Jobs & Money Detail
The New Zealand job scene
The biggest city in New Zealand, Auckland has a population of around 1.2 million – over a quarter of the country’s population
Unsurprisingly, the city plays a similarly dominant role in NZ's economy, and migrants are understandably attracted to the city as a result of these abundant opportunities. As with almost any major city in the world, the Central Business District (CBD) is where the big deals are done. There are currently around 65,000 people working in Auckland CBD, earning an average of NZ$852 per week (source: Statistics New Zealand Income Survey 2005). This compares favourably with an overall national average weekly wage of NZ$610 (source: New Zealand Department of Labour). So, Auckland could potentially offer you big money, at least in New Zealand terms – but you still have to secure a job to make a success in the city. To help point you in the right direction here's a brief employment overview of the 'city of sails'.
Big players
Many large international companies, such as Ernst and Young and Microsoft, have offices in Auckland as the city is seen as the financial capital of New Zealand. On the Immediate Skills Shortage list for Auckland there are a range of office based jobs such as, accountants and IT specialists. The largest businesses in terms of employment in Auckland are in financial services, information and communication technology and business services. Many of these companies will be based in the CBD and, like the larger corporations, will offer a variety of office-based jobs and roles. Shipping and ports are also an important part of the Auckland economy, and, in fact, the highest employer for the city is Ports of Auckland.
Small but significant
Like the UK, the New Zealand economy is dominated by small to medium businesses. There are more than 350,000 of these companies,making up over 99 per cent of the business population and accounting for 60 per cent of all employment in the country. Employment within the smaller businesses can be found across all trades and sectors.
If you don't like the idea of working in an office there are many 'hands on' occupations in shortage, including bakers, builders, dental therapists and technicians, optometrists, butchers, printers and glaziers, to mention a few. Many of jobs incorporate a range of tasks but there are often opportunities to specialise. For example, if you were interested in becoming a baker in Auckland, you can specialise in patisserie, cake decoration, and confectionery. There is also the possibility of running your own bakery business.
Growth Areas
Wholesale and manufacturing are two areas predicted to grow in the next few years. In Auckland, for example, there are a significant number of companies specialising in furniture, pharmaceutical and clothing manufacturing, imports and exports. Much of Auckland's industry is currently based in the south of the city but Auckland City Council has big plans for the region's business growth. Around the city are several business precincts that have been ear-marked as being suitable for development and refurbishment. Rosebank, for instance, is thought to be an area that can support more jobs, therefore the council is currently drawing up plans that can maximise the potential of the area. There are also proposals to create a major research business area around the University of
Auckland. The council has made these plans to reduce congestion in the Central Business District, but there are already some large office developments and important jobs in other parts of the region, including Takapuna and North Shore City. The city's economy is expected by many economic experts to settle into a steady pattern of growth, with the construction and service-based sectors expected to lead the way in terms of expansion.
Get your hands dirty
Outside the city and in surrounding regions there is a high demand for farm managers. Farming is an important part of the Kiwi economy and, in fact, is the largest earner of export capital. All those sheep jokes must come from somewhere, after all! The main kind of farming in NZ is pastoral – rearing livestock. The duties involved can vary greatly: you may raise animals to breed, selling the offspring or for their produce or raising them for slaughter.
Farming comes, some would argue, with many advantages: working outdoors, independence, and a greater sense of satisfaction than more office-based jobs. In the UK, farming is sometimes considered a rather precarious career path. However, it is something of a different story in New Zealand. Dairy exports from NZ have recently been doing particularly well, with dairy prices rising around 40 per cent just in the last year. The industry has also received a recent boost from the announcement of NZ$34 million in funding for agricultural productivity and pollution research, proving that Auckland's job scene may have much more going on than originally meets the eye of the casual observer.
Northland
On the Immediate Skills Shortage List, Auckland and Northland are grouped together so many of the jobs available and mentioned in Auckland will also be found in this region. However, as a more rural region than Auckland, there are more jobs available in areas such as agriculture, horticulture, wood processing and marine engineering. Like most areas in New Zealand there are jobs to be found as a a result of a growing population and tourism market. Construction, retail, catering, health and education are all in need of skilled people. Northland also has plenty of seasonal work opportunities picking and packing kiwi and citrus fruit. This mostly takes place from April to June. Winter pruning is another seasonal job to consider.
Manawatu
This is an exciting region of New Zealand, mainly due to its fastly growing population – it's the second-fastest in the country. Now, the region has become the location for a wide range of national and international organisations and businesses, including:
Toyota New Zealand
Ezibuy Ltd
Jockey NZ
Click Clack NZ Ltd
New Zealand Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Food Manufacturing Australasia Ltd
Plumbing World
International Fine Foods Ltd
Wormald Technology Ltd
Kiwi Dairy Ltd
Van Globe Ltd
Fruehauf Trailers Ltd
Within these companies there are a wide range of jobs available, not just those of the trade. Large businesses mean plenty of managerial, accounting and other office-based positions.
The West Coast
The region has a long history in coal and gold mining and today the area still has plenty of opportunities in these fields. The West Coast economy is underpinned by increasing primary production levels of mining, dairy produce and tourism numbers. As a result, secondary level industry such as manufacturing, the service and retail sectors, and general commerce are also enjoying high growth. This has left the region short of skilled workers at all levels. Trades people are especially sought after to meet growing demand for new housing, factory/commerce building and maintaining the region's infrastructure. There is a coal mine in Stockton, where the goods are exported for use in Asia. Terrace Underground Mine: It now produces between 65,000 and 100,000 tonnes of coal per annum, an increase from the 25,000 tonnes, produced
in 2000
Southland has been New Zealand's most dynamic economic engine in recent years, which makes for a buoyant employment market. With the right skills, opportunities to enjoy a real career are plentiful, as they are if you are thinking about starting your own business. And because you have time to enjoy life outside work, building a career is simply more rewarding. What's more, traveling to work usually takes most people no more than 10 minutes and traffic jams are virtually unheard of in these streets, designed in 1850 to be wide enough to turn a full bullock team. New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, Alliance Group Ltd and the Southland District Health Board are among the largest employers, however, like the rest of New Zealand, Southland is very much a land of small and medium-sized business.
Engineering firms are everywhere, specialising in different niche aspects from building giant vats for the growing wine industry, to trailers for heavy transport; this is the land of innovators. A quarter of the Southland workforce is involved in manufacturing, 12 per cent work in retail and 8.6 per cent in health and social services.
Ongoing vacancies exist for people with the right skills, mainly in the engineering, trades, health, road freight, tourism and agricultural sectors. You are needed in Southland if you fall into any of the following employment fields:
Trades - plumbers, electricians, carpenters
Healthcare professionals, including midwives
Engineering - fitters, turners, welders
Education - maths & science teachers, primary/secondary
Automotive - electricians, diesel mechanics
Agriculture - skilled and experienced managers for sheep and dairy farms
Engineers - civil/chemical/mechanical/electrical
Transport operators - digger/logging drivers
Click here to check the current New Zealand skills list
Search current jobs on this site
Register for your FREE emigration starter pack
Subscribe to Emigrate New Zealand. Read more ...
Search EmiLinks for dozens of NZ recruiters and employers