Australia and New Zealand Job Market

[SEL]

Hi All

Had a chat with CFI friend of mine who had been told by an ex-colleague that some Australian companies were finding it tricky to fill some pilot seats. He couldn't give me any details but I would guess these would be experienced off-shore posts.

What is the general consensus about the job situation in Australia and New Zealand? How do the markets differ; tourist, flight school, fire-fighting, off-shore etc.

Are there jobs and are they being filled?

Tried a search on this but it didn't quite answer the full question.

Standing by..........

[Heavylifter]

theres not much hapning in nz jobwise mate unless you know some of the local operators ive worked in nz for 25+years flying all sorts of machines and yet the only time i got near the money there as i do overseas now was when i was doing animal recovery in the 70s and those days are long gone (unfortunatly)

[cruisercruiser]

Hi All

Had a chat with CFI friend of mine who had been told by an ex-colleague that some Australian companies were finding it tricky to fill some pilot seats. He couldn't give me any details but I would guess these would be experienced off-shore posts.

What is the general consensus about the job situation in Australia and New Zealand? How do the markets differ; tourist, flight school, fire-fighting, off-shore etc.

Are there jobs and are they being filled?

Tried a search on this but it didn't quite answer the full question.

Standing by..........

Greetings,

A post I submitted at : PPRuNe Forums (http://www.pprune.org/forums/index.php) > Rest of the World & Non-English Language Forums (http://www.pprune.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=8) > Far East, Asian & Indian (http://www.pprune.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=45) http://www.pprune.org/forums/images/misc/navbits_finallink.gif (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=213914&page=3) Singaporean self-sponsored CPL holders - where are you?

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=213914&page=3



QOUTE

"Hi cochise,

I have explored the option of getting a CPL/IR in FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach Florida but was quite apprehensive since I am foreigner and will not have rights to work/live in the US. I understand that there is always the option of license conversion to comply with the local authorities anywhere, however I am also exploring ways to gain hours working as a foreigner overseas.

I wonder if you could shed some light on hiring policies in the US to alleviate my pessimism. let me explain:

I would like to quote an example. Friend “A” (fellow SIA reject) recently went to UK for the selection of the British Airways CitiExpress (BACX) approved pilot training program with Flight Training Europe. He passed all 4 phases of the selection and was one of the 12 out of the 300 odd applicants who were offered the scheme. After getting the formal letter of offer and quitting his job in Singapore to make preparations for the Initial UK JAR Class 1 medical, student VISA for training in Spain and arrangements of funding, he received a rude shock. He was told the offer made to him would be withdrawn if he does not have the legal right to work/live in the UK.

Thinking that applying a UK working permit is just an administrative procedure, he went about to look into how he could apply for one. To his disappointment, he was told by the UK Home office that only a UK based employer could do it for him. There is no provision of any kind for him to a apply on his own behalf. Although BACX requires him to have a working permit before the scheme could be offered to him, they are “not able” to apply one for him. He was devastated. He is in the process of looking for another job, and would probably be haunted by the cruel experience for the rest of his life.

The same applies for the australian option: I have already explored this option and have been visiting the Australian immigration website to research into the possibility. (For details please refer to http://www.immi.gov.au/) (http://www.immi.gov.au/)). To those who are familiar with the immigration laws please correct me if I’m wrong. To work in Australia as a skilled person, he has a few choices, to apply for the temporary employer-sponsorship arrangement, or become a permanent resident where he can work after getting his VISA in the “general s killed migration” program or the “employer sponsored migration” program. All of these options would require him to satisfy a set of criteria before the permit would be granted. To a mechanical engineering graduate who has about 2 years of working experience like me, I found the permits quite difficult to get. It would be easier for a student who has studied for at least 2 years in an australian registered institution to apply for one ( because he would have more points to apply for the PR which allows him to work), or get an australian employer to get you into one of the “employer sponsored” program. As to whether the employer is willing to do it for the prospective foreigner employee, I am aware that there is an abundance of australian CPL/IR holders waiting around for any kind of bush jobs and employers would not go through the hassle of applying a work permit for a foreigner.

The above 2 examples kind of gave me the idea that taking a license in the US/Europe/Aus and working there isn't quite as straight forward as it seems because of work permits issues. And would getting the J1 visa in the states to continue there for a year as an instructor help much in clocking the required hours? 1 year seems to short a time to get the required hours.


Any replies or comments are welcomed.

cruiser.

UNQOUTE

I am a singaporean exploring options to get a CPL/IR in australia and would like to find out more about the general aviation scene Down Under. I would also like to find out the possiblities of a foreigner "Bush flying" in australia.

Could anyone with the relevant experience please enlighten me? I have searched pprune for such information to no avail. I would appreciate it very much if anyone could refer me to such information shared here. Apologies for repeating the thread in the event it is really repeated.

I understand that BlueEagle is an experienced australian pilot with several ratings, could you please shed some light on this topic?

Cheers,

cruiser

[BigMike]

Yes there have been some jobs available, but for guys with experience. Same old story for low timers. If you come to Oz and do your CPL here, there is a chance for work depending on who you learn with, and what sort of attitude you have.
Search the employment threads for Australia and they will give you all the info.

[EBCAU]

I have to agree with Heavylifter - not a lot happening in NZ - and with the state of the economy it's not going to improve for a while I think.
There will always be the odd position for the experienced, but the money is poor.
It's a way of life, rather than a way of making a good living. If you can afford to work there, it's a great place, but those that want to get ahead leave. That applies to more than just the aviation employment sector though.