Mate,
The only way you are going to get a start is to unfortunately jump through their hoops.
You are going to need a bit of paper from the guy that is looking to take you on, otherwise the whole process stops right there.
I'm not talking union here, but is there an outfit over your way that shares trainee electricians around?
Quite a few electricians over here go with what we call ETCO (Electrical Training Company), they only take the best apprentices and the guys that go on this scheme learn the whole spectrum of electrical work, rather than just wiring houses and not having any industrial, motor or controls experience once it comes time to do the final exams.
David, I only wired 2-3 new houses during my time, most of it was industrial and commercial work, thankfully, this is where most of the money is these days, if you can get trained up in these 2 areas, you'll be set for life.