Hi,


I am looking at moving to EU or Switzerland. I am a qualified electrician in South Africa. I know the electrical regulations aren't the same however some institutions in my home country advised that I can do a qualification evaluation together with maybe a test as the world uses a mixture IEC regulations. Can someone point me into the direction of where or who I can contact for this? Do you know of an electrician that has done this?

My wife speaks a little German and I can speak a little Spanish. My home language is Afrikaans - (which comes from a mixture of Dutch and German, so some of the words I can understand).

I would also like to know if there are companies that can help with an immigration process or a company that can give me solid advice and guide me through this.



Thanks to anyone that tries to help.

Welcoem to the forum.

You should contact SERI to see if it's possible to have your qualifications recognised, but be warned. A Swiss employer has to apply for a permit for you and they have to prove they can't find a Swiss/EU national who could do the job before they'd be able to hire you.

https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home...zulassung.html

That's unlikely to be possible unless you're very specialised in your field.

Do you have, or have the right to any European passport?

Without that it is almost impossible to get a work/residence permit. As MF said employers would have to justify why they were choosing you over Swiss residents, or EU nationals.

Thanks. I have started that application. I have read that the electrical field is highly valued and on the skills shortage list. I do have specialized in compliance, but that could be different due to different regulations. However it won’t hurt to try.

@Bowlie, I unfortunately don’t have any european rights to a passport, and already married��.

Yes, all you can do is start the application. In the meantime I would suggest learning German, not only conversational but also technical terms related to your field.

Or French, or Italian.

Thanks. I’m looking into it. I could also consider Germany as a new home. But will have to go through the same process.

@ Bowlie I find german easier than french and italian. Some italian words i can pick up but more in german as Afrikaans is my native language.

I imagine Afrikkans would really help with Swiss German. But permits and finding a job won't be easy- it is very hard currently for locals and those from EU who are already settled here- and an electrician would be expected to have done an 4 year apprenticeship here, with local standards. Any approval of your qualifications will have to be done in German - how would you sustain yourself. in the meantime. Switzerland is a very expensive place compared to CT and you would need health and accident insurance for both of you.

OH was born in CT and we have been many times and have a lot of family there. It is such a beautiful place, with an amazing climate. If we had to leave here, we would probably head for CT.

My point was that any of the official languages would do. Not having any will be a hindrance. Not having a EU or Swiss passport will be a bigger hindrance.

Definitely a beautiful country, however the economic situation is not attractive for us and my future family. I'm doing some digging into the qualification and apprenticeship. As long as I don't have to start completely over.




I will do Italian eventually. I will just start with the easiest at the moment. Not going to be easy getting in, but I don't give up easily

The question is where in Switzerland do you want to move to? Because Italian is only spoken in Ticino and Valais cantons really iirc. If that's not where you want to be then learning Italian will be a waste of your time.

I will learn Italian for fun and travelling purposes after German. My wife being an English language specialist and a language enthusiast has sparked interest in me.

Even with the current c-virus situation, a search of the Swiss job service website on "Elektriker" currently shows 862 positions across the country:

https://www.job-room.ch/job-search

Some of these jobs are for Betriebselektriker, which means operations electrician inside a company, while other jobs are working for an electrician. There might be opportunities for you in this list.

Austria and Germany are actively looking for skilled electricians from non-EU countries:

https://www.migration.gv.at/en/types...e-occupations/

https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/s...304800-1-panel

Before starting with learning Italian, consider that there are only 400'000 people in Ticino, the Italian-speaking canton, and that you might be competing with the 70'000 Italians who cross the border each day for work. German or French languages skills would be more useful since they are larger markets in this country (and elsewhere).

As an Afrikaans-speaker, it would seem that you might wish to look at the Netherlands and Belgium-Flanders for possible employment. English will also take you a long way in those countries.

Last but not least, with your English skills, why not consider the UK or Ireland?

Also, this is a list of most job boards in CH:

https://www.ag.ch/media/kanton_aarga...lenboersen.pdf


Good luck!

Thanks for this!! it Helps a lot! I'm considering most EU countries. Switzerland just appeals to me. Netherland and Belgium will be very easy for us to learn.

Have you ever visited visited Switzerland?

My MIL grew up speaking Afrikaans and she could understand and converse with Dutch people quite easily.