Hon Steven Joyce
Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
22 November 2012 Media Statement
Canterbury Skills and Employment Hub opens

The Canterbury Skills and Employment Hub is now open and available to help employers looking for workers for the Canterbury rebuild, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

“The Hub is a business-friendly one-stop shop where employers can list vacancies and be matched up with jobseekers from Christchurch and elsewhere in New Zealand. It is aimed at ensuring employers can easily get the staff they need so there are no roadblocks to the rebuild,” Mr Joyce says.

“The Hub can refer employers to people fresh out of training or about to graduate, jobseekers registered with Work and Income or others looking to work in Canterbury. Where there are no New Zealanders with particular skills available, then the Hub will be able to help fast track the immigration process for skilled labour from overseas, saving employers time and effort.

“If employers don’t have current vacancies but know they will need to increase their workforce down the track, then the Hub will also be able to help them consider options. Skills brokers at the Hub will be working closely with training providers and industry to ensure Canterbury is planning for the labour it needs for the rebuild to progress smoothly,” Mr Joyce says.

Skills brokers at the Hub will be the central point of contact for employers. The Hub’s Opportunity Canterbury website www.opportunitycanterbury.org.nz also offers a free online job listing and matching service for employers and job seekers.

The Hub has been set up initially as a pilot for a year. It builds on other government initiatives to support the rebuild. These include the $36.4 million investment in more than 3800 additional training places in 2011 and 2012, with an extra $28 million announced recently for the Skills for Canterbury fund in 2013. The Hub will also work alongside the new training and employment programme for workers on the region’s horizontal infrastructure.

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