Looking for Expat work in Middle East

[polak]

Hey guys,
I got a Millwright buddy that is interested in looking for work in the middle east and I thought I'd come to the wealth of knowledge that is CP and see if any of you have any experience looking for and applying for work overseas, specifically in the middle east. He'd be looking for rotations (fly in fly out).

Are there any good resources that he should check out on this subject? What's the best place to start? Anything that he should be aware of?

He's pretty fresh but does have a few years experience working here in Calgary while finishing his trade school. Obviously, there's not much work out there so the prospect of working and making some good coin is pretty enticing to him.

Thanks folks.

[lucky1]

look at it this way - when you are looking for work in Canada, you are competing against the local talent, when you start looking for work overseas, you are competing with the Brits/EU, Romanian, Filipino's etc etc- all nationalities which put out some pretty good craftsmen - basically the only way to break into that market is have someone in the hiring chain of a project who can put the CV forward internally - If your friend is pretty green, his chances are basically slim to none right now - sorry about that

[polak]

Yeah that's fair and kind of expected. I think he's aware the competition will be stiff. Still worth a shot for him though.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by lucky1

look at it this way - when you are looking for work in Canada, you are competing against the local talent, when you start looking for work overseas, you are competing with the Brits/EU, Romanian, Filipino's etc etc- all nationalities which put out some pretty good craftsmen - basically the only way to break into that market is have someone in the hiring chain of a project who can put the CV forward internally - If your friend is pretty green, his chances are basically slim to none right now - sorry about that

There's this company called ISIS that is putting out some pretty heavy recruitment drives right now......







.....sorry it's Friday.

[_Q_]

Originally Posted by blankall

There's this company called ISIS that is putting out some pretty heavy recruitment drives right now......







.....sorry it's Friday.

I hear business is exploding for them right now. The management team is dynamite and they offer a killer compensation package.

Basically working for them would be the bomb.

.... I'll show myself out.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by polak

Yeah that's fair and kind of expected. I think he's aware the competition will be stiff. Still worth a shot for him though.

Is there even a market for fly in fly out international for trades? I have never heard of that.

[polak]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Is there even a market for fly in fly out international for trades? I have never heard of that.

I can't speak to trades but I applied to some international corporate rotation jobs a couple years ago. They were like 3 months on and 1 month off in the middle of Nowhere, Russia.

I know you guys are making ISIS jokes but my buddy is actually okay with applying for any positions in the region, even if it's in Iraq (don't know if there's anything currently operating there still)

[wired]

Tell him to try indeed, they have postings for the middle east and Europe I believe.
There should also be chat rooms on the topic.

[lucky1]

start with the main recruiters - fircroft, airswift, amec, QED-I, Bolashak etc - probably more $$ to be made in northern AB/BC these days on a 2/2 rotation though

[JD]

There can be roles for expat tradesmen in the Middle East, but mostly in supervisory or management roles. As mentioned earlier, there is nearly a neverending supply of skilled tradesmen from the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and to an increasing extent, Africa.

As a Canadian expat that will command a significantly higher compensation package (we need higher salary, tend to demand better living accommodations, etc), your friend will need to fill a role that these other expats cannot. Pretty much universally, our command of English and managerial type problem solving is better.

So to answer the original question of how to get these spots, well, I'm not actually that knowledgeable on that subject. There are thousands of recruiting agencies based in Dubai that recruit for the whole region. Check LinkedIn.

But times are tough in the oil business, and this includes the Middle East. Layoffs are happening in the UAE en masse, the work you asked about in Northern Iraq is all but dried up. Southern Iraq is still operating. Maybe places that have lower production costs like Turkmenistan or Azerbaijan are good options... I don't really know for sure.

[Dion]

nm

[Wastedyouth]

JD is right. I worked for 3 years in the middle east as a construction and commissioning specialist (you have to take these outrageous titled jobs). I have my journeyman instrument ticket and electrical ticket and have about 12 years of oilfield experience, and I couldn't apply to anyone for a job, you need to have an in at the big players if you dont want to be bunking with 8 people in a room getting paid peanuts.

That world is all about who you know. Although my company used a few recruiting agencies, 90% of the hires of expats was by word of mouth as pretty much every person we got from recruiting agencies were complete duds (usually because they were inexperienced, terrible work ethic or alcoholics).

The good guys who make a name for themselves all get hired by friends and coworkers who liked what they brought to the table at a previous project. It's very incestuous. And a very small world actually for that type of Expat work.