new irish guy looking for advice

[seamielog]

hey guys another new guy here im thinking of emigrating from Ireland.i was looking at Canada or New Zealand as options.Can anyone from either country tell me what the job market is like for processor operators/heavy machinery ?would a company sponsor an Irish worker for a visa or have ye got enough native workers ? any help would be great thanks

[Woodwalker]

Can't answer your questions, but welcome to the forum and top of the morning to you.

[seamielog]

thanks anyway nice to meet you

[Magicman]

All that I can offer you is a smile  and a hearty welcome to the Forestry Forum.

[Ianab]

In New Zealand you could probably find work easy enough as a machinery operator. Issue will be getting immigration approval. If you are a Dr or Engineer, you to go the front of the queue. If you have a million$ that you are going to invest in a business, front of the queue. Normal working types? Not so easy.

You should make enquiries with NZ embassy over there and they will be able to tell you what the current criteria are and what your chances are.

Ian

[bushmechanic]

Hello seamielog I'm from the east coast of Canada,Newfoundland to be exact.Round here the forestry market is in the tank right now,we went from three paper mills to one and that one is only barely above water.We only have a few larger lumber mills left also.Most of the contractors now are owner operators and are cutting logs and firewood.There seems to be still a demand for process operators as most of the older workers are in the oil patch.Sorry I can't help with the emmigrating or visa info,but good luck.

[seamielog]

thanks  a mill for that lads New Zealand sounds a bit more promising i checked NZ immigration website and forest machinery operators are on a list of "in demand" people.the tricky part is getting a job offer from the other side of world. any ideas on where to start with that Ian ?

[Ianab]

Might be worth keeping an eye on the jobs section on this site
http://www.trademe.co.nz/

I see there is a forestry job in the Bay of Plenty area running a Waratah harvester.

"Applicants for this position should have NZ residency or a valid NZ work permit." That would suggest they are open to hiring someone from overseas as long as they can get the paperwork.

Ian

[seamielog]

thanks for that Ian. Ive seen alot of jobs on trademe but they dont give email addresses. Ive checked NZ yellow pages and finda biz and there are very few email addresses available.is there any way to get logging contractors email adds. or are they same as Irish still rely on phone ? sorry for bustin your balls about this Ian

[Okrafarmer]

Morning to you, Seamielog! Welcome to the forum. Forestry is down all over, but picking up a little. You don't want to come to the States? Even if you didn't get your preferred work, you'd get something good here. A big smile and an Irish accent will get you hired some places.  ;D

[Ianab]

Probably best to get on the phone. Publishing email addresses just seems to attract spam and scammers. A lot of the smaller contractors wont have office staff or a proper web site.

Forestry here in NZ isn't really "down", well maybe the market prices are a bit lower due to global issues. But the pine trees are grown on a very short rotation, and they pretty much need harvesting on schedule like any other crop.

Ian

[Okrafarmer]

To clarify, Ian, I did mean the prices. But they appear to have bottomed out and may rise again, just depends on what happens. The trees do have to get harvested before they rot-- unless it is less of a loss to write them off. . . . . .

Many of our hardwoods here can be left to grow and they'll just get bigger. They'll be harder to process for being so big, and there can be some loss to old age, etc, but it's easy enough to let them slide a few years if need be.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

And Welcome to The Forum You should be able to find a sponsor in any country if you know your stuff Mate  ;)  ;D ;D My Mum is from Belfast her whole family migrated here in 69 and My great grandfather came From Kilkenny about 1908 ;D ;D 8) Jim stop dangling that bloody carrot in front of Me cause you know Ill just have to bite Mate  ;) :D :D :D ;D 8)

I will also add we have alot of Kiwi's here working because the pays better but to the same token the cost of living in Australia is higher than it is over there and its a 3hr plane flight between the two and their logs are Bigger n Cheaper Hmmm  This thinkin games dangerous  ;) :D :D ;D ;D

Regards Chris

[seamielog]

Thanks for all your help Ian if i make it down to NZ the beers are on me.hey Chris i hear OZ is like Ireland on tour at the moment n the young ones are getting a very bad rep id prefer to keep away from that.Its impossible to get a visa for the US from what i hear so i didnt even consider it. NZ sounds like the place for me if theyll have me.Great forum by the way thanks lads

[Okrafarmer]

Thanks for all your help Ian if i make it down to NZ the beers are on me.hey Chris i hear OZ is like Ireland on tour at the moment n the young ones are getting a very bad rep id prefer to keep away from that.Its impossible to get a visa for the US from what i hear so i didnt even consider it. NZ sounds like the place for me if theyll have me.Great forum by the way thanks lads

Well, I probably shouldn't say this, but that hasn't stopped quite a few people.  >:(  :-[ Uh, well, we'll leave the politics out of this discussion. . . . . . Hey, try every angle--- I mean, every legal angle, friend! Maybe you need to think outside the box a bit. The Irish built large chunks of this country, both in wood and stone, and culture.

[seamielog]

Thanks okrafarmer i will try my best as always cant do better than that.

[barbender]

 I'll be more blunt than Okra, get a vacation to Mexico and skip out and sneak across the border It will really confuse immigration if they catch you though :D

[losttheplot]

Canada has a points system.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/assess/index.asp

I was a commercial fisherman when I was looking into it.
About as low scoring job as you can get.

I married a Canadian (almost 20yrs ago) and skipped the points system.  ;)

Australia has a 1 year work permit system.  You had to be under 25 to apply, when I got mine in 1992.

[seamielog]

hey barbender, 10 or 15 years ago i might have done it but two many miles on the clock now to be lookin over my shoulder.    I suppose marrige has its upsides I didnt see too many !!! ha ha

[Mark Wentzell]

This thread has some links you might find helpful https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,59874.0.html

Good luck.

[Leigh Family Farm]

Two cents on visas into the US....

They are not difficult to get but they cost money ($1000 or more) and take a while (year or more). For your situation, an H1B1 visa (3 year work visa) is not out of the question. Also, if the company that can hire you is willing to do it, you can then get a green card after that. It's a lot of red tape and loopholes to go through but it can be done.

If you have any questions about the US side of things, PM me and we can chat.

[seamielog]

thanks lads,kilgrosh ill check it out I might be in touch thanks a mill

[Okrafarmer]

thanks lads,kilgrosh ill check it out I might be in touch thanks a mill

;D On this forum, "Thanks a mill" has extra meaning!  :D

[Leigh Family Farm]

No problem, Seamie.

[seamielog]

nice one okra, you need a sense of humour for this job !!!

[Okrafarmer]

nice one okra, you need a sense of humour for this job !!!

8)
That's why they keep me around!  :D

[seamielog]

hey guys just an update, Ive been in contact with a kiwi contractor since and things look very promising. I wont say too much about it yet in case I jinx it. ill keep ye posted thanks for all the help

[Okrafarmer]

Sounds good, Seamie, I hope it works out well for you! Give us an update when you know for sure. Don't say more now, or the luck of the Irish might not be enough to keep you from jinxing it.  ;)

[Roberta]

Hi everyone. There are many opportunities in Western Canada, specifically Alberta, for Waratah processor operators, as well as other forestry related heavy equipment.  Due to the shortage in most sectors of the workforce, there has been some changes recently to the regulations for foreign workers entering Canada.  We are a major forestry contracting company in Alberta, and are more than willing to explore these opportunites for experienced and dedicated operators.  Please feel free to email me at roberta@zellindustries.com.

[seamielog]

hey guys its been a while, just a quick update, ive got a good job offer in NZ to start july 1st. My visa application went in on monday so I should know the outcome in 4 weeks. fingers crossed

[Ianab]

Good luck with the paperwork  8)

[irishpat]

ah th best of luck . Im sure you'll find somewhere good for your change of life.you know you sound s though your a good worker so your 90percent thre my man.   pat louth.Bestof luck .

[Okrafarmer]

Welcome to the Forum, irishpat! I didn't know there was anyone in Ireland named Pat!  :D  :D  :D Only joking.  ;D I hope you find this Forum a friendly and helpful place to spend time. What's your connection to forestry? What do you do? 

[seamielog]

Thanks lads nice to meet ya Pat, I was startin to think I was the only Irish guy on here. Ill let ye know how i get on soon

[JohnM]

Change of scenery indeed!  Ireland to NZ is a haul.  Congrats and good luck!  Well I guess you already got 'the luck'. ;)  My grandfather was from County Cork, he never did bother with one of those troublesome visas when he came over. ;D :D

Maybe I should be able to figure this out, but I can't (read: Google didn't help :().  How do you pronounce 'Seamie'?  Shay-may?  I say I should be able to figure it because my oldest sons name is Seamus. :-[

Welcome to the FF, irishpat.

JM

[seamielog]

Hey john m, pronounce it "shay me"

[Okrafarmer]

Seamie, I hope everything goes well for you! Seems to me, the adventure you look forward to having could be worthy of a new folk song!  :laugh:  ;D
8) 8) 8)