Immigration minister keen to put emphasis on regions

Employers may have to change their attitudes towards pay and working conditions to attract skilled migrant workers.

Immigration minister Iain LeesGalloway visited Invercargill earlier this week, meeting employers to discuss the future of immigrant workers and the part they play in the regions.

It was not only up to the Government to attract workers, it was also an employers responsibility, he said.

‘‘I do encourage people to consider the rates of pay that they are offering, the conditions they are offering.’’

People were looking for more flexibility in their work and it was important employers were mindful of offering a better work life balance, Lees-Galloway said.

The minister’s visit to Southland was needed so he could hear firsthand what the issues were surrounding the region’s employers, he said.

Southland employers had told him there were not enough people in the region to train for the roles available.

‘‘We actually need more people in [the] region, there’s more jobs around than there is people to fill those positions.’’

Even by stepping up training of people from the region there would not be enough people to fill the demand, he said.

The Government plans to look at a raft of changes to the current immigration legislation.

‘‘I’m working to make our immigration system more responsive to the needs of different regions, to recognise that one size doesn’t fit all.

‘‘What we do for Auckland is not necessarily going to be the right thing for Southland.’’

Lees-Galloway wanted to build an immigration system that was more agile, responsive and could adapt to changing economic conditions.

There were many positives for the region, unemployment was low and young people who were not in work or training, called NEATS, were well below the national average and there were many jobs left unfilled, he said.

‘‘You’ve got the capacity to be able to support a faster rate of population growth than you’re experiencing at the moment.’’

Southland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sheree Carey said the region had a huge worker shortage and it was a good step to have employers voices heard by the minister.

‘‘Its was nice to feel like we’ve been listened to and we look forward to what the next year will bring.’’

Lees-Galloway said it was important Kiwi workers weren’t forgotten in the plans to fix any worker shortages.

It was important to keep upskilling the domestic labour force to avoid continuing employment shortages, he said.

‘‘If we don’t, then in the future we could simply find ourselves back in the same position where there are jobs available but there are not people to take up those jobs.’’

Over half of New Zealand’s new immigrants settle in the Auckland area but it was imperative to attract these people to the rest of the country as well, he said.

‘‘We really do want to encourage these people to look beyond Auckland to see the opportunities that exist in Invercargill and all other parts of the country.’’

‘‘We actually need more people in [the] region, there’s more jobs around than there is people to fill those positions.’’ Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway