Plasterer

[tournesol]

I have spent the last hour searching the forum for an answer to this but can't find an exact one, so apologies if it's been asked already.

My husband is a plasterer having learned his trade through his uncles business when he was younger. He didn't plaster for many years then, around 3 years ago ( after years in Management in the Building trade ) he decided to set up a plastering business. He took a couple of refresher courses for which he has certificates, and has accounts for one part year and one full year of trading. The company was sold when we moved to France in May 2005, since when he has been renovating our property and not working as a plasterer ( apart from our house! ).

He does not have formal qualifications as I've said, but can show he ran a plastering business in the UK for not much longer than a year.

Will he be able to get registered as a Plasterer here? If so, what will he need to do. We know about the C de M course he will need to attend.

Any help gratefully received.

[zeb]

He needs to be able to show some sort of proof (translated using official translator - addresses provided at your Mairie). But, the best thing to do is get an appointment with your local CdM and ask them exactly what he needs. We found them very helpful (my OH had done building in the UK but it was one career of many!), and at the initial interview he was booked onto the course, so set the ball rolling.

[tournesol]

Thanks Zeb,

Do you mind telling me what evidence he provided in the end?  We can obviuosly ghet a letter from OH's uncle, but it's from a period 15 years ago almost. As stated, we have accounts for his business and can also prove the business was sold on ( showing it was successful and had a good name after only 15 months? ) but not much else.

Did your hubby get his Siret and if so, what as in the end? Do you know whether it would be easier for my OH to go as general builder? We've heard that it might be but he's first and foremost a plasterer.

Thanks

[homepride62]

   Hi your hubby will need 6 years proof he was a plasterer from company or person he work for, you can do this yourself, i went on 3 day course was a waste of time, not sure if you still have to do it now,mine was in domfont, i went to laval to see c an m they told me to go to prefecture all he said  was to  get letter to prove you been spread for 6 years, then get it translated to french, i thought can"t be bothered so now working in uk, will have another go at some point, all the best paul

[tetley]

hi there, my husband got references from people back in UK and then had them translated (by our old french teacher).  They had to be specific in that, they had to say what sort of work had been done and show how long he had been working at his trade.  He managed to get references from previous employers from when he was on the 'cards' and then from more recent clients when he was self employed.  The C de M accepted these, and so did the insurance agent for the decannelle.  Try to be as specific as you can, get as much paperwork as you can....you will need to get it translated, but in our experience it doesn't have to be a certain 'body', just someone who is fluent in french.  My husband doesn't have any certificates for his trade, just 20 years of experience, and was self employed for the last 5. When you go to the CdeM, take everything with you!! they love having all the paperwork,  Good luck.

[tournesol]

Thanks for all the responses. We feel a lot better now as it seems we will be ok getting through ( fingers crossed ).

How about this for an idea? Instead of the French government chasing all the people working on the black, why not spend the money instead employing assessors who could assess everyone who wanted to be registered. If their work was of a good enough quality they get their SIRET. The French Government would get lots more tax / social charge income from legally registered individuals, and the large number of people currently working on the black because of the assumed difficulty of getting the correct information together could work legally and without the worry of getting caught - assuming they are actually competent. I am assuming of course that people would prefer to be working legally [Www]

[zeb]

LOL - I think that people work "on the black" to avoid the very high social charges/taxes/acccountants/decinalle insurance etc etc! Getting the paperwork together and then the Siret number is the easy part, and the stage (course) can be pretty useful (and in some departments, is in English) - depends on attitude I suppose.

Make sure you can get plenty of work before you register as you have to pay out whether you have work or not (although there may be some concessions). And find an accountant for advice regarding the right business set up. This may help if you haven't already seen it

http://www.apce.com/index.php?rubrique_id=300000112&type_page=IL&pays=1

We once borrowed a mate's van (to collect some stuff from the brico) which had General Builder and Plasterer emblazoned across it. When we came out, there was a queue of Brits wanting work done!! Play it right and you shouldn't have too many problems getting plastering work.

Good luck..

[tournesol]

Once again thanks for that. We are getting the van sign-written as it was a good source of business even in the UK. We have waited at vans on Brico car parks ourselves to talk to builders so I know what you mean!!  Mind you, the OH will probably send me out to park up at Brico's for full days if people approach us that way!!!!![;-)] Apparently I'm Marketing Manager!