Carpentry In Japan
 

Hey Everyone

Writing this thread for my friend Tom who would like to travel to Japan and possibly work over there as a carpenter.

please bare with me as iv gota try remember off the top of my head what questions he wanted me to ask - plz tell me if any dont make sense and ill ring and ask him.

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Carpenters Wages in Japan? (cert 3?) his finished his apprenticeship and is just working full time with his original boss.

Qualifications? he finished school in year 10 (not completing VCE he would of had 2 more years to go of highschool) but thats usually the age kids leave school in Aus if they are planning to do an apprenticeship, he did a pre apprenticeship for 5 months (at a TAFE) and then he did 3 and a half years on site work learning the skills of becoming a carpenter - when he finished he recieved his Cert 3 and became a fully qualified carpenter, would this be acceptable to go for a job in Japan? so he didnt finish highschool or go to university but he ended up with a university Cert 3 and is considered "fully qualified" here in Australia

Work hours? he works 8 and a half hours a day (7:30AM - 4PM) here in Aus which is very standard.. thats basically what all tradies work (well 8 hours :))

how are Carpenters, Builders viewed in Japan? is it considered a lower class job? i know that here in Aus due to lack of tradies his actually on very good money.. and that tradies here are not looked down upon as "drop outs" or anything like that..

Structural Differances? he said the (I will probably word this wrong) like.. are the houses built differant? differant materials?

Getting a job in Japan? - will he need excellent japanese language skills for this job? he knows his way around the construction site.. so im guessing unless theres major differances in architecture he should be fine.. alltho applying and getting a job could be the problem -

availability for carpentry jobs in japan? as i said before Aus atm has a shortage of tradies (well compared to years ago) so theres no trouble for them getting jobs.. so he would like to know what the industry is like.. :)

oh yeah he works on domestic building at the moment so you know peoples houses extensions etc.. he would prefer to stay in domestic (even tho commercial carpenters make way more money) (well in Aus they do)

so that brings me to his last question (i think) he mentioned he would like to be around a major city (tokyo being #1 preferance) and would like to know if theres much work around those big cities (remembering he would like to do domestic.. but would consider commercial if it would keep him in the city)

OR would he have to go to a more rural area to get the sort of job he wanted?

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any info would be great and hopefully i can get a few questions answered for him

Thx

JoshAussie & Tom

I don't know about the availability or anything. But doesn't the visa become a problem? As I hear you can't really job-hunt on a tourist visa, and it seems this is the kind of job you would get "on the spot" and not something you would apply for from your home country.

And as he wouldn't then have employment before going to Japan, he also has no company that could/would sponsor the visa..?

Then again, doesn't Australia have the working-holiday thing for Japan?

sorry hen but i have no idea about the visa sort of stuff

as for carpentry in Aus its a large industry (even tho theres a lack of tradespeople) so sometimes there will be jobs advertised, but sometimes you can literally just go to sites and ask for jobs and your in with a good chance of getting some work

ill tell you a short funny story ill tell you how Tom applied for his apprenticeship (i was there)

*Tom picks up phonebooks looks in the trades carpentry sectiopn and picks a random number for for a builder close to his area*

*ring ring*

"hey my names Tom can i have an apprenticeship?"

"yeah start in Januray"

"cool thx seeya"

"seeya mate"

he rang closer to january (like 3 weeks later) and the guy was like yeah come to this address (construction site) and start on this day

and thats how he got the job.. it was all totally random - you couldnt make this stuff up.. it was so funny on the day ><

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back to business

i think he would like to stay over there for about a year possibly a little bit more, but as for the VISA i have no idea (something i will have to look up soon tho as if mine and a friends plan goes ahead should be going for a short trip to japan in a few months)

thx Hen

Yeah, well, as far as I understand it in short;

If you wanna go to Japan for longer than a tourist stay (live there) you got four options;

* Marriage

* A company is willing to sponsor your work visa

* Study at an University (though I hear you can get student visas at other kinds of schools too, but not sure)

* Working holiday (If you live in the right country)

I'm sure there are more, less common, ones. But this is the main ones, no?

if theres a builder or carpenter working as a sub contracter doesnt that count as its own business? pretty sure thats how it works here.. may be differant in Japan

like there would be a sub contracter (Boss) with a few employees (carpenters) doing all the jobs the boss sets up for them, couldnt tom get a job working with a sub contracter as a carpenter?

that would count as the sponsor right? i mean if of course he can find a guy (sub contracter) to sponsor him

Yeah I guess. What seems hard to me is to from Australia find a construction job in Japan, that also would like to hire a foreigner, and sponsor that person for a visa.

think his got alot of money saved up and wants to go for a while and not work - but eventually find a job whilst in Japan.. still not going to be an easy task tho

Yeah, thing is though, I hear it's not legal to apply for jobs whilst on a tourist visa. Dunno how enforced that is, but as it is Japan I could imagine the companies care.

Anyways working holiday might still be a good bet.

A working holiday visa will allow a visitor to work part time for 6 months in Japan. There are no educational requirements, but only the British, Canadians, or Australians qualify for a WHV.

Getting a standard work visa is more difficult. There are educational and sponsorship requirements, and a minimum income requirement, which an entry level carpenter in Japan is certainly not going to earn.

Carpentry in Japan is much more specialized than it is on other countries. Woodworking here is an art, a master carpenter in America or Europe would not be as qualified as a senior apprentice in Japan.

How much you earn depends on your skill level. An entry level apprentice may earn only 1000 yen an hour, whereas a qualified carpenter may make three times as much. A master carpenter can command pretty much whatever price he wants, but you won't find many of them under the age of 50, it takes a long time to become a "master" at anything in Japan.

wow some great info thx alot, alltho he may be a bit dissapointed to hear it ><

i think his on about $24 ph but as i said before, in some areas tradies are in high demand, standard electricians are getting 27 - 30 an hour.. (QLD)

so i dont think he would be happy to work for $10 an hour >< thats what first year apprentices earn here and goes up each year for 3 - 4 years

how does the employment work for carpenters in Japan? i noticed you mentioned the "master" carpenters.. are they like the bosses on site? (gotta ask cause tom will ask me when im teeling him) that was info for standard domestic work yes? what about commercial work? skyscrapers etc

thx again info was great

if anyone has anymore info that hasnt been covered plz post :)

JoshAussie