# Any Mechanics On this forum?



## LindaDoyle (Nov 5, 2010)

Hi, just wondered if there is anyone on this forum who has successfully found work in Canada as a mechanic. My husband has over 15 years experience but its in auto mechanics as opposed to heavy duty mechanics. Has anyone any success stories? Likewise, anyone been refused admission? Thx all. This forum is great for sharing questions. Linda & James.


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## squargle (Nov 15, 2009)

LindaDoyle said:


> Hi, just wondered if there is anyone on this forum who has successfully found work in Canada as a mechanic. My husband has over 15 years experience but its in auto mechanics as opposed to heavy duty mechanics. Has anyone any success stories? Likewise, anyone been refused admission? Thx all. This forum is great for sharing questions. Linda & James.


I managed to get a job as an auto mechanic in a Canadian tire with an LMO a couple of years ago , Having sat my red seal exam while here on a visit . I hated the job but it served its purpose I now have permanent reisdency. The fact that I hated the job may just have been that I was not right for it rather than the job being no good , some of the other employees there seemed happy. Beware of flat rate it is a double edged sword.


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## LindaDoyle (Nov 5, 2010)

squargle said:


> I managed to get a job as an auto mechanic in a Canadian tire with an LMO a couple of years ago , Having sat my red seal exam while here on a visit . I hated the job but it served its purpose I now have permanent reisdency. The fact that I hated the job may just have been that I was not right for it rather than the job being no good , some of the other employees there seemed happy. Beware of flat rate it is a double edged sword.


That sounds hopeful. Thanks for the reply. We are heading over on 28th February and meeting two potential employers whom had advertised in Winnipeg. We are also planning on him sitting red seal when we get there. Did you have any trouble with the examination? Did you find it difficult? We purchased the book from Centennial college and are waiting for it to arrive. What part of Canada did you find work in? And did you find the job online or did you just take the chance and walk into garages on arrival? Sorry about all the questions but you're the first person who seems to have gone down the road we are hoping to go down. What do you mean by ur last comment? Beware of flat rate???? Thanks in advance. Linda & James Doyle


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## squargle (Nov 15, 2009)

LindaDoyle said:


> That sounds hopeful. Thanks for the reply. We are heading over on 28th February and meeting two potential employers whom had advertised in Winnipeg. We are also planning on him sitting red seal when we get there. Did you have any trouble with the examination? Did you find it difficult? We purchased the book from Centennial college and are waiting for it to arrive. What part of Canada did you find work in? And did you find the job online or did you just take the chance and walk into garages on arrival? Sorry about all the questions but you're the first person who seems to have gone down the road we are hoping to go down. What do you mean by ur last comment? Beware of flat rate???? Thanks in advance. Linda & James Doyle


First off I think you can find all the information in the red seal book online at red-seal dot ca/[email protected]?sbmt=Search&tid=23&tid=23 and download the National Occupational Analysis (NOA) its a pdf, The red seal exam is relatively thorough.If you have british certification you should be allowed to sit the exam, I recommend contacting the local automotive apprenticeship board to arrange this .I Purchased some practice exams through exambankdotcom which I found useful for idendifying my weaknesses and for finding out the subtle differences in a canadian exam format. I would say that finding work without Canadian certification is VERY difficult unless you know someone who can put in a good word for you. I arranged for a couple of interviews during my visit and was fortunate to get a job offer . Canadian garage trade is highly seasonal with peaks aroud this time of year (winter tyres going on and pre winter service ) and also in the spring (winter tyres coming off) but very quiet in the new year and after the kids go back to school end of summer . 
Flat rate is a pay structure , If your hourly rate is say $25 then you get $25 for each hours flat rate work completed, e.g. a brake job pays 2.1 hours you get 2.1 hours pay no matter if you get it done in 1/2 hour or 6 hours . The times are industry standard times and a good tradesman can usually make on this , however on a quiet day with little work in the shop you can go to work all day twiddle your thumbs and earn nothing , also with you as the new boy whoever hands out the work may take all the cream and give you the poor jobs with little oportunity to make time from or upsell extra work on. Where I worked there were other techs making $70K+ while I was lucky to make $35K, I have 20 yrs experience and ran my own engine repair shop in the UK for some years , I feel that I was perhaps unsuited to what amounted to kwik-fit type work but I also feel that I was put in a situation where the odds were against me. 
I hope this information is useful to you and not too discouraging , forewarned is forearmed and shoud give you some good interview questions for any prospective employer, apart from my poor job experience I love living here in Nova Scotia and have no regrets as to the move.


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## LindaDoyle (Nov 5, 2010)

squargle said:


> First off I think you can find all the information in the red seal book online at red-seal dot ca/[email protected]?sbmt=Search&tid=23&tid=23 and download the National Occupational Analysis (NOA) its a pdf, The red seal exam is relatively thorough.If you have british certification you should be allowed to sit the exam, I recommend contacting the local automotive apprenticeship board to arrange this .I Purchased some practice exams through exambankdotcom which I found useful for idendifying my weaknesses and for finding out the subtle differences in a canadian exam format. I would say that finding work without Canadian certification is VERY difficult unless you know someone who can put in a good word for you. I arranged for a couple of interviews during my visit and was fortunate to get a job offer . Canadian garage trade is highly seasonal with peaks aroud this time of year (winter tyres going on and pre winter service ) and also in the spring (winter tyres coming off) but very quiet in the new year and after the kids go back to school end of summer .
> Flat rate is a pay structure , If your hourly rate is say $25 then you get $25 for each hours flat rate work completed, e.g. a brake job pays 2.1 hours you get 2.1 hours pay no matter if you get it done in 1/2 hour or 6 hours . The times are industry standard times and a good tradesman can usually make on this , however on a quiet day with little work in the shop you can go to work all day twiddle your thumbs and earn nothing , also with you as the new boy whoever hands out the work may take all the cream and give you the poor jobs with little oportunity to make time from or upsell extra work on. Where I worked there were other techs making $70K+ while I was lucky to make $35K, I have 20 yrs experience and ran my own engine repair shop in the UK for some years , I feel that I was perhaps unsuited to what amounted to kwik-fit type work but I also feel that I was put in a situation where the odds were against me.
> I hope this information is useful to you and not too discouraging , forewarned is forearmed and shoud give you some good interview questions for any prospective employer, apart from my poor job experience I love living here in Nova Scotia and have no regrets as to the move.


Thats all really helpful information. Thanks a mill. Didn't know all about that flat rate of pay at all so thats interesting to note. I have downloaded all that info. on red seal and hubby's scrutinising it as I write. Thanks for all your valuable information and hopefully once he reads up on all the different tasks and terminologys, as well as downloading those practice tests on exambank.com it might help him to pass first time but even if he doesn't at least he can sit it again and have a good idea what will be required. We are heading over as I said in my earlier post for Manitoba direction and he has two interviews set up so fingers crossed we will be one of the lucky ones. Best of luck and delighted it has all worked out well for you in the end. The very best wishes to you and your's. From James and Linda Doyle.


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## shahadat73 (Nov 28, 2010)

I also knew many thing here and thanks for the thread.


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## tra072011 (Jan 4, 2012)

Hi,

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.

Tks again and pls keep posting.


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## LindaDoyle (Nov 5, 2010)

tra072011 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.
> 
> Tks again and pls keep posting.


Update on this thread......since originally posting question on Red Seal, OH has since done it but failed when we were here on a reccie trip back in February 2011, however it did not deter us from coming here and you can still get work as a mechanic without it. You must have it for the larger dealerships but they will take you on until you actually pass it. We are currently waiting for his second exam date and he has to pass it the second time around or has to go back to classes, anyway, he is stressed to say the least about it cos he didnt do too well the last time but i keep telling him to treat that as a practice run. In meantime he is working for Winnipegs largest dealership and we are hoping to apply for PNP once he passes it this time around. The wages are crap where he is based cos he started out on the flat rate where he was paid his 40 hours a week no matter how many cars he worked on but now he has been put on the piece rate system so to speak so last week he only got paid for 26 hrs cos things are very slow after Xmas. We are hoping that when he passes the red seal and we get PNP that he will be able to shop around for better wages cos at the moment they are crap. People keep telling me how lucky i am that my husband has a trade and we must be on the pigs back, but certainly this is not the case, the money is pretty crap to be honest. His boss is on mega bucks cos he has been there 10 years and has built his way up so hopefully in a few years time when we have been here longer we too will be in a better position. Hope it works out for you all and be interested to hear how others are getting on. Take care,


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## Kathleen Kischer (Feb 1, 2012)

There is a lot of work in Alberta for mechanics. Mostly in the north like Edmonton. They are currently paying about $22.00EUR per hour for starting salary. Canada is short skilled workers like mechanics and the employers are being allowed to bring in workers from abroad.


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