Strategy for Committed NZ / Aus Immigrants

For those wanting to enter NZ soon, here are some strategies to consider

First concept – Watch the Border, when it opens, the wider job market will be open.

1. About timing – We know that the INZ has said that they will be opening borders in “early 2022”. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an exact date and more clarity on the plan? Yes, but we have what we have.
2. Border policy – We know that NZ border policy announcement includes everyone. Whether you are from a “safe” or “unsafe” country for example, or whether you are “vaccinated” or “unvaccinated”. These data points will determine your length of time at MIQ (Managed Isolation and Quarantine). Nobody is barred from entry, but some will stay at MIQ for a couple of weeks.

Second concept – Secure your job offer by securing job interviews. It can be done from home before you fly to NZ.

The job offer is the center of the immigration solar system for job seekers. For those of you who are new here, the strategy for getting into NZ (or Australia) has always been the same. Once the job offer is obtained, the rest of the process becomes clear:

1. job offer can be received,
2. house can be rented,
3. schools can be contacted,
4. car can be purchased instead of rented,
5. quality of life costs can be estimated and
6. career path can be charted out – depending on your relationship with your employer.

In addition, funding and immigration support is available from some employers. People in extreme high demand sectors that have demonstrated exceptional skills and achievement in your home country (you know who you are), there is often a high motivation to support you into NZ in other ways besides just a job offer. These can be quite significant at times. For example, I have seen employers offer to partially pay or sometimes fully cover MIQ for the entire family. Also, the work visa side of things can sometimes be covered by the employer. In fact, this is a growing trend. This is not something you should expect from every employer, but it does happen for top talent and it happens more frequently with larger companies (Most often these days in trades and engineering, hospitals and private clinics. This trend is likely to grow in my view.)

What about getting hired online? There is always a chance to get a job offer from abroad over a video call. I don’t like to promote this to people but it is a possibility. Almost everyone I know who was hired online was in a late stage of planning, ready to enter NZ to look for work in the weeks or months ahead. In other words, the employer “wasn’t begging them to come to work” as they like to say. Demonstrated commitment is important for employers to see.

Third concept – Job seekers coming into NZ will experience demand for skills unlike anything in NZ history.

The NZ economy is struggling to meet business demand today. Our labour shortages have prevented growth. There is plenty of business in almost all sectors of our economy but not enough labour capacity, something we have always found in overseas labour. As a result, we have absurd situations such as 6 month waiting lists to have kitchens installed due to lack of skilled carpenters, or 3 month waiting lists for vehicle maintenance due to lack of mechanics. What happens with such long waiting lists is that people stop signing up to the waiting lists of established providers and they either do it themselves, or prolong the decision or go with a new contractor, or they bid up the pay rate and buy a place in line ahead of others, etc… Every trade and nearly every industry is struggling with the exact same problem: plenty of opportunity but no skilled labour. We have 4% unemployment, which means there is nobody to choose from other than your competitors’ staff. Headhunting from competitors has given a $2/hour jump in salary in the last year for the country on average. That is probably a record. In short, the economy is OK, but it is capped at existing capacity, limited by existing labour pools which are completely tapped out.

First wave job-surfers will have a clear advantage over those who come afterwards. If you are 100% committed to New Zealand, and if you have the time ad funds available to prepare for your future, then all this painful waiting while we have closed borders might represent a huge opportunity for you in early 2022.

If interested to find out how you can be successful in your job search, launched from your home country well in advance of borders opening, send your CV and goals to me at tate@employmentforimmigration.nz (I respond in about a day).