# Scotland to Alberta - TFWP as an electrician



## hestersmum (Oct 29, 2012)

Hi
This is my first post, so here goes 
We are looking to move next year to Alberta. My boyfriend is an electrician and we are hoping to emigrate through the Temporary Foreign Workers Programme in Alberta.

I've got loads of questions and would really appreciate if anyone has any advice or experience of anything below :

Has anybody done a similar relocation? What were your best/worst experiences?
Any advice for renting property? (there does seem to be big differences in rental prices in different areas)
Has anyone moved with pets? How did you get them across? Any problems? How do you get on walking the dog in the winter? lol
Has anyone experienced discrimination?

I would also like to work after some settling in time. I work in marketing but can do loads of stuff inc graphic design, powerpoints, or general office work etc. Are these kind of jobs very difficult to come by? I have read loads of stuff online and it seems a good network is important. Does anyone have any experience of getting this type of work?

What are your general experiences - the good and the bad please 

How much money did you emigrate with? (we think we will have around 30kGBP but will need 2 second hand cars too). Do you think this is enough?

Has anyone gone through the process of converting UK City and Guilds electrical quals to Canadian quals? How did you find that? 

Many thanks for reading, and hope to get some interesting replies 
cheers


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## mikejb (Mar 12, 2012)

hestersmum said:


> Hi
> This is my first post, so here goes
> We are looking to move next year to Alberta. My boyfriend is an electrician and we are hoping to emigrate through the Temporary Foreign Workers Programme in Alberta.
> 
> ...


Hi

You ask a great many questions, a natural reaction given the giant leap you are both contemplating

I can't answer all you query and even those questions you pose that I can answer, will only be from a personal viewpoint, PLUS, many of the answers to your questions will also vary hugely by the location you choose.

Taking the points raised in order.

TFWP is currently frozen pretty much across Canada right now tho I believe there are exclusions to this in Alberta and I am sure others will answer this in more detail than I can.

As for the process itself there is one concern I have which is that you say from the outset, you and your boyfriend. Again there are other on this website who might have a better appreciation of this but it is my understanding, boyfriend/girlfriend relationships is NOT viewed as Husband/wife and as such, your boyfriend gaining entry via a TWP will not be enough to give you any work status in Canada. Hence, if I am correct and other may prove me wrong here, you will have to apply under your own steam or only be allowed visitor status.

My wife and I entered Canada likewise, on a TWP basis and although we live in BC we have no regrets whatsoever. Bloody cold of course in winter but then you're from Scotland so you should be well used to -30 degrees.... Hmmm or maybe not....

Rental advice is one of those questions which will definitely depends on where you are planning to stay.

In Alberta especially there are some areas (Oilfield areas, which are far from cheap where the cost of living is concerned. Places like Ft Mac are far more expensive for pretty much everything than most other towns/cities but this is tempered by the fact wages reflect this. Rental properties too will reflect the high wages.

As for rental itself. Like the UK landlords will require deposits which will vary landlord by landlord so be prepared for such

You will have no problem bringing your pets save the cost of flying them over. There will be no quarantine on their arrivals and of course you will make sure you have the vets passport for said animals together with up to date innoculations. Walking the dog is not going to be a problem. Here in BC there is a huge amount of crown land where people have the right to come and go pretty much as they please. There are of course some restrictions but walking dogs is not one of them

Discrimination? Yes. I am sure you can find discrimination anywhere in the world but from my own personal experience, Canadians are at least as tolerant of the rest, if not more so and I doubt you will ever have this as a problem

Your questions re you working go back to what I said at the outset. Assuming you can get in on a work permit then the type of work you describe will be available in any reasonable sized town and if you apply yourself I can see no reason you shouldn't find employment quickly

The money side of things? Well it would be easy to say 30k UKL would be plenty and it should be but again depends on what your own requirements are. For instance, you mention the need for two vehicles and if you are going to be living rurally then these will need to be good quality vehicles...One of the things we never had to do in the UK Scotland included, was the need to have both summer and winter tyres for your vehicle. Depending where you live, this is likely to be a must... Here, tyres and maybe wheels as well can easily set you back a small fortune.... so if you ever thought tyres in the UK were expensive... hold your breath...

You will also require rental deposit monies which could be as much as 3 months rent...so again this will eat into your 30k

One of the things you should immediately be thinking about is acquiring a credit rating and this may prove trickier than you might think. When we first came over we already had a Canadian bank account and had had that for 7 years, so naturally we thought obtaining a credit card would be simple.... Oh what a mistake that was.... so much so we ended up changing banks. So here it will be worth the effort to check and see what each of the banks can offer you.

It might also be wise to try and purchase a vehicle on credit/laon. Again this won't be easy coming over with no credit history but I know from experience it is possible to find lenders who will assist. This also serves to help you getting a credit rating as well as keeping your initial outlays down.

Finally, you won't be able to convert C&G into any Canadian credentials. You would have to either do a kind of apprenticeship or complete the Red Seal program specific to the trade in question.

Now I know I have barely touched the surface to much of what you have asked but hope some of it will have helped or at least prompted further questions. That and the fact I am sure others on here will assist as well

If I can be of any further help do feel free to PM me

Good luck

Mike


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## hestersmum (Oct 29, 2012)

Many thanks Mike, and you make some really good points (2 sets of tyres per vehicle, credit rating etc). Sorry for all the questions, just thought I would brain dump hahahaha. Thanks again. The planning continues 
Susan


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## mikejb (Mar 12, 2012)

hestersmum said:


> Many thanks Mike, and you make some really good points (2 sets of tyres per vehicle, credit rating etc). Sorry for all the questions, just thought I would brain dump hahahaha. Thanks again. The planning continues
> Susan


Hi Susan

Not a problem and I am sure others will help with their input too. Meantime, as I mentioned before, feel free to pm me if you think I might be able to assist. I can't promise but hey, you never know

Mike


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