A question about international employment

[JBJoiner]

I am currently a student at a technical college in Georgia, US. I want to work internationally once I finish trade school. What companies offer the best opportunities to work abroad?

[BLUECOLLAR]

Georgia Trade School?

[jackdawg]

You will need to ensure wherever you are getting your qualifications is recognised internationally, and valid for the type of work you will want to do. Some trades use their certifications as a control of whom can enter the industry, rather than just whether or not you are qualified, so you may need to chose the countries you might like to work in carefully.

Even interstate recognition can be difficult to obtain in Australia in some trades, without even worrying about overseas quals.

For example details of welding certificates needed in Australia can be found here. (Click on the link to the application form).
http://www.austwelding.com.au/welders-certification/

This link outlines the processes required to have trade skills obtained overseas to be recognised in Australia. I would expect you will have to run some sort of a similar process in most countries you might like to work in.
http://www.tradesrecognitionaustrali...s/default.aspx

[M J Mauer]

JB, welcome to the forum.
Ask at your school.

[Showdog75]

Hook up with the right specialty company you can work anywhere in the world. PCI, Weldtec, and WSI come to mind. There's others as well.

[TheBFA]

Don't worry about certifications. Those are left to residents. You aren't going to get an international job by applying directly in those countries. What you will find are contractors here in the US that have contracts outside of the US. You will test for that company to qualify, not certify, to work under their certification. But they generally want to see some years of experience in the industry. Certifications mean nothing to these companies. Everyone who graduates a trade school most likely cannot graduate without passing a certification test, whether or not they actually receive the certification.

I see so much false information passed here about certifications, by people who seem to only work in the few places in the industry that requires it. I'm a US citizen. I've actually worked in Australia as a welder. You don't need all these certifications as mentioned earlier. I didn't even get a weld test at either of the two jobs I worked at I the 2 years I lived there. The first job I called a guy on Saturday, he told me to show up Monday, and put me in the work ute by myself to drive 2 hours away to a university to start fabricating handrails in a new building. The next job was a state government contract doing the handrails and stainless fixtures on all the new ferry wharfs in Sydney. Government contract. Still no test, no certification. And they were STRICT on compliance with the handrails as far as specs, including the handicap ramps.

Next job I was fabricating and repairing vehicle mounted cranes. I would do new installations of cranes including fabricating the entire subframe myself. I fabricated new primary lifting brackets on the cranes. Again, no test, no certification.

I've been code welding for over 10 years. In chemical plants, refineries, power plants, food factories, aerospace, fab shops, and I have never obtained a certification. You don't need any. If you happen to find a job you need one, then go pay the couple hundred and knock one out. But you have to remember, each test only certifies you for specific types of welds on specific types of materials. That's why it's mostly a waste and companies don't care. They will test you on what they want you to weld for them to qualify for their own weld procedures.

[TheBFA]

Oh, and ProEnergy is another company I know have contracts outside the US. But I really think you'll need to get experience in the field before you'd get sent over seas. Its not just about welding. Its about being used to the jobsite atmosphere and how things work.

For other companies, look at www.industrialprojectsreport.com, and click on hot projects and you'll see all the big company ads with contact information for them. Most of them will want a profile on record before they consider you for employment, so just start going on the websites and filling out information to get on their lists.

[Newfie_1986]

Oh, and ProEnergy is another company I know have contracts outside the US. But I really think you'll need to get experience in the field before you'd get sent over seas. Its not just about welding. Its about being used to the jobsite atmosphere and how things work.

For other companies, look at www.industrialprojectsreport.com, and click on hot projects and you'll see all the big company ads with contact information for them. Most of them will want a profile on record before they consider you for employment, so just start going on the websites and filling out information to get on their lists.

ProEnergy had a contract here in Newfoundland a few years ago to install a gas turbine power plant. It was a Union job due to the site it was installed on. It was very disorganized ! I don't know if the disorganization came from ProEnergy or the local contractor, but what a **** show.