The 630 jobs employers can’t find New Zealanders to fill
Thousands of migrants are being granted temporary work visas to fill ordinary jobs that New Zealanders aren’t prepared to do despite unemployment rising at a rate not seen since the 1980s.
Figures released to Stuff under the Official Information Act show that from March 19, when New Zealand’s borders closed because of Covid-19, to September 30, Immigration New Zealand received more than 18,000 new work visa applications under the essential skills category.
In that time it approved nearly 15,000 essential skills work visa applications and declined about 1500, including some received before March 19.
Applications were approved for 633 different jobs ranging from low skilled roles such as taxi driver, cafe worker and cleaner, through to highly skilled jobs such as paediatrician, aircraft engineer and chemical engineer. The visa approvals come at the same time as many New Zealanders are out of work as a result of Covid-19’s impact on businesses and the economy.
Jobs data released earlier this month showed New Zealand’s unemployment rate hit 5.3 per cent, with the number of jobless people rising by 37,000 in the September quarter to reach 151,000, the largest quarterly rise in unemployment since 1986.
Wanaka chef Chrissi Roper has experienced first hand the absence of New Zealanders, or migrant workers for that matter, being willing or available to step into a job.
She’s been busy preparing to open a food truck, but a staff shortage could spell disaster for her and other operators in Wanaka and Queenstown, she said.
‘‘I have been advertising for chefs and cooks for over a week now on various platforms and I have had zero applications.’’
Training people took time and she wanted the Government to create a hospitality visa similar to a Supplementary Seasonal Employer Work Visa established for the horticulture and agriculture industries.
Since New Zealand’s borders closed to nearly everyone except returning residents, Immigration New Zealand stopped processing visa applications for overseas applicants unless they met strict border exception criteria.
An Immigration NZ spokesman said essential skills work visas were employer-assisted, meaning the visa was linked to a role being offered.
When supporting a visa, employers were required to check that there were no New Zealanders available to fill the role, before looking to hire a migrant worker, he said.
‘‘As part of the application process, employers must provide evidence that they’ve taken all reasonable steps to hire a New Zealander first.’’
Applications for jobs in sectors or geographical areas where there was an undersupply of New Zealanders available to perform a role were more likely to be successful, he said.
As of September 30 nearly 5000 applications received during the period were still pending a decision.
New Zealand immigration specialist Simon Laurent, principal at Laurent Law, said he suspected the majority of essential skills work visa applications approved since New Zealand’s borders closed were for people from overseas who were already in the country on another visa.
Laurent said he had never heard of an essential work visa application being issued for a taxi driver, for example, but without seeing how applications were presented it was difficult to say whether Immigration New Zealand was right to grant a visa.
NZ Taxi Federation executive director John Hart said some taxi companies were having trouble finding drivers in some areas such as Auckland and Christchurch.
Infometrics senior economist Brad Olsen said he was surprised by many of the jobs for which visa applications had been approved.
‘‘There are a considerable number that I really do question how they managed to get on that list and how New Zealand as a country isn’t able to provide some of those skills,’’ Olsen said.
He said he struggled to understand how so many essential visa applications were being granted considering New Zealand was in the middle of a pandemic and a sharp economic downturn.