Working in New Zealand

New Zealand as a working Destination

New Zealand is waking up after nearly two years where we had restricted movement across our borders due to the Covid 19 pandemic.  Right now we are welcoming visitors who also have permission to work with us in New Zealand whether on a working holiday or an educational visa.

Currently New Zealand has a shortage of workers in a lot of different areas so if you are thinking about coming here, and can get the appropriate visa, this is a good time to come.

When most of us think about our country it is in relation to the amazing physical environment that we live in,  the forests, mountains, fiords, rivers and beaches that are available to us by virtue of a small population living in a land area that is a little larger than the United Kingdom.

There's no doubt that our scenery is pretty special, and more people come here every year to get a glimpse of it.  The accessibility of our land, and the opportunities to spend time either running, tramping, cycling or canoeing their way around it forms the one of the important reasons that a lot of people want to come to New Zealand to settle and work.

Other reasons are:

• We have all the infrastructure of a highly developed nation with high quality broadband, good roads, good schools, available public amenities.
• A universal education system where all children go to school typically from 5 years old to at least 16 with many going onto tertiary study.  Many overseas students undertake tertiary study here as paying students.
• Publically funded access to healthcare for the population, although there are fees for GP visits.  Health insurance is available within NZ for people who want faster access to secondary or tertiary care and about 16% of the population are covered by this.
• Our country and businesses routinely rank very highly in terms of transparency, lack of corrupt business practices and adherence to ethical standards.
• There is a vibrant multi-cultural environment here that has been, at least until very recently, safe for a very diverse range of peoples.

The unemployment rate in New Zealand is currently low, hovering around 5%, and there are jobs available in most professions.  The requirements for working in New Zealand are not onerous however a valid work permit is required.  It is also helps if you are dealing with an accredited employer.  In particular New Zealand has reasonably immediate roles for:

• IT professionals, particularly cyber security consultants, ERP and CRM applications consultants and developers.
• Registered Nurses and other registered health professionals.
• Trained teachers, especially in secondary schools (ages 12 to 17).
• Construction engineers.

These do change over time so it pays to keep an eye on the major job boards and the New Zealand Immigration short and long term skills shortages lists.

About Us

Our country is young in terms of habitation by humans with the first people thought to have arrived here around 1100 - 1200AD.  The first immigration waves were Pacific people who travelled here by canoe and the great Waka's are legend in our country.

Later immigration in the 18th and 19th centuries was primarily from Europe, mostly England, Scotland and France. This continued into the 20th Century and the descendants of these immigrants form the largest population segment in New Zealand today.

Towards the end of the 20th, and into the 21st Century, immigration from East Asia and India accelerated and a growing proportion of our population count Asian culture as their heritage.

As a result New Zealand is relatively lightly inhabited with many different cultures, ethnicities and religious groupings.

Living in Auckland

Our largest city by quite a long way is Auckland, with more than 1.6 million people living within the Greater Auckland Region.  This is small compared to many of the cities elsewhere, but Auckland does provide plenty of opportunity to live and work within a world-class urban environment.

The Waitemata Harbour is a magnificent playground for people who like being out on the water and there are some great islands in the harbour, such as Waiheke Island that cater for getaway day trips.

Auckland has many different styles of accommodation and a robust rental market, however it is our most expensive city to live in and this is reflected in rental pricing, especially if you want to live close to the CBD.  We are working on extending our rail network to make it easier for people to get into and out of the CBD.

Living in Wellington

Wellington is our 3rd largest city after Auckland and Christchurch.  It is also the centre of Government in New Zealand and many of the jobs there are for Public Sector clients.

Alpha's office in Wellington provides services to all Government clients through the All of Government recruiting panel and we place administration, customer contact centre, IT, policy and project staff into a wide variety of these Public Sector clients in Wellington.

The city, like Auckland, has grown around it's harbour and many people live on the hills surrounding this harbour.  There is a "happening" sense around the downtown area, especially towards the end of the week, and many different cultural events.

Gaining entry into New Zealand

The rules for entry into New Zealand vary depending upon which country you are from, and whether you want to work here or migrate.  Alpha is listed as an accredited employer and we get asked a lot if we are prepared to sponsor people into jobs in New Zealand. 

Our policy is:

Alpha Recruitment is a recruitment company and does not sponsor, or seek sponsors for people wanting to migrate to New Zealand.

We do have a delivery resources in Information Technology and some of these we have sponsored because they are needed for ongoing client work but as a general principle the above policy applies.

Alpha Recruitment does not give any immigration advice to people wishing to migrate to New Zealand.  We have no affiliation to any consultancies and cannot advise which companies to use.

Working in New Zealand

If you are a New Zealand or Australian Resident, or a New Zealand or Australian Citizen you do not need a work permit.

If you are not any of the above you must have a valid work permit.

There are often conditions attached to work permits and Alpha will not propose you for positions that will invalidate your work permit.

For more detail on the rules about working in New Zealand go to www.immigration.govt.nz.

Everyone working in New Zealand must pay tax and have an IRD Tax number. This can be provided by applying to the Inland Revenue Department.

For more information about working and paying tax in New Zealand go to www.ird.govt.nz

Our CultureCare Programme

At Alpha we have recognise that there is an increasingly diverse workforce in New Zealand. Our consultants, support staff and our temps come from all corners of the earth. As part of our CultureCare programme we are creating a series of videos that we hope will assist people new to New Zealand to gain some understanding of our culture and the first of these is Understanding Us.

At the same time we are aware that many New Zealanders are only partly aware of other cultures and the behaviours that we take for granted are not necessarily obvious to new arrivals. We have created the following video to assist in explaining cultural differences and promoting great relationships to our fellow New Zealanders.

Our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Approach

Our companies are committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination.

What does it mean for you?

• In line with the Human Rights Act 1993 Alpha prohibits discrimination against any employees / candidates due to age, sex, race, religion (or beliefs), sexual orientation or It is our policy and intent to comply with all laws regarding discrimination in employment.

• We are committed to ensuring that all qualified persons will be given employment consideration. Our employees will similarly be given opportunities for advancement according to their abilities. Our policies and practices are based on the premise that a person’s value is determined by attitude, character, loyalty, education, experience and performance.

• We are dedicated to ensuring all of our processes and procedures are fair to ensure workplaces are free of harassment, bullying and victimisation. We aim to provide equality, fairness and respect for each other in all aspects of our work.

• We will prioritise working with clients that have equality, diversity and inclusiveness goals and approaches that are similar to ours.

Disclaimer 
The information on this page is current at this time. Alpha Recruitment provides this information purely to assist you in understanding the New Zealand working environment and takes no responsibility for either the veracity of the information, or for the trustworthiness of the links we have provided.