Got a question Jack about jobs in Queensland?

[jjmitchell60]

My son has put his application in with several "head hunters' being he is acertified welder and machinist. Well one contatced him about working in Queensland for $100k+ a year as a welder/machinist (basically a lay outmetal fabricater) but I was wondering if it is hard to find skilled laborors in down under? Why are they looking at people in the US or is it possibly a scam? They said they did construction and work on mining machinery/related projects. My son is 25 and cannot find ANY jobs here in rural KY. What he can find are all in other states but no housing there. The "head hunter" said he would have housing and they pay the move to Queensland from the U.S., is that odd as a general rule?

My question is have you any insight on these "jobs" and is it normal to recruit skilled laborors from say the U.S.? Appreciate any thing you can add or offer on this subject.

[jack404]

the mining boom has created a situation of remote area work many are fly in fly out work for 10 days and fly out for a break of 5 .. and yeah big money

heres who i use when looking ( i cant get a health clearance to do mining work but do act as enviromental control officer for a week here and there , Shooting ferals)

http://www.golding.com.au/careers/current_vacancies.php

look its a tough game , they demand hard effort but if the young fella can do it he'll make big bucks , i've young koori mates who have just quit after 5 years , they have enough between 8 to buy a 250,000 acre property , and they'll never work for a boss again , they'll be cattle ranchers and feed producers , and enough money to buy a harvester and planter ..

but again lots of folks quit and say too hard , too hot , etc .. and why they pay to get folks

sadly theres been a trend to hire non aussies , as they dont get caught up in local matters , they do the job and then move on when the job moves on .. lots of recent mining ghost towns here ,

[jack404]

news items about job shortages and mining jobs

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/too...-1226418757943

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news...-1226177764876

http://www.couriermail.com.au/questn...-1226261937680

[jack404]

I dunno if you remember grant a young guy ex US army , he's here working now as a machinist

he went through OBI

heres the info from them and links

Sponsored Employment

Sponsored Employment with OBI Recruitment
OBI Recruitment can sponsor skilled workers from overseas to come and work in Australia through its Federal Labour Agreement with the Department of Immigration. We are one of the few companies in Australia to have an agreement like this.
Under this agreement, we can sponsor people to live and work in Australia under the Temporary Longstay Business Visa (subclass 457). As a sponsored employee, you would work in Australia for our clients, under the direct employment of OBI Recruitment. This has many advantages for international job-seekers including:
We take care of the sponsorship process and assist you to complete all the necessary paperwork and assessments.
As an employee of OBI Recruitment, you are paid by us giving you some assurance of income whilst here.
Upon arrival we will help you get set up and settled before starting your new job.
Seeking applications from skilled workers
OBI Recruitment is calling for applications today from skilled workers. The following occupations are in particular demand:
Farmers and Farm Managers
Diesel Fitters
Welders
Fabricators
Mechanics
If you are interested in becoming a sponsored employee with OBI Recruitment, you can register here.
If your occupation is not listed above, we encourage you to send submit your CV anyway as you may still qualify for sponsored employment through an alternative visa class.
Requirements for 457 Visa Applicants
To apply for sponsored employment with OBI Recruitment, you will need to have the following:
Minimum of 3 years experience.
Ability to speak, read and write English.
Skills and/or qualifications on parity with the Australian equivalent.
OBI Recruitment been sponsoring employees to come and work in Australia under 457 Visas since 1992.
When you arrive in Australia we will ensure you have the information you need to get settled and set up before you start work. From opening a bank account to getting a mobile phone, our team will guide you through your first few weeks in Australia.

http://www.obirecruitment.com.au/-45...red-employment

he sussed this one out himself , it ran ad's in houston last year and now he's here he's on $42 a hour i think

and will head back to the US next year after a 2 year contract with he hopes about $180K cash


OBI is a US outfit who moved here in 92 and became 100% aussie except for the bosses who are US folks

they got big off roxby downs and have hired a lot of US workers for here

may be a good place to look at ,

[68c15]

kind of sounds like the oil fields in North Dakota. a year ago some town had a population of about 400. now it's something like 14,000. a friend of mine drives truck as an owner-operator and was almost ready to go up there until he found out how flooded the place is with trucks.

[jack404]

yeah similar here , no shortage of truckies up at the mines , its the support folks they need , to build the loaders , to build to weigh stations the dump loaders and conveyers

trucks is the one thing we aint short on

[jjmitchell60]

Thanks Jack. I will have him read this tonight.
He can get a job in the Oil Fields here BUT we know several there now and all have advised him to forget it. They say the money is great, all the OT you will want, benefits great, BUT housing is none, PERIOD. I know of 4 sharing a 2 bedroom house that you can throw a cat through the wall in any room. They are paying $5K a MONTH (split between the 4) but at least utilities are included. 50 miles from work site and it took them all several MONTHS to find the housing. Know of one who bought a RV up there on a concrete slab. He paid $20K for a $3K RV and pays $1K a month lot rent. Others are actually sleeping in tents and cars. Now the locals are cracking down with zoning laws which have cut down to no new RV parks and most places are requiring 5 acres for a trailer or house site out of city limits and in city limits very strict zoning laws. A 5 acre lot with no utilities costing over $100K and you then have to have utilities installed plus either build or put a modular home on it.
Here in our state jobs are not at all out there. Now and then a job at a gas station or flipping burgers for $8-9 per hour but they are very few of those to be had. In the 2 larger metro area, closest one is 50 miles for us, you can get $10-$12 per hour but rent is $1000-$1500 per month plus utilities and if you commute you are paying the gas on top of rent in home town. Rent in our small town is $500-$800 a month plus utilities. IF he could find something close at $15 an hour, within 30 miles, he can build a 24'x24' small house on one of our farms for around $20K if we do a lot of the work our selves but those $15 per hour jobs are 1 inn10,000 at best in that distance from home. Last factory to accept applications had 50 job openings and 21,000 applicants for jobs starting at $12 and change per hour but it was 15 miles from us and i you lasted 2 years you became perment at $18 per hour starting pay. My son in law is a team leader there at $25+ an hour.

Anyways, I will pass the info on and see who the head hunter group was. They said he would have housing for him and his GF plus at least $100K US a year. I am just worried it is a scam outfit so like I said, will have him read all you post jack. THANK YOU a bunch.

[jack404]

and its just as expencive here , $ 10 for a hamburger that'd leave a rat hungry

there are a lot of scams but if he's employed under australian law ( some folks get hired under US or phillipine law which both suck sorry) he'll be ok , as rates are set documented and must be paid .. US law , you can sign away all your rights ..

you cant under Australian employment law , the default legal contract is the law ..

but they are trying to hire asians and others now gina reinhardt is pushing for that and she owns half the mines here .. so times may change