Skills Shortage Ahead for New Zealand

Skills Shortage Ahead for New Zealand

An increase in the number of New Zealanders heading to Australia and an ageing population will result in a skills shortage in this country in the next five years.

That’s according to Richard Howard, Managing Director of Pathways NZ, the Waikato’s longest established and leading immigration advisers. Mr Howard was also the previous Chairman of the New Zealand Association for Migration & Investment (NZAMI) and played a key role in the legislation to licence immigration advisors in New Zealand

During the past year more than 40,000 New Zealanders have been lured to Australia – the highest number for 55 years.

“We also have an ageing population in New Zealand and the particular demands of the Christchurch rebuild,” Mr Howard said.

Latest statistics from the Department Of Labour indicate that between 2006 and 2036 the number of the 65+ age group as a proportion of the working age population is expected to double from 18 to 40 per cent.

As a consequence of this the number of paid caregivers will need to more than double from 17,900 to 48,200 in 2036. At the current growth rate there will only 21,400 workers available by 2036.

“These combined factors are going to hurt the economy at some stage and there will be definitely be a shortage of certain skills for New Zealand,” Mr Howard said.

“New Zealand will need to access more skills and bolster its workforce to enable us to compete with other countries and to maintain an acceptable level of services locally.”

“This is where the migrants coming to New Zealand can help us fill such a void,” he said. “Obviously there will need to be strict controls over entry requirements to ensure we attract the right skills,” Mr Howard said.

“Maximising the skills level of new migrants is vital for social and economic growth and their contribution to New Zealand is often overlooked,” he said.

Another area which PathwaysNZ is focussing on is the education field.

“We are endeavouring to attract quality international students for higher level studies and training with a view to these students moving into the employment market and contributing to the New Zealand economy in the medium to long term,” he said.

PathwaysNZ has been operating since 1992 and has assisted the immigration process of more than 8000 people, from almost 80 different countries, to settle in New Zealand.

PathwaysNZ currently has 5 licensed immigration advisers who deal with all types of immigration applications on behalf of individuals, families, workers, students, business investors and a large number of local corporates who utilise PathwaysNZ immigration expertise to either support current staff or assist with offshore recruitment processes.

ENDS

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