[nzforus]

Hi all!
We have been selected from the pool :yes , but the employment process seems murky to us. My husband is a Civil Engineer with a Professional license in the U.S. What are the steps involved to practice Engineering in NZ?? Specifically we need to know how to transfer his professional engineering liscence so that it will be recognized in NZ. We've been going around in circles! Any engineers out there to help us along would be greatly appreciated!!!

[jo b]

nz for us

first is if he is a member of any professional body ask them if he can transfer that registration to the equivilant nz one.

Also check out the NZIS website they have a list of recognised qualifications and how to transfer them?
Maybe an exam may be needed to transfer depending on the type of engineering he is in.

If in doubt ring NZIS for help but usually professional bodies have good advice too?

Hope this helps

Joanne

[Dave & Sandra]

I'm not too sure about US quals, but my husband is a British Structural Engineer, but they have also classed him as a civil engineer. He originally had an HND in structural engineering and then took his exams to qualify as a Chartered Structural Engineer with the Institute of Structural Engineers in the UK, which is superior to the BSc in Structural Engineering. BSc's then have to go on to qualify as Chartered Engineers.

Dave doesn't need a license to work - just his qualification is sufficient and they don't seem to rate him being a Member of the Institute of Structural Engineers that highly :? I don't think he has come across any Americans working here, but I can ask him to check around if it will help.

There is a big demand here for Civil Engineeers. Have you checked on the NZIS site for the list of qualifications - if not I would do so at http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/

Sandra

[Rob K]

I have not yet set foot in NZ (we arrive in the new year as I will be starting a teaching job), but I think I can offer some encouraging info:

I'm a civil engineer from Canada, and I've just had my NZQA Assessment report sent to me last week. Basically, it gave me 100% equivalence for my 4-year bachelor's degree in engineering (B.Eng). No problem - so I'm pretty sure your husband will get equal equivalence for his US qualifications.

Civil Engineering is on the Priority Occupations List (POL) - which is great news for you because it means that there are probably many jobs out there for your husband - plus for POL jobs the employer does not need to prove that a local person can't be found for the job. So right there, you have good reason to be hopeful!

The process would go something like this:

Apply to the NZQA for a qualifications assessment:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/
This takes about 2-3 months to be completed and returned. Many employers will hire you before this is done (was the case for me with my teaching job), so this shouldn't delay the job search process.

On my NZQA Assessment Report, they mention contacting the Registrar, Engineers Registration Board; and the Secretary, Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ). I think you can access both of these via:
http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenz/

Good luck!

Cheers,

Rob

[nzforus]

You guys are awesome! :yes Thanks for the info! We ended up calling NZ immigration and they said to just sit tight until we here from them - no need to spend the money as yet.

Thanks a million!
nzforus