HI there, my husband and I are thinking of emigrating to Canada and would ideally like to secure a job before going.
He has a construction background and now does kitchen designing and fitting. He has worked on the retail side as well as dealing with large developments. Does anyone know of any positions in this field?

Would really appreciate some feedback.

Regards
Kim and Angela

I would say, get here first and then start the process of looking for jobs. However, I do not think he will have a problem finding work in his field - he could also find employment with Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Rona and or Lowes - all large building supply stores - even IKEA!

In my opinion, anyone who is a "handyman" can and will find employment in this country... ask me, I am forever looking for someone to do a job and especially well qualified craftspeople. You will become successful here, no doubt.

Good luck!

In my opinion, anyone who is a "handyman" can and will find employment in this country... ask me, I am forever looking for someone to do a job and especially well qualified craftspeople. You will become successful here, no doubt.

Hi dieulefit

Thanks for your response. Obviously what is difficult to gage is the relative costs of living in SA and Canada and hence the salary ballpark that might be sufficient for our needs. We were hoping to secure a job upfront and short circuit the lengthy wait for visa etc. but I guess that it is more difficult to organise than it seems. If we came over with two small children ( 6 and 3 yrs) what sort of money would we require to sustain ourselves before we could expect to start earning? A tough one to answer, I suspect.

Kim

If I follow you correctly, you are asking about coming over to look for a job and what costs you'd likely incur before you found one? You would really be coming over as a visitor, so your costs would be for your accommodation and sustenance. This would also depend on which area you were thinking of looking at. There is a whole host of accommodation choices. However, be aware that you require a work permit to work in Canada, so any one of the companies that dieulefit mentions above would have to go through that process. You'd have to check if they would be willing to do that (in Alberta, a lot of companies, especially in retail, are now doing this as it is the only way they can find staff). Also bear in mind that a job such as this would likely fall into the NOC category C or D and therefore you would not likely be able to bring your family with you on your work permit - have a look at the work permit requirements in www.cic.gc.ca for further reading. Here is a link I found for our local Home Depot store looking for people that seem to fit what your husband is looking for. I know of at least one other SA working in that store!

Sorry, one correction to what I indicated above - lower NOC category jobs do not stop you from bringing your family. (thanks to the PM'er for pointing that out to me!)

Hi Island Life

Thanks for the assistance, but I probably wasn't too clear in my question. What I need to know, say for example, I support my family of four on R20 000 a month, what income would I require to do the same in Canada? Obviously costs are different: here we pay for schooling, medical, two cars and high bond repayments. Would we have these same costs in Canada? In my search for jobs I need to know what sort of salary I need to support my family.

Regards.
Kim