Working in Canada

[Jacknburns]

G'day all,

I plan to come to the West of Canada late this year to pick up some work. I am a qualified climbing arborist with 3 years experience from the UK. Just a couple of questions regarding the industry out there.

Is there a lot of work through the winter or does the business shut down a bit?
Like the rest of the world, can a job be picked up relatively quickly for 6 months?
Finally, Canda is a bitch to get a working visa for, is it likely anyone would pay cash?

Cheers, Jack

 

[Reliable tree man]

Western Canada is a pretty big place so you might want to be more specific as to where you are going. I'm not in Western Canada (I'm in Toronto) but tree work generally slows down in the winter everywhere across the country. If you are looking for winter work, the only companies that typically have steady work throughout the winter are the big ones who pick up utility and municipal contracts like Davey and Asplundh. They won't likely pay you cash though and neither would most companies I know of. Municipalities have steady work all year and do post contract positions for 6 or 8 months but it is usually during the busier season and they usually are looking for a pretty long list of paper qualifications in addition to experience.

As for picking up 6 months of work, there are lots of companies that would happily take on a skilled climber for that time assuming it is during the busy season. (Keyword there is skilled)

 

[Dr.Pants Esq]

Hi Jack,

Where west is the question, I am in Manitoba and stuff slows,down here for most of the company’s like Reliable says, except for the guys with municipal work. One route to go to get a visa would be the temporary foreign worker program however you would have to line up an employer to sponsor you ahead of time. Shouldn’t be a problem if you are a good climber. I would suggest contacting potential employers to see what’s out there.

Cheers Chris