Plastering Abroad

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MLD

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Hi, I'm interested in doing a bit of traveling later in the year or early next year.

I have been told that in order to enter Australia, Canada, America or New Zealand
I would need to be qualified to Level 3 (I currently hold an NVQ level 2)
so I am looking into upgrading sometime soon.

However I am interested in Europe and wondered if anyone here had worked in Spain,
Portugal, Greece, Italy or France? I'm trying to find out as much information as I can
about these particular countries however any shared experiences abroad would be appreciated.
 
Australia and new Zealand don't skim anything so it will all be render :-)

I was offered work in Australia as a spread when I was travelling but I decided to not do it because I was ok for money :-)

I think in Spain the expats like British plasterers but @lucius may no more :-) @Marshy and @ @SpankySouthport have been doing g some work in france recently
 
If you went to Oz on a temp visa theres plenty of labouring jobs ... don't expect probably like other countrys to be finishing walls as they have there own methods ... Oz you'd ne
Danny said:
Australia and new Zealand don't skim anything so it will all be render :)

I was offered work in Australia as a spread when I was travelling but I decided to not do it because I was ok for money

I think in Spain the expats like British plasterers but @lucius may no more :) @Marshy and @ @SpankySouthport have been doing g some work in france recently
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Skimming in oz is Lime putty m8 ... I know cos I did it

Plus to the OP - youd need the AQF 3 - basically an NVQ3 ... only if going for permanent visa .... tem wise youd be ok labouring ... don't expect to be skimming walls ... start labouring again from the bottom to the there methods
 

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Australia and new Zealand don't skim anything so it will all be render :)
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That's fine, I would rather be outside if it's hot anyway
What do those guy's do inside then?
I was offered work in Australia as a spread when I was travelling
but I decided to not do it because I was ok for money :)
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Yeah I was thinking of just saving up but I would quite like to work abroad for the experience
plus I would like to spend a year or two away so I'm going to need to do something.
Of the four New Zealand is the one that interests me the most.
youd need the AQF 3 - basically an NVQ3
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Would an NVQ Level 3 do the job or would I need to take a test out there too to get the AQF 3?
start labouring again from the bottom
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Thanks for your advice but f**k that! I'm okay with taking a pay cut
but I'm not going back to being the site bitch, been there and done that. I'm too old to be a tea donkey.
 
You might fall lucky like I did but mostly was labouring and being a trowel hand for patching render after they'd straight edged ... Money wasn't great - not compared to the price of living ... lads I knew that had been with the guy years were on prob £250-300 a day ... I started on about £160 .

Pretty sure the NVQ3 would do but you'd have a lot to submit to TRA who assess your skills ... pages and pages of writing and pictures explaining every job you've done ... AQF3 is between £2-3k or was when I looked ... can be done in a couple of days - was places in the UK that did it but sure I read it had to be done in Oz now (but don't quote me on that )

Australia makes me laugh - they want trades from here to move yet have made the red tape a nightmare - to get my permanent visa your looking at £6k at least .... and the bottom line is do you wanna be smashing 80m2 of render in 40+oc heat ???? fook that - the only winner is the gaffer who makes off all his lads and his team that 'set' with lime afterwards...
 
Money wasn't great - not compared to the price of living
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Is the cost of living high out there?
lads I knew that had been with the guy years were on prob £250-300 a day
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Really? That's excellent money especially if they're working for somebody else.

I started on about £160
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That's more than what I'm on at the moment so I'd be more than happy with that.
you'd have a lot to submit to TRA who assess your skills ... pages and pages of writing
and pictures explaining every job you've done ...
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Sounds like a bit of a headache but I could take a few snap shots and give them a story if need be.
AQF3 is between £2-3k or was when I looked
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How much!?!? Is that on top of having already paid for my NVQ Level 3?
Australia makes me laugh
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To be honest I don't have any interest at all in Australia, It's my girlfriend who wants to go
If I never went there I wouldn't feel as though I missed out on anything.
New Zealand looks nicer and I'm sure I'd have more fun in America.
to get my permanent visa your looking at £6k at least
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Is that on top of the three grand you'd dump getting the Level 3...
the bottom line is do you wanna be smashing 80m2 of render in 40+oc heat ????
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Do I f**k
no use in canada aswell, they dont skim and they dont recognise uk quals..
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That's not much good for me then.
What about Europe? I know I'm free to move and work anywhere in the EU
but would the accept NVQ's and is there much call for plastering work in places like Italy, Portugal and Greece?
 
Couldn't answer that mate. I know I had my medical insurance and they payed a% of my weekly wage onto my wage which was holiday pay or sum thing. $30 phr but the other lads that had been there longer where on upto $38 here is the work permit I had
 

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@MLD ....

- Perth was the 3rd dearest city in the world to live in when I was there
- £160 a day in oz m8 is peanuts ...a pint of beer is £10 as an example - if your not earning that waving at walls here m8 then pack it in and get another job lol
- Yes you could use your nvq3 ... like I said the TRA skills test isn't just a simple yes or no .... they grill you over - everything ... photos of work , quals,refs, explanations how you'd do it etc etc
- the heat that gets you more than the m2's of render ,, 80m2 is f**k all when its dumped in front of you on a 3m x 3m spot stand especially onto new block work

Id of stayed if I could of 'set' with lime or Acrylic but like any new place you start again ... they honestly don't give 2 shits what you've done in the UK .... new materials and new methods
 
Perth was the 3rd dearest city in the world to live in when I was there
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Out of interest what were the first and second?
£160 a day in oz m8 is peanuts
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Do you know what the minimum wage is out there?
a pint of beer is £10 as an example
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I thought £5 a pint was too much, that's ridiculous.
if your not earning that waving at walls here m8 then pack it in and get another job
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I do alright and I'm happy enough with what I earn at the moment.
I couldn't earn what I do doing anything else (unless I retrained)
Id of stayed if I could of 'set' with lime or Acrylic but like any new place you start again
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Couldn't you go it alone or do a short course to pick up the new stuff?
new materials and new methods
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Better or worse, do you think we'll one day use the same and if so which one will it be?
 
-Minimum wage was £12 an hour for stacking stuff in supermarkets etc ... not bad really
-Yeah you could go alone just have to set up an oz business number - I would recommend getting in with someone for a while though ... learn the materials, how its done etc
-No I very much doubt we will match there materials ... internals are all rendered, ceiling are all taped and jointed - uk housing now is all d&d , rates slashed and buildings knocked out for cheap as poss .
 
Hi, I did my AQF 3 and NVQ 3 was not recognised over there at the time (7years ago ish)I had to pay around £3800 for the guys (silver trowel)to come her survey my skills, externally for solid plastering/rendering and they left me with paper work to fill in and came back a month later. I also did TRA the paperwork is ridiculous.the whole process for oz takes a long time
 
Yeah @Leeroy .... agree totally - that's what put me off all the waiting and trying to plan for the future ...the red tape is stupid ... ii could walk into a job over there tomorrow - that's the thing I hate most .... too much red tape now making any planning hard
 
No skimming out here in Spain. Projection 1 coat only and a fine fina skim and sand down over that if it drys to quick in the heat. No multi finish or anything that comes close to it. External is all monocap (through colour render) scraped or dashed. Prices are not good enough to earn a living to be honest. Hence why I commute back to the UK.
 
@Leeroy ... really m8 ... that's a shame m8 - im glad I tried it even though was only a years temp visa which I didn't stay til the end of with new builds not selling found myself in the same situation as uk when it went 'pop'...

I didn't find it all that - yes the sun, beaches and laid back attitude were good but if anything it frustrated me ... nothing is done quick over there ... god setting up a oz business number took months because there just slow hahah

But you get fed up of the heat when its 40+oc everyday without a cloud in the sky lol .... cost of living was stupid to be honest ... for what I was renting a room at I could of got a mortgage on a 3-4 bed house over here haha

If anyone gets a chance to go and try it then do it ... will be a massive shock like I found in terms of how they worked but it made me a better renderer I know that
 
But I wouldn't change a thing I'm glad I never went now, it sounds great working outside in the sun, but like you say soon get fed up with the heat and frustrated. When I was gonna to go the exchange rate was up to 2.6 to the pound which would of got me a nice gaff for the money we had. But now I wouldn't get much compared to what I have here.
I had sold up everything just about to go for medical and found a lump in my neck :-( but five years clear now :-) I could go if wanted but I love living here now kids happy missus happy and I'm happy. Like I say I wouldn't change a thing:-)
. Just appreciate what you have and the grass isn't always greener.
Except it's bank holiday and in working hahaha
 
Hhahah very true ... the rate has fallen a lot - when I was there it was at 1.5 to the pound ... made your wage sound nice when converting ... and yeah I learnt pretty quicly the grass isn't greener ... pro's and cons for both countrys really ...

If I could get sponsored id go again but very much doubt it will happen due to the regulations the govt put on your employer such as going through your books all the time ... constantly checking you have work for the person etc etc ..... a bricky I knew over there was looking into it for a lad who was temp and by the end he had to say no due to all red tape
 
I did my AQF 3 and NVQ 3 was not recognised over there at the time
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Would it be the same the other way around, would an Australian need to get an NVQ 3
If he/she already had an AQF 3? I understand not recognising C&G Diplomas
and even Level 2 NVQ's but for them to dismiss a Level 3 NVQ is a bit of a joke.
No skimming out here in Spain. Projection 1 coat only and a fine fina skim and sand down
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That's not good, are their methods better than ours and do you think that will catch on
one day over here? it's worrying that all these countries don't need plasterers
and makes you wonder if one day nobody will.
just about to go for medical and found a lump in my neck
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Jesus, so if you weren't going to leave you wouldn't have found it?
I'm glad you're okay now and that you caught it in time.
 
Cheers mate:-),Yes I believe that AQF 3 is recognised over here. It is very difficult with the red tape as adamd says but if that's what you want go for it. But make sure you have deep pockets and a good head for paper work ;-D
 
if that's what you want go for it.
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It's not. I've never really had much of an interest in Australia
I'm much more interested in doing Europe but I just wanted to see what was out there.
make sure you have deep pockets and a good head for paper work
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I'm screwed then because I have neither haha
 
You would have to get used to Spanish materials plus if you were lucky enough to find work the pay would be low expats are very unforgiving and know labour is cheap at the moment.
 
Ill tell you about NZ, don't lump NZ and AUS into the same category, 2 very different places.

Plastering/gibstopping - everything's drylined with 3m long boards and then tape and jointed and usually coved, travelling 2/3 hrs a day to different sites is normal the distance between towns cities is quite far.

Lots of Chinese and phillipenoes there and the wages are about $27-$35 nzd

Rendering - sto have a unit in Auckland but it is very, very expensive gear and I think you need to be a registered installer to use it or buy it, didn't see much sand and cement and no mono, EWI is unheard of even though the housing out the is very poor, condensation, mould and damp are the norm.

Tools - everything is imported so you have to pay gst tax which is like our vat, because everything's imported there is a massive mark up, Google bunnings it's like b&q but the sell 10v dewalt drills for the equivalent of £350.00 screw fix sell them for £100, buying new tools and taking them I think you are eligible for import tax on any electrical goods under 12 months old.

Housing, very expensive and rent mortgage paid every fortnight, basic structure is weatherboard (like plastic) timber stud and then plasterboard no insulation and like with tools is expensive, windows are mostly single pane aluminium upvc double glazing very expensive, my friend in Auckland got quoted £17,000 to double glaze his bungalow.

Cost of living - very expensive, everything is imported except milk and lamb which is very expensive still, 6bottles becks was £11, lots of people I know there cannot get back due to financing.

Defiantly worth a holiday though, hope this helped buddy
 
From what I learnt when I was over there. U can earn a reasonable wage doing very standard day to day jobs. Far more than you do for the same jobs here. Depending on where you are, when it's hot it's bloody hot. I couldn't see any reason on earth to bust my arse plastering getting dusty and sweaty when u could work inside for similar money and be having a beer by the beach at 4 In your work clothes still nice and clean
 
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