Aircraft work in Oz.

[EvoIan]

I have just been granted my permanent residency visa for Oz, I have worked as a civilian on military rotary wing for 19 years and have a couple of questions.
1. Can I carry out work on military aircraft before I become a citizen?
2. Do companies in Oz supply all tools, or should I bring my own?

Thanks in advance, Ian.

[sthaussiepilot]

Millitary Aircraft you'll need to be very careful, ususally I'd say no, however you have been given residency here, so I belive you should be able to provided you pass the ASIC police check etc...

And Usually you do get tools supplied but just ask them first, most do supply them from what I've been told

[Westaussielame]

Hi EVOIAN,
The mob i work for has one of the biggest stiff wing military contracts in OZ and we employ a significant number of overseas sourced people who would only have permanent resident status including a fair number from the UK.
All of the work carried out on the RAAF bases are from Controlled Tool Kits.
Stacks of work available for fling wing engineers away from the military side as well but a basic tool kit would be required in most instances .
Good luck
Westaussielame

[spanner90]

Hi EvoIan,

You didn't mention your trade (Mech/Avs), but whichever, there is plenty of work on Mil rotary wing for the right person.

Your options are limited to Navy/Army bases, and there are only a few dotted around the country.

You don't need citizenship, but you do need to pass a security clearance.

All tools are provided for defence civilians in a military environment.

Additionally, all civilian contractors/employees are required to comply with Def (Aust) 9022 (available on-line), so you may need to do some training to meet the Aussie requirements.

Feel free to PM me, I may be able to assist, but as it's my job, I don't want to advertise.

Hope you like Vegemite, cold beer and BBQs!!

Spanner

[EvoIan]

Thanks for all the info. I am airframe and engines trained and will be looking to move to the Brisbane area (I have family there). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

"Hope you like Vegemite, cold beer and BBQs!!"

Yes, yes I do.

Ian.

[xxxchopperpilot]

give Helitech a call, they are hiring unlicenced engineers at the moment

[spanner90]

Perhaps Boeing at Oakey. Or Australian Aerospace (EADS) in Brisbane.

Boeing provide support for the Army Aviation Centre, and AA are assembling Aussie Tigers and MRH90's.

Good luck.

Spanner

[EvoIan]

Thanks for all the replies, they have been very useful. I have a new question that I hope can be answered. A lot of the jobs that I have seen for AME's in Oz require a Certificate IV in Aeroskills. My understanding is that this is a formal qualification that apprentices and the like sit when training. My question is will my British M.O.D. run apprenticeship and O.N.C. and H.N.C. qualifications in aerospace engineering be seen as equivalent? Thanks in advance, Ian.

[spanner90]

Hi EvoIan,

You Brit quals are similar to the Cert IV in Aeroskills, but they must be compared to the Aus Qualification Framework.

Part of my job is to do exactly that. The requirement stems from the Def Aust 9022 I mentioned previously. If you apply to a Defence contrator for a job, the first thning they will need to do, is get your existing qualifications converted to the Aus equivalent.

To explain; Aus has embraced "Competency Based Training" as the standard for all trades training. This means that not only do you have to pass the academics (knowledge), you must also demonstrate the ability to do the job (skill), and you must have the correct approach to the job (attitude). Hence, a competency is made up of Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes (SKA). The only valid way of assessing these is via On-Job Assessment, by an Approved (Aerospace) Assessor. Once you have collected enough competencies from the Aeroskills package, you are granted the Certificate IV in Aeroskills (Mech/Struct/Avionics).

I hope I haven't bored you with academic crap, and that you find this information useful.

Spanner

[spanner90]

Just realised my last response may not have answered your question.

If your MOD quals are based upon the same range of competencies, and to the same depth as an Aus Aircraft Technician, then your quals will most probably equate to the Cert IV.

The competencies are available on-line under the following web-site:

www.ntis.gov.au

If you want to PM me, I will provide further guidance.

Spanner

[Avtrician]

Bring along as much proof of training as you can, and record of authorizations for work on equipment.These will help your assessment for the cert IV, you may have to do a bridging course to cover any perceived gaps. I had to do similar stuff, and that was from RAAF training go figure. At least i didnt have to go back to school. We have had uk exchange programs in the past (defence that is) so shouldnt be too hard.

Good luck for the future.

[xxxchopperpilot]

Have you called Helitech in Brisbane yet, enter the civvy world, you'll get a good career path with this company and they pay better than Boeing or Australian Aerospace

[EvoIan]

First of all, sorry for taking so long to thank you all for the information, stupid computer crashed.
Anyway, Spanner90 - thanks for the info on converting to Aeroskills IV, I think I should be able to prove my competencies in any field required as the MOD has gone totally compentency based and I have a recorded document showing my skills.
AVTrician - I do have an original copy of my indentures from my apprenticeship, certificates and syllabus information from my college training and a list of competencies as mentioned to Spanner90 above.
XXXChopperpilot - I have seen the adverts from HeliTech and really like the look of them as a company and would be very happy to work there. I have not applied to work there yet as I believe it may be a little bit early yet as I do not arrive until mid-January.
Once again, thanks to all and any further advice would be greatly appreciated.