Uk?

meltash

Member
M
Join Date
Aug 2010
Location
Sydney
Posts
12
Hi everyone,

This question is mostly directed to those who live and work in the UK.
I've been thinking of possibly moving to UK for a few years for the sake of change and travelling. I was planning to go through Tier 1 and get 2 years working visa. The critical question is job, of course. So I guess what I'm asking is this: what's the situation like in the industrial automation industry with all this GFC and everything? Much work around? I've checked on a monster.com, there seem to be some vacancies but you never now... it's hard to judge the situation from half way across the globe.
Just to clarify what sort of area I'll be looking at - control system engineer with around 8 years of experience with almost all possible PLC, HMI and SCADA brands in water, food & bev, pharma, oil & gas, automotive and other industries.

I would really appreciate any opinions and info, thanks in advance
 
Some of us are really busy, others are slack

We have been slack for a couple of months as are most of our customers but we are still doing quite a few quotes (but we are small fry)

What part of the UK are you thinking of coming to ? Theres a systems house near me that are always after good plc/hmi guys and they are very busy at the moment
 
For short term jobs you should contact agencies such as Rullion, NES, Aztec etc. There are quite a few about and the money is usually very good.

Sites such as Jobserve.co.uk or jobsite.co.uk were usually pretty good too, been a few years now since I used them though
 
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Thanks for the info, guys... It sounds good that at least some companies are busy.
I'm really not picky about the location, the best scenario would be to score a job and move to wherever it is. Everything is really close up there comparison to Australia :)
Correct me if I'm wrong, there is most likely no work in London and it most likely would be in a regional England? Midlands? Down South? Any big players you might recommend?
 
I get emails everyday from jobsite.co.uk
I'm not looking for a job - just interested what is about
here are a few recent excamples of what comes in
(I only get my region jobs)

right now at Jobsite (Monday 23 Aug 2010), we have 3265 jobs in the "Engineering" sector out of a total of 34502 new jobs online.
Click to expand...

Multi-Skilled Electrical Engineer

Position: Multi-skilled Engineer (Electrical bias)
Location: West Yorkshire and UK
Pay: £25000 per annum, O.T.E. £35'000

Our clients who are a leading manufacturer of specialist bespoke process equipment are currently seeking an experienced electrical engineer.

Job Duties
Candidates will primarily be responsible for the correct electrical and mechanical assembly, Pre delivery testing, Factory Acceptance Testing, Installation and Validation of the companies range of equipment
Carry out the electrical and mechanical fit out process, including, but not limited to, accepting bought out parts, inspection, sub assembly, wire equipment, drawing checks, quality checks, packing parts, labeling, compiling inventories, and dispatching.
Carry out site installations as a Team leader or Team member as and when required
Take ownership of site documentation as and when required
Carry out site validations
Undertake other work disciplines as and when required
Follow company procedures relevant to the job
Work within the parameters of the company production schedule
Promote teamwork and share knowledge company wide
Be aware of the commercial responsibilities of the department
Report accurately all re-work and design error

Employee Specification

Essential (Attributes/Experience/Qualifications/Skills/Knowledge)
Proven track record of working as part of a team within a factory and site environment
C & G 236 Part 1 & 2 Electrical Installation
C & G 17th edition
Fault Finding
Computer Literate
Organizational and prioritization Skills to work within prescribed timescales
Effective verbal and written communication skills
High level of accuracy and attention to detail
Assembly, testing and validation of equipment
Flexible to working hours and time away from home as and when required

Desirable

Experience in manufacturing bespoke machinery and equipment
HVAC testing and mechanical fitting qualfications
Instrumentation Calibration
PLC programming
Atex Regs knowledge
Basic Pneumatics
Click to expand...
SENIOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEER / CONTROLS ENGINEER / MAINTENANCE ENGINEER

My client is a high volume producer of automotive products and a global leader in the market. They currently have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Senior Electrical Engineer / Maintenance Engineer to join the department in Leeds.

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:

* Apprentice trained and time served is preferred
* Background in automotive or heavy engineering is necessary
* Qualifications such as ONC, HNC, PLC programming and fault finding are beneficial
* Candidates must have at least 5 years previous experience in maintenance or control systems environment and posses a sound electrical knowledge with excellent PLC design and programming capabilities.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

* To ensure that the plant and its machinery are working in an efficient and correct manner.
* Awareness of current health and safety legislation
* Hold the position of Electrical Duty Holder
* Be conversant with electrical risk assessments, Inspection and testing, Portable appliance testing and IEE regulations 16th or 17th edition
* Be proactive and avoid downtime by carrying out modifications.
* Posses good fault finding skills
* Demonstrate a hands-on approach
* Have a good understanding of electrical distribution systems
* Knowledge of medium frequency induction heating would be an advantage
* Knowledge of inverter programming and servo systems
* Contribute towards improvements in plant efficiency and effectiveness.
* Programming and modification of PLC's namely; Siemens S5, Siemens S7 and
Allen Bradley SLC 500
* Programming and modifications to HMI and SCADA software; Wizcon, Protool and WinCC.
* To provide a technical and support service for the mechanical and electrical elements of the Maintenance Department.
* Contribute in the training of shift electricians in fault diagnosis techniques applicable to PLC controlled equipment
* Liaise with manufacturers and suppliers with a view to the upgrading of existing plant
* Generate electricians work list
* Provide fully costed proposals for projects and capital expenditure
* Support the Engineering Manager to achieve his objectives
* Ensure that all relevant documentation is up to date and is available for new and existing machinery and installations.
Click to expand...
 
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Firstly... welcome to the forum. 🍻

Secondly... you do know that it forever lashes down in the UK, the sunshine is not in abundance as where you are now plus it gets pretty cold. :oops:

Thirdly... have you any idea of possible locations within the UK where you may like to stay? If you'd like to identify some locations perhaps some of us on here can offer some geographical info and identify some work opportunities. 🤾

Are you looking for coastal or inland?
Near river / lake / highland locations?
Cooler north or warmer south?

Over the last few years parts of the UK have been liable to the devastation of flooding... I suggest you factor that into your search for a home / location. :oops:

Good luck.
 
silva.foxx said:
Firstly... welcome to the forum. 🍻
Click to expand...
Thanks, mate :)

silva.foxx said:
Secondly... you do know that it forever lashes down in the UK, the sunshine is not in abundance as where you are now plus it gets pretty cold. :oops:
Click to expand...
That shouldn't be a problem. I don't like summer and beaches. It's way too hot for me down here :)

silva.foxx said:
Thirdly... have you any idea of possible locations within the UK where you may like to stay? If you'd like to identify some locations perhaps some of us on here can offer some geographical info and identify some work opportunities. 🤾

Are you looking for coastal or inland?
Near river / lake / highland locations?
Cooler north or warmer south?

Over the last few years parts of the UK have been liable to the devastation of flooding... I suggest you factor that into your search for a home / location. :oops:
Click to expand...
I really haven't thought that far to be honest. I guess any town with more than 200'000 will do just fine (or commutable distance to it). The idea is to travel around by car at any possibility (week-ends) so location is really not that critical. Ideally international airport withing 2-3 hours drive would be absolutely great. So naturally I was thinking about England (South or Midlands or around Manchester area) since these areas are more populous and I assume potentially have more jobs. Is this a correct assumption?
 
meltash said:
Thanks, mate :)

That shouldn't be a problem. I don't like summer and beaches. It's way too hot for me down here :)
Click to expand...

Well then you've picked the right place because we don't have either summer or beaches here.

I moved to the Northwest 5 years ago and haven't regretted it. The sea is 20 miles away, The Lake District (mountains) is 1 hours drive, The Yorkshire Dales national park is only 20 miles east of where I live. Manchester is less than 30 miles and I can get a train from Preston to London that only takes 2hrs 5mins.

Don't tell everyone... Damn... no it's terrible here don't come you'll hate it.

Nick
 
Manglemender said:
Well then you've picked the right place because we don't have either summer or beaches here.

I moved to the Northwest 5 years ago and haven't regretted it. The sea is 20 miles away, The Lake District (mountains) is 1 hours drive, The Yorkshire Dales national park is only 20 miles east of where I live. Manchester is less than 30 miles and I can get a train from Preston to London that only takes 2hrs 5mins.

Don't tell everyone... Damn... no it's terrible here don't come you'll hate it.

Nick
Click to expand...

Your description sounds really great. I guess everything is much closer over in the UK. It takes you at least 8 hours driving down here just to get from one big city to another :)
 
meltash said:
I really haven't thought that far to be honest. I guess any town with more than 200'000 will do just fine (or commutable distance to it). The idea is to travel around by car at any possibility (week-ends) so location is really not that critical. Ideally international airport withing 2-3 hours drive would be absolutely great. So naturally I was thinking about England (South or Midlands or around Manchester area) since these areas are more populous and I assume potentially have more jobs. Is this a correct assumption?
Click to expand...

2-3 hours drive will get you from Manchester to Heathrow airport!

Manglemender mentions Manchester... I'm sure that's the wettest location within the UK!

You sound like ideal UK material, you'll certainly find home here with your outlook. My employer uses these, based in the North West http://www.integratedcontrols.co.uk/vacancies.php

As suggested jobsite.co.uk, indeed.co.uk, CV-library.co.uk, totaljobs.com, justengineers.net, fish4jobs.co.uk all offer engineering opportunities.

http://www.merlin-systems.ltd.uk/home.htm is one close to myself in North Wales. Nuclear jobs seem to becoming more prominent in the North West along with PetroChem and Pharma.

Look: http://www.indeed.co.uk/jobs?q=electrical%2C+controls%2C+automation&l=UK

All the best.
 
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Ideally international airport withing 2-3 hours drive would be absolutely great. So naturally I was thinking about England

You could probably reach at least 7 international airports within 3 hours mate, honestly and towns with over 200,000 people we tend to call them cities. Good luck with the job hunt, Cheers Badger.
 
silva.foxx said:
Firstly... welcome to the forum. 🍻
Are you looking for coastal or inland?
Near river / lake / highland locations?
Cooler north or warmer south?
Click to expand...

Cheaper north or expensive south (especially south-east)? If you're planning to buy / rent a house check relevant prices as well.
 
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