The Big OE Is Back (Well Almost)

New Zealand’s leading specialist overseas employment agency, International Working Holidays (IWH) says that Kiwis are queuing up to go on their Big OE but that airlines have been caught out by the surge to leave the country and there just aren’t enough flights to cope with demand.

Vicki Kenny, founder of Auckland based IWH explains: `We have so many people wanting to leave the country to work abroad but there just aren’t any seats on direct flights to the USA or to Australia until the end of July. With the resumption of the Big OE we have young New Zealanders wanting to work as au pairs, camp counsellors and resort workers in the US but it is increasingly difficult to arrange placements because the airlines are not yet back to full capacity.

Vicki adds: `As the New Zealand agent for Camp America we were careful to book ahead for our Camp Counsellors who have to be there by June but we are now having to be quite creative for people wanting to work in 5 star resorts in the US. The resorts are crying out for staff and Kiwi workers are in huge demand. We can place good people with great positions in less than a week right now.

`We have been sending kiwis to Camp America, Au Pair positions and resort jobs in America and around the world for twenty years and it’s great to see people being able to reclaim the traditional New Zealand Big OE after Covid.’

IWH was founded in 2001 by Vicki Kenny, who had established its sister company Nannies Abroad in 1995 after she had returned from her own Big OE working as a nanny, and as a temp while she travelled the world. A spilled rice pudding and some challenging circumstances while she was in London working as a live-in nanny convinced her that there was the need for a specialist service to help others navigate the potential pitfalls and get the most from their life changing adventures. Since then Nannies Abroad and International Working Holidays have helped tens of thousands of people take off for their Big OE.

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