I was at a seminar hosted by Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand recently about the NZ economic outlook and a speaker used some interesting migrant statistics from recent OECD reports to support some of his assumptions on the economy, so I did some reading here at OECD info on NZ Migration and see some positive facts, such as "Relative to its population, NZ has the largest temporary labour migration flows in the OECD, which provides the feeder for permanent migration.."
In fact this is the opening comment on the web page says "The report finds that by and large, the New Zealand labour migration system is functioning well. Several features of the NZ immigration system, such as the Expression of Interest system, are gradually about to become an example for selection systems elsewhere in the OECD. This also holds true for the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, which provides a good example of a managed seasonal labour scheme. A further innovative feature is NZ’s elaborate system of labour-market tests and exemptions, which aims at limiting negative impact on the domestic workforce while at the same time responding to employer needs.."
So I suppose articles reporting the growth in net migrant inflows, such as this one highest gain in 10 years from earlier in the year, are not surprising, along with this website post from Immigration NZ Skilled Migrant Workers Still Needed.
As a Licensed Immigration Adviser I'm hoping to help prospective migrants into New Zealand to benefit both them, and this wonderful place I have called home since 2003. This is not just a dream, but a reality for many who long to start a new life in a country that has great employment prospects relative to many countries of origin.
According to an IAA survey conducted by the Immigration Adviser Authority, "Almost 90 per cent of migrants surveyed said they would recommend their licensed immigration adviser to family and friends, results of an independent survey show".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11131195
This is an interesting article about about changes the government has made to the apprenticeship regime with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of the scheme by rooting out some of the existing inefficiencies that have been identified, It is anticipated that new apprenticeship enrolments will rise considerably in the near future.
I am encouraged by this focus on the vital training industry and heartened by any effort to increase the effectiveness in sectors that are so key to the economic well being of New Zealand. Many of these skilled tradespeople will eventually head offshore for better opportunities but, in my view, as long as they are accepted overseas it indicates that local training standards are still world class, Some will return with that overseas experience in the future,
Those who remain will be the backbone of such initiatives as the Christchurch Rebuild, the Auckland infrastructure plans and the continuing Auckland housing demand.
Until the numbers trained reach capacity, there remains a strong demand for these skills to be imported and it seems this is a good time to be investigating available opportunities for those who already have the requisite training and experience.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/before-you-go/10280864/Immigration-promo-gets-Brits-itching-to-move-to-NZ.html
This article tells an exciting story of a promotional webcast that attracted huge interest from skilled potential migrants in the UK eager to come to NZ to fill a dire need for skills in Christchurch to boost plans to rebuild the city.
New Zealand has a long and proud historic association with the United Kingdom and it great to see these ties revitalised once again as New Zealand has always valued the skills from UK in building the NZ economy. No doubt many in the UK would be relieved to hear that their skills are sought after as they are possibly victims of the economic downturn that has affected Europe and the rest of the world.
This is good news for Christchurch too, a beautiful city struck by a tragic event with a double tragedy of taking so long to rebuild, leaving many families dealing not only with the event itself but with a long and drawn out hangover that stills lingers as a reminder.
A short piece such as this does not allow for any in depth commentary on why it is taking so long to rebuild but despite the complexities I am sure that everyone would like to see the city and the lives rebuilt without delay.
This is also good news for skilled tradesmen and professionals with required skill sets to do a little investigating for themselves and to assess whether this could be the right time to make that big move. You would find a welcoming city and nation for yourselves, your families and your skills.
