New Zealand businesses will have better access to leading specialists and experts around the world under a new Government programme announced today.

Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton announced details of Industry New Zealand’s new World Class New Zealanders programme at the Innovate event in Christchurch today.

World Class New Zealanders is designed to fit the needs of small and medium New Zealand businesses, and to increase New Zealand’s international competitiveness.

One component is the international business exchange programme. It will use exchanges, internships and mentoring systems for New Zealand entrepreneurs and promising staff in small to medium businesses.

An example of an international exchange could be a New Zealand software company arranging for one of their software engineers to exchange positions for three months with a software engineer in a complementary business in California.

International business missions are another component. A mission could involve a group of New Zealand fine wool designers and manufacturers visiting Italy and France to evaluate fashion products to ensure their product lines are consistent with the world’s best designs.

Industry New Zealand will be responsible for overall management and monitoring of the programme.

“One of the essentials of growth is to ensure that we can tap into the best ideas, people and networks that the world has to offer,” Jim Anderton said.

“We need to harness the connections and goodwill of those Kiwis who choose to live abroad.”

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