I used to work for Finning Uk some years ago, in 2005 i went over on holiday to Canada (a road trip from Calgary to Vancouver to be precise) when i got to Vancouver i called in to Finning Canada HQ, within 10 minutes i had a coffee in my hand and was talking to the HR bloke about all their opportunities.
As i walked out the front door, there was a Yale dealer exact opposite with a sandwich board on the side of the road asking for for Journeymen (engineers in their speak).
To me it seems if you were good with your hands, you could pretty much walk into a depth of vacancies available.
Key thing is, although you want the security of having someone else pick up the costs of emigration, overseas employers will not take you seriously unless you get your *** over there with the correct papers and clearance, in other words do your research and then pick your location, you may need to make a couple of reccy visits to make your mind up, i think it would be foolhardy just to tip up and expect it all to click, all the same **** you put up here in the UK will still be the same **** as in any other country.
In other words money is important, but it's not the be all and end all of life, and i'd expect it would take a good two years to stop being homesick.
In the end, when i looked at Canada, there was a 4 year waiting list for permanent residency, plus my wifes parents were in their 70's and in failing health.
The way of life is not what you think either, my aunt lives in Virginia, and when i was over there in 1989 after my apprenticeship finished, she offered to sponsor me to stay in the US, my cousins husband owned his own company and offered me a position, but i could not gel with the American way of life, it was all a bit too full on for me, as i'm quite a reserved character, if you are a real extrovert, it could well work for you.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do, the best thing about engineering, is that it gives you that passport to go anywhere in the world.