job offer in canada

Darraghgt4

hi i am a 24 year old male and am a qualified mechanic(nearly 1 year out of my time) i have been working in a ford dealership for the past 5 years and i am at the stage where i feel i need a change of scenery, my reasons being wanting to upskill in the trade as i think ive hit a brick wall in terms of learning and i also want the opportunity to travel and see the world .myself and a freind of mine in the trade have been offered a sponsorship to work in a large ford dealership in Canada..a town called Prince Albert in the region of Saskatchewan to be precice.
the guys that were recruiting seemed very enthusiastic about the whole thing and were very efficient with emails and sorting out interviews which was great.they are also willing to arrange our flights and pay for our accomadation for 3 months and will also arrange a personal vehicle for us through the dealership so i couldnt have asked for more.
im strongly considering taking the oportunity and I have about a week or 2 to make up my mind. the rates of pay are considerably better than what im getting at the moment but i understand the cost of living in canada is more? my contract is 2 years.. if perhaps it didnt work out and had to come home,would that be breach of contract? and not be let into any other country? im looking for some advice from people who work or have worked in canada and what the place is like to live in generally as i dont know where to start! i think i should go but i have my doubts... is there a reason they were so interested in us coming over? are they genuine or is it because prince albert is a dump and no one wants to work there?..basically i want to go over,upskill make money and enjoy myself at the same time. so any advice appreciated! will have about 10,000 dollars to go with

the_syco

Sounds like they'll get you to work the 24 months as either a "Working Holiday" or "Young Professionals" visa.

Darraghgt4

the working holiday visas are currently all gone so i will be working under sponsorship which is the young professionals visa

Jim2007

Well I certainly would support you idea of getting out and seeing the world. It will definitely change your perspective on live if nothing else.

I can't tell you if the kind of contract is common for mechanics, but it certainly is in my area IT and it is mainly because it is difficult to get people so the employer is will to make it sweet. So I'd say you are right to be causes and make sure you understand the terms of the contract as you are doing. From my point of view there would be two things to be clear on what would happen in the event of you having to break the contract and leave early and secondly what would happen if they broke the contract early.

Breaking a contract in Canada should have no impact on your right to obtain a visa for another country, so long as you have not had your Canadian visa terminated early or that you were deported.

As for Prince Albert, I've never been so I can't help you on that score. However looking at the Google images it does not look like a very big place, but of course that does not mean that you can have a great time there, awful lot depends on the people you meet and the friends you make. Seems like they have an ice hockey team, so that will be something new to get into....

Darraghgt4

thanks for the advice... i will certainly need to enquire more about the contract

i worked out my yearly wage and deducted the tax from that and it turns out i will make roughly 7k more (euro equivalant) than i do in ireland this seems nice, but would the cost of living outweigh the financial gain?

im all up for trying new things and going places..but i need to be making a decent living while putting money away i suppose im a little afraid of landing in a deserted town where there is little to do and not much nightlife

Jim2007

This is the best book I know of for doing international comparisons. It is published once every three years or so, so there should be a new one this year.

Of course it is very general information, but it should give you some feeling for what to expect. There is an awful lot of information packed into the book so it is well worth going over it a few times to pick up all the details.

Good luck with your adventure, you never can tell where it will take you! I left Ireland in the spring of 1990 to spend a summer climbing in the Swiss Alps and I never did get around to going home.

InTheTrees

Darraghgt4 wrote: »

thanks for the advice... i will certainly need to enquire more about the contract

I would definitely have a solicitor take a look at the contract before signing away 2 years of your life. It wouldnt cost much.

It sounds interesting though. Certainly an adventure. Its petty isolated but it would give you the "north american" experience to be able to pick somewhere less isolated after your contract is up.

Winter there is going to be like nothing you've experienced before that's for sure. I expect its snowed in for a long time each year. Have you checked the wiki?

shruikan2553

I was looking at a job that involved a lot of traveling around the world, accommodation and flights paid for, decent salary so I like you wondered whats the catch? If you left within 2 years or something you had to pay back 5000 euro I think. Can't remember the exact amount or time frame but it's something to look out for.

Darraghgt4

my starting rate of pay is 27 dollars an hour on a set wage for 3 months.. this will be followed by 30 dollars on a flat rate. ive just been told that this is a low wage as apparently electricians and other tradesmen can make up to 60 an hour so im a little wary to be honest. im sure there are better opportunities? thanks for all replies so far

Jim2007

Darraghgt4 wrote: »

I've just been told that this is a low wage as apparently electricians and other tradesmen can make up to 60 an hour so im a little wary to be honest.

You need to be careful about these kind of statements too, is that rate in fact on offer in the area you are going to? How does actually stack up against the rates on offer in a more urban setting and so on. Try to deal in hard facts rather than people's opinions because opinions are often very skewed.

Jim2007

InTheTrees wrote: »

I would definitely have a solicitor take a look at the contract before signing away 2 years of your life. It wouldnt cost much.

I expect that contract will be set out in accordance with Canadian law and although both jurisdictions have common law, there are still a lot of differences.

silja

**** Moving to Canada forum for more answers from people who have done this *****

bcibnr

Hi Darragh,

I'm living in Saskatoon, about an hour and a half south of Prince Albert. You should check whether your visa ties you to your employer, and whether you can apply for PR on that visa. We came over under the Provincial Nominee Program, and were tied to the employer until we got Permanent Residency. If you are tied, but can apply for PR, it means that you can take any job anywhere once you're a Permanent Resident.