Moving to Canada from the UK working in power distribution

[Brankus]

I am currently 26 years old and have been working for one of the big electricity distribution companies in the UK (SSE) for over a year in a trainee engineer position. My training will end in 2 years time and I will be authorised to work on up to 11kV and 33kV networks in switching, back feeding, fault finding, etc. I will then be working for the company for an additional 2 years after my training ends at which point, I will be at an SAP level as a team manager.

I am looking to move to Canada once I have built up enough transferable skills and experience, at this point, I will be 29-31 years old (I have heard that this can be an issue as Canada prefers 20-30).

Admittedly, I haven't investigated the immigration procedure or even the possibilities of finding work in the Electricity utilities and DNO field as a Brit, especially as I have been trained up on the British network and not with the Canadian standards and conventions.

I should probably note as well for part of the trainee engineer programme at SSE I have studied for a Foundation degree at an IET accredited University (Birmingham University), the degree is a Level 5 in the framework for higher education qualifications, below a bachelor's degree at level 6. (I was wondering if this is recognised in Canada or not or would I have to spend a year outside of work to top up to a bachelor’s degree)

Could anybody shed any light on their experiences or even have some advice/information it would really be appreciated.

 

[canuck78]

Would start with looking at the immigration programs. Wouldn't worry too much about your age. Closer to 30 or under is easier but lots of people get accepted under 40. Hard to give advice since things can change in 4-5 years.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I am currently 26 years old and have been working for one of the big electricity distribution companies in the UK (SSE) for over a year in a trainee engineer position. My training will end in 2 years time and I will be authorised to work on up to 11kV and 33kV networks in switching, back feeding, fault finding, etc. I will then be working for the company for an additional 2 years after my training ends at which point, I will be at an SAP level as a team manager.

I am looking to move to Canada once I have built up enough transferable skills and experience, at this point, I will be 29-31 years old (I have heard that this can be an issue as Canada prefers 20-30).

Admittedly, I haven't investigated the immigration procedure or even the possibilities of finding work in the Electricity utilities and DNO field as a Brit, especially as I have been trained up on the British network and not with the Canadian standards and conventions.

I should probably note as well for part of the trainee engineer programme at SSE I have studied for a Foundation degree at an IET accredited University (Birmingham University), the degree is a Level 5 in the framework for higher education qualifications, below a bachelor's degree at level 6. (I was wondering if this is recognised in Canada or not or would I have to spend a year outside of work to top up to a bachelor’s degree)

Could anybody shed any light on their experiences or even have some advice/information it would really be appreciated.

You need to research Canada's immigration programs to see if you qualify and look at your CRS score. You will have to have your education assessed; a Bachelor's degree would definitely give you more points. You will also have to take a language test.

You can also look into IEC, depending on how old you are when you want to come to Canada.