Jobs in Perth
Perth is a large city with lots of job opportunities. Apart from the usual admin and retail vacancies, the mining and oil and gas industries are quite big here and employ a large number of people. The stagnation of the housing market though, has meant that the usual shortage of skilled tradesmen is not there right now and some are finding it hard. There is always a shortage of medical personnel. Many banks and insurance companies also have offices in Perth, so there are always a number of financial vacancies available. Please be aware, for most non-mining jobs, salaries in Perth can be lower than those in the eastern states and other countries (e.g. the UK).
Perth has many employment agencies, some specialising in particular industries. Apart from job agencies, the West Australian on Saturday always has a large employment section, and is a good place to find all types of jobs.
Mining, Oil and Gas
Natural resources are a massive part of WA's economy. The mining and Oil and Gas industries are big employers. Many companies have offices in Perth, with the actual work carried out in remote places across the state.
Working away from home is typical with fly-in, fly-out commonplace for two-week, or longer shift patterns.
House Building & Tradesmen
Unlike other countries, here it is very rare to buy a new house from a builder. Instead you have to buy your land, choose your house and get it built. Even the large building companies sub-contract all their work out. Note that some trades require WA licenses in order to work (e.g. Electricians, plumbers). This means that new arrivals will spend a period of time training and working under supervision (typically at a lower salary) in order to get their WA license. Please look on the Australian Workplace site Trades Recognition Assessment for more info.
I.T.
The demand for IT personnel in Perth isn't as high as in the Eastern States. However, certain skills are always in demand (e.g. .NET, Oracle Financials). The SEEK website is used by most employment agencies to advertise vacancies and is always a useful resource to find out what types of jobs are in demand.
Teaching
Overseas teachers and classroom assistants generally need to undergo a period of training before being let loose on Perth children. Vacancies for government schools can be found in the Education Dept website, whilst private school and university teaching vacancies can be found on the individual schools websites (look in our education section for the links).
