Working in New Zealand

Temporary work in New Zealand

Without a visa it is difficult if not impossible to find work in New Zealand. One of the easiest ways to find temporary work is with a working holiday visa which allows you to stay for up to 24 months (if you are aged 18-30). The easiest industry to find work in is agriculture but there are also skill shortages in ICT, Tourism and Construction. Another option for temporary work is to take out a temporary visa.

Permanent work in New Zealand

Permanent work in New Zealand may be slightly more difficult to come by unless you work in an area of skills shortage in New Zealand. The most requested visa when moving to New Zealand is the Skilled Migrant Visa. To qualify you must meet the following requirements:

• You must either have at least 100 points and a job offer or have at least 140 points
• You must have a certificate of good conduct
• You may not be under 55 years old
• You must be able to speak English
• You must have good health

It you don’t have enough points initially for this visa it is still possible to earn enough points through getting a temporary visa first.

An example of someone who moved to New Zealand temporarily who now lives as an expat there is Simon Shaw. You can see a video of Simon’s time in New Zealand here:

Workplace culture in New Zealand

Work place culture in New Zealand is generally more relaxed than working in the UK. It is common place to call your boss by their first name in addition to having a friendly atmosphere around the office. The kiwis have a work to live attitude and a work-life balance that favours a life outside of work. Its easy to see why in a country with such beautiful scenery and so much to do!

Kiwis are honest, direct and to the point. They don’t like it when people are sure of themselves and have a sense of humour to reflect this.

Businesses tend to be smaller and have a more family oriented model. Meaning that it is likely that may be favoured for leadership positions. Although there are many jobs in ICT for expats this is due to a shortage in skilled works. An effect of this shortage is that IT systems in the country are often outdated meaning that expats can be left frustrated at efficient work practises.

Key sectors in New Zealand

Despite being an OECD country New Zealand has a skills shortage in several areas. These include:

• Engineering
• Education
• Oil & gas
• Hospitality
• Healthcare
• Construction
• Science
• Agriculture & forestry
• Business & finance
• Tourism
• ICT

It is much easier to secure a visa to work in one of these areas.

Different areas of New Zealand have high demand for work in different areas. In particular, in Auckland the demand for medicinal is large. Generally speaking Auckland is the city with the biggest demand for work in New Zealand.

Since the 2011 earthquake near Christchurch there has been demand for project managers in the construction industry. The best paying jobs in New Zealand can be found in medicine. The average salary of these jobs is $145,596 per year. There is also good money within the IT sector: the average salary is over $120,000.

Jobs in New Zealand

It is advisable to search for jobs well in advance before moving to New Zealand, one way of doing this is through one of the many job sites available.

Due to the family nature of businesses in New Zealand most jobs are found through networking. Many people arrange holidays in New Zealand to network before moving there permanently.

Did you find this page useful? For more information about moving to New Zealand click here.