English Electrician looking to relocate to Malta with family

Hi Gary,

As there are no takers I will at least give you a couple of my thoughts.

I'm also an electrical controls engineer, retired thankfully, and moving over soon.

What I can say is that you will make very little progress with anything in Malta unless you are actually here.

Take a look at the jobs sections on this forum (at the top), Facebook and Maltapark to get some idea what available and what you might expect to earn. Unfortunately, just because it's advertised doesn't mean there is a vacancy, it's a bit like UK Jobcentres. 
Same applies to accommodation.
I've not done any research into the technical requirements and qualification differences between UK and Malta but  I would think that doing your own thing would be the way to go, eventually.

Ray

RayAucote wrote:

Hi Gary,

As there are no takers I will at least give you a couple of my thoughts.

I'm also an electrical controls engineer, retired thankfully, and moving over soon.

I've not done any research into the technical requirements and qualification differences between UK and Malta but  I would think that doing your own thing would be the way to go, eventually.

Ray

Judging by the state of most of the houses built here I don't think there are any 'Technical requirements or qualifications' to  be an electrician, or a plumber or bricklayer for that matter!!!

Ray

Having done a bit of research out of interest it seems that if you have qualifications from an EU member state then these should be valid in Malta.
As to your other comment I would say that not many countries anywhere on Earth come close to UK standards in Elec, Water or Gas.
This is perhaps because the UK may be a bit  " over regulated ".  Personally I'm glad to be out of it now.   

Ray

Thanks for the replies lads,

Just to explain briefly,  my situation is 'slightly Privileged' to a degree.

We have our best friends moving over in October, on a permanent basis. they have been backwards and forwards several times a year for the past few years as their daughter lives there with her 'soon to be' Maltese husband.

They own lots of properties and businesses on both Malta and Gozo, so accommodation is sorted, we will just rent one of theirs (we are all like family).

Work is my 'great unknown', i have been a S/E Electrician (a very good one ~ bragging is justified~) for 20+ years here in London and have worked on places of every description.

i have a fantastic reputation here and have been designing and installing electrical systems for about 15 years, i have many architects, Landscapers, Interior Designers etc  as clients who often want cutting edge designs that use the very latest technology to 'Wow' their clients.
I also fit that light that the lady down the road brought on-line or fit a outside socket for the bloke who rings up from the local paper advert........
Anything that pays the bills, But my point being, I can do flash and simple and willing to cover the entire Island, which 'apparently' is NOT the norm in Malta.

from what I can gather, if you are in, for example, Silema, then you would need to find a tradesman that works in the Silema area because 'Apparently' Tradesmen in Malta rarely travel to other areas, instead they tend to stick to just one area.

that to me doesn't make sense on such a small Island..........unless there is some legal restriction, maybe some form of 'trading licence' issued to work in a set area or similar. (can't see that but you never know).

As for qualifications, I have every (14) city & guilds for electrical work available in the UK because i taught in colleges and training centres you have to hold the qualification before you can teach it so you just keep training and it sort of becomes a normal progression.
Anyway, I also have teaching and assessing qualifications (city & guilds) and Air Con level 2 city & guilds and ALL are recognised in Malta.

I would need to have a verbal interview with the electrical regulations board in Malta to obtain my 'Electrical Licence A1' before I can call myself an Electrician in Malta, but that's a formality and wouldn't be a problem.

The wife has a degree in early years education so she would be looking either to get a job in that sector or possibly start a business.

Money seems to be the sticky point, S/E seems to be the only way to go.

whats the tax rate in Malta and where do tradesmen advertise their services ?

we have yellow pages, Thomson local, various local papers and community magazines, what does Malta have ?

if someone wanted a tradesman where would they look for an advert or such like ?

Sorry for all the waffle but best to ask everything and hopefully get 'some' answers.

i am over in January 8th for a week, visiting, so i'll be out and about nagging people for answers then.

i've got a wife and 6 kids so want to get this right.
it is all about quality of life and a safe environment for the family but you need money to live.

cheers guys, i'll be happy to meet up with anyone in January for a pint and a chat too.

Gary.

You may not find it easy to get work as a lot of locals will only use a Maltese electrician, you may get some work with ex pats who own their accommodation, also you may need to speak some Maltese.

It isn't true that tradesmen only work in specific areas. As you said,  the island is small so locality isn't an issue.

Locals ask family or friends for recommendations when they need a tradesman so it will be a little difficult to find work in the first year or so.  However, people do occasionally contact tradesmen who advertise on the newspaper.  You can also consider promoting your business by posting on local facebook groups (without overdoing it or you will look desperate!).

Incidentally, on today's newspaper there is a call for appliations for experienced electricians and plumbers to work for an energy projects company.

thanks everyone

Check out the keepmeposted.com.mt  website for job vacancies.

Hi Gary

Just wondered if you ever made the move , I am a part qualified electrician and looking to move over , having lived there before it's time to get back over there

Thanks

Damian

Damo6661 wrote:

Hi Gary

Just wondered if you ever made the move , I am a part qualified electrician and looking to move over , having lived there before it's time to get back over there

Thanks

You may not get a reply as he has not participated on here for three years.

Damian

Thanks just trying to find someone who can help with my move , as I want to work as an electrician over there thanks

Hopefully someone will be able to help you, at the moment it's not the best time to be looking for work and the airport is closed anyway, good luck with your search.

Hi Damian

In a nutshell, No, I didn't make the move in the end, The Brexit vote killed off that avenue.

Without Britain being a member of the EU anymore means it would be alot harder to take up permanent residence in Malta.

Still go back & forth on holidays visiting friends but there is no chance of living there now.

Good luck with your adventure though, hope it all goes well.
(Watch out for a few 'negative' people that try to put problems in front of English settlers, there are a few),if you want something bad enough you'll work out a way.

Good luck mate.
Gary.

Not to side track the thread, but gaining residence - and permenant residence eventually - if you arrive before the transition end date is REALLY easy.

Gary-the-Sparks wrote:

Hi Damian

In a nutshell, No, I didn't make the move in the end, The Brexit vote killed off that avenue.

Without Britain being a member of the EU anymore means it would be alot harder to take up permanent residence in Malta.

Still go back & forth on holidays visiting friends but there is no chance of living there now.

Good luck with your adventure though, hope it all goes well.
(Watch out for a few 'negative' people that try to put problems in front of English settlers, there are a few),if you want something bad enough you'll work out a way.

Good luck mate.
Gary.

If you had moved over when you were going to you would have got your residency card and this year that would be exchanged for a ten year card.

And that was one of the 'uncertainties' of the whole process, I didn't want to move somewhere on a possible fixed term basis, it was either permanent, as in the rest of my life, or not at all.
Not many people would want to re-locate their entire family & life to a new country, build new friendship groups, a business, buy a home, vehicles etc etc and have the possibility of having to leave after just 10 years if the rules change.......
......it was far to many 'what it's for comfort.

No, in the end, I feel I made the sensible decision.
As lovely as Malta is, We were never going to be able to be 100% positive that we were secure for life there, so a quiet English village 25 miles from a reasonable size town (to supply the work) and all is well.

TBH, England is Okay provided you get out of the big sities and towns.

The new card replaces the five year one and will be renewable after ten years.

But I hope to live longer than 10 years and there are no guarantees that you will get continual renewals so you will always be unsettled.
I really love Malta but I need to have a settle future for life not decade by decade.

Thanks for everyone's comments, I should have said I lived there before for a few years working for Malta film studios , I am aware of how residency works. It does sound quite easy was different before I had to apply for work permits which was a nightmare looking forward to the move , just need to find out what qualifications can be transferred thanks everyone

Hi there which paper was it in , Malta time's ?

Damo6661 wrote:

Hi there which paper was it in , Malta time's ?

If you are referring to the advert, that was 2016.

Gary-the-Sparks wrote:

But I hope to live longer than 10 years and there are no guarantees that you will get continual renewals so you will always be unsettled.
I really love Malta but I need to have a settle future for life not decade by decade.

I can't imagine them kicking all the Brits out.