We look at the skills currently
in demand in New Zealand. We
also give some thought to the
attitudes that help and hinder
getting a job in New Zealand and
the most common frustrations
migrants have with employment
here.
New Zealand Jobs Unfilled
The
shortage of skills is acute:
Newspaper and internet job ads
continue at all-time highs.
Employers are having to
re-advertise positions they
cannot fill.
Lower skilled jobs are also
difficult to fill. There has
been discussion of bringing in
unskilled but willing Pacific
Islanders to help New Zealand's
road building programmes.
Almost 40,000 New Zealanders are
unemployed. It appears that many
people have attitudes and/or a
lack of skills that make them
poor candidates for employment.
Skills in particular demand in
New Zealand are notified in:
The Long Term Skill Shortage
List.
The Immediate Skill Shortage
List.
Immigrants with the Right
Attitude Succeed
Immigrants keen to make their
way in a new country often have go-getting attitudes.
The Press reported on Fantau
Kelelew who had been in Christchurch for just two
months. Fantau, a 23-year-old Ethiopian, came after
spending 11 years in a Kenyan refugee camp.
Unlike
many home-grown job-seekers she was willing to try
anything, including night work and weekends. Within a
week, she got a good job at one of the city's best known
hotels, The Grand Chancellor.
But What About Me?
If you
are one of The Immigration Guide's typical readers, you
probably have good qualifications and are highly
skilled. You may be wondering how on earth:
The attitudes of New Zealand's unemployed, and
The experiences of an Ethiopian refugee,
could possibly be relevant you.
They are
relevant because they help us identify helpful and
unhelpful attitudes.
Some
migrants are fortunate enough to walk straight into an
ideal job - more so these days as skills shortages bite
deeply - a job that pays them what they had hoped for
and provides all the perks they wished for.
Many
migrants do not enjoy such good fortune. If you are
patient, though, you will be much more successful.
It's a simple fact that people who
are already in work are much more likely to be offered a job
than people who are unemployed. Your first goal in New
Zealand should be to get a job, even if it's not your ideal
job. Obviously, don't take a job you think is completely
unsuitable.
Remember
you are much more likely to get your ideal job if you
apply from a position of strength. This is important in
a smaller labour market where your 'ideal job' may not
come up as often as elsewhere.