at the moment and there is plenty of work to go around.

Here's a useful link If you have not seen it before.

http://britishexpats.com/

As far as rates of pay goes, you would probably fall in the 1st year apprentice feild of experience and for this level you would be paid about $15/hr as a start.

I myself get paid $55/hr but for this I have to have a great deal of knowledge and respect within the industry to be able to command this rate of pay.

Consultancy work for tile shops and insurance companies will run to $100/hr but generally this type of work only makes for a small percentage of my work load.

M2 rates would be from $45/m2 to $150/m2 depending upon the materials and complexity of the work.

Nice 1 mick for the advice. Don't mind lowering my wage as long as I can go there and gain more experience. I'm as neat as they come with my tiling but just not up to speed. Would I be able to work for someone like yourself without any kind of quals or licenses. Are there any recruitment places that you could suggest so I could get in contact and get the ball rolling and not have to sort everything out when I get there. Thanks again for your help matey and take it easy
Tim.

I'm pretty sure that working for a licensed contractor is ok in New South Wales it is in Queensland. But as far as recruitment goes I think you need to be licensed to get on there books.

I'll do a bit of looking and get back to you.

Nice 1 mate. Much appreciated.
Have a good weekend.

to get a license in sydney or in nsw, you need certificate 3 qualifications and at least 3 to 5 years in the trade with heaps of references, so basically if you havent done a 3 year apprenticeship with trade school you wont get one! but you can work under somebody else if they are licenced or work for a tiling company.why dont you go to melbourne as vic has no licence for tilers so you can start up and advertise tomorrow! as to how much you would make - i pay labourers $15 per hour ,semi skilled maybe 20 and an employed tiler should get 20 -30 ,maybe with a work car thrown in. but wages are different in and around every state , i would imagine that Mick would quote quite different rates in brisbane to ours in rural victoria.
And finally ,i seem to keep saying this , there are a lot more places to live and work here besides sydney and perth!!!!

Hi

I recollect that you were enquiring about Advanced Tiling courses a few months ago. Did you know that BAL have recently opened a brand new training facility at Tiles UK, Salford (just off end of M602). They have new wetroom and seperate video training rooms. The two day advanced course covers Tanking systems, underfloor tile heating and fixing large format and natural stone

Les / www.tilestoreonline.co.uk

Cheers Alex for the info mate. That sounds like the route I'm going to take, try to find someone to work for when I get there. Not too fussed how much I end up getting paid, its more about the experience I'll get from an a time served tiler.

I'm not fussed where I live it's the missus who's getting a job in Sydney.

Cheers again fella
Tim

Originally Posted by alex1963

to get a license in sydney or in nsw, you need certificate 3 qualifications and at least 3 to 5 years in the trade with heaps of references, so basically if you havent done a 3 year apprenticeship with trade school you wont get one! but you can work under somebody else if they are licenced or work for a tiling company.why dont you go to melbourne as vic has no licence for tilers so you can start up and advertise tomorrow! as to how much you would make - i pay labourers $15 per hour ,semi skilled maybe 20 and an employed tiler should get 20 -30 ,maybe with a work car thrown in. but wages are different in and around every state , i would imagine that Mick would quote quite different rates in brisbane to ours in rural victoria.
And finally ,i seem to keep saying this , there are a lot more places to live and work here besides sydney and perth!!!!

hey alex we aren't alll going to Sydney or Perth - we are going to sunny Brissie!!!!!
Fitzer

fitzer where in Brissie are you going ?

i was there mate in 2006 and i say go anywhere else but sydney, work is very poor, all the lebaneese work for peanuts mate. try perth or brisbane mate, i come back home having spent thousands

Nic 1 matey. Where abouts in manchester you from. I from stockport. We changed our mind now anyway. Think were going to Melbourne fella. How come spent so much cash?

hi mate im from bury, we went there a bit blind to be honest, the promise of work was made and when we arrived nothing, you have to have the health and saftey test in nsw before you can even step foot on the building sites(bit like the cscs here) but dont think you need that where your going
after applying for loads of jobs i got plenty of job offers but the wages offered were very poor, when i questioned the rates of pay(about 180-200 a week), i was told the lebaneese work for that so we wont pay any more, bit like the polish situation we have here at the mo.

we spent loads while not in work just living, i looked at various websites and jobcentres and the boom was in perth and brisbane at the time i was there but that may have changed, i was promised work by my uncle who was running his own buisness, but like i say when we arrived he wasnt even working, so just be careful mate who to trust.

also they tend to use more sand/cement beds over in oz to , all water proofing as they tend to have water drains in every bathroom, toilet.


but good luck. wish i was going back if i had they guarentee of half decent money and a solid job,

Cheers fella for the info, think its going to be a case of find what I can when I get there, maybe have to hack it on crap pay and see what else comes up. Think its going to be the luck of the draw mate.

hope business is good and cheers again.

tim

Good luck to you mate. I'm moving to Dubbo, NSW with my partner sometime this year, once visa's are sorted. Hopefully i'll pick some labouring jobs up first, then see where that takes me. Would easy become an apprentice, not sure about my age though (35). All in all good experience.

regards
Allstar

theres plenty of older apprentices around,the employer get some big subsidies to take you on ,so 35 might be no problem

sorry didnt get back to you before geordie - busy - we plan to live in the brissie suburbs - around Beenleigh - missis has a job at the Mater and I hope to get work wherever I can!

i wanna move to sydney do you have room for me

Hi,
i have just come back from living in Australia, and my advice to you would be think very carefully before moving to Sydney, if your renting it is very expensive, food and petrol are through the roof it is not all milk and honey by any means. For us, it cost us a fortune and it really was not worth the upheaval.I personally do not think at has anything to offer. If you want sun go to Europe stay where the money is. Lindsay