OVER & OUT
The big OE has been a rite of passage for generations of Kiwi youngsters.
But, KELLY DENNETT reports, the pandemic has crushed the dreams of today’s adventurous young travellers.
When Tahlia Griffis, 23, was making plans to move overseas after finishing a masters in film scoring, she was riding a wave of success. She’d just finished work as an assistant on The Luminaries, had graduated with distinction, and had a piece performed as part of the New Zealand School of Music Film Scoring Showcase which attracted praise from mentors and peers.
Her next step seemed logical, and her mentor was firm: ‘‘(They) told me to go to the UK and stay there, in order to make use of the bigger industries and more abundant projects.
‘‘So I thought ... I’ll just go hard at what could well be my one decent shot at working on really interesting projects that would give me a cut above the rest when returning to New Zealand.’’
Things quickly fell apart. After arriving in London in early 2020, coronavirus struck. She’s been in lockdown ever since, initially thinking the country would soon return to normal, but now accepting her chance to further her career has been stymied, for now. On a two-year tier 5 youth mobility visa, the clock is ticking.
Griffis is looking on the bright side. She’s hopeful she can still network, and continue to hone her craft.
‘‘I don’t have many resources here, literally just my laptop, a mic, and headphones, not exactly a great set-up. But, if nothing else, I have a relentless positivity, and that’s already got me to where I am.’’
But for many others, the dream of an international adventure is over – or at least delayed indefinitely – before it even began.
The most recent available Statistics NZ figures show around 14,000 Kiwis aged between 20-28 leave New Zealand every year (it was 13,758 in the year to November 2018), with the intention of staying away for at least a year. Studies suggest only about half intend returning, and around a million Kiwis live overseas.
For previous generations, the big OE – or overseas experience – was almost a rite of passage, a chance to see the world and follow a well-worn path to a pub job in London, the Munich beer-fest, running with the bulls in Spain, and joining the annual pilgrimage to Gallipoli.
But increasingly these days many young Kiwis are heading overseas for study and career opportunities they would never get at home.
Those opportunities are now on hold, however. With the global economy in meltdown, and the aviation sector hit hard by border closures and mandatory quarantine, it may be some time before the days of cheap overseas travel and limitless opportunities abroad return.
For Elijah Neblett, 24, his OE hit a road bump as soon as he moved to New York in January. Having secured a day job as an accounts manager, he was keen to further his dream of getting a record deal, ‘‘or working with some cool and different people. I think outside of New Zealand there’s a lot more opportunities’’.
When Covid-19 hit, Neblett returned to Auckland. His US passport will allow him to go back to New York, but he’s realistic that could take years.
‘‘It’s disappointing that it happened pretty much as soon as I got there,’’ Neblett said.
‘‘I ... spent most of my savings getting there, it was a huge risk, (but) the more experience you have outside of New Zealand, especially in a city like New York, which is pretty cut-throat, is a big tick on your CV.’’
Timaru resident Kate Low agrees. She’s gutted she hasn’t been able to return to the Big Apple, after studying acting there in 2019. She had plans for further study in September at the Stella Adler Studio, a school which boasts high-profile alumni including Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, and Cybill Shepherd.
‘‘Looking at the state of the world I’m definitely not going back this year and maybe not next year. It may be a few years before I travel again.’’
But Icehouse CEO Gavin Lennox says New Zealand’s brightest should not give up on their international dreams.
Lennox spent two decades overseas working for global companies, including as a senior director for IBM Europe, and Doubleclick, a Google division. In
2015 he joined Invenco, which sold pay-at-pump solutions to petrol companies, growing it to a
$100 million venture. Now, he helps entrepreneurs and start-ups grow. He says many of its several hundred investors are returning Kiwis who have become independently wealthy or translated their experience to investment opportunities here.
While some of those who leave New Zealand don’t intend returning, those who do are incredibly valuable to the country, Lennox says. It’s important that Kiwis keep travelling.
‘‘International experience is vital to New
Zealand’s future, we cannot operate and grow our economy and build a great place to live without exporting, and that requires us to really understand and build businesses that can expand internationally.’’
The Sunday Star-Times spoke to dozens of Kiwis living overseas, the majority of whom had gained specialist employment, internships or study, which were in jeopardy as companies struggled to retain staff. Some had visas that were running out and others had spent all their money getting overseas only to grapple with no work opportunities.
‘‘I feel a bit adrift,’’ journalist Charlotte Carter said this week, reflecting on the uncertainty of being furloughed from her publication, while her Kiwi friends abandoned the UK for home. ‘‘It is pretty lonely . . . It feels like I just spent a tonne of money to get my visa and set myself up here, and it’s kinda all for nothing.’’ Lennox says there are different ways of gaining international experience, ‘‘but in a slightly hybrid form.’’
‘‘My advice would be, don’t give up on the dream, make the best use of this time to electronically make as many contacts and network, and progress your
‘‘Looking at the state of the world I’m definitely not going back this year and maybe not next year. It may be a few years before I travel again.’’ Kate Low
business opportunities as fast as possible.’’
Professor and sociologist Paul Spoonley says while opportunities for young people to gain overseas work experience have evaporated in the short-term, this could be a chance to better harness the skills of a million Kiwis around the globe.
‘‘New Zealand has a large diaspora but we’ve never managed it well. We have a lot of skill sitting offshore.’’
Even when border restrictions relax, all countries around the world are facing a depression which will have an effect on prospects for overseas workers.
Award-winning bartender Giancarlo Jesus, 29, feels fortunate that despite having to abandon a recent move to New York City to work in a new bar, he has plans afoot to bring his expertise to the New Zealand hospitality industry, while looking forward to an eventual move back to the US.
Having worked in hospitality for 15 years, a good chunk of that in Canada and London, his NYC move in late February coincided with the city’s shutdown. He has a three year O1 visa for individuals with ‘‘extraordinary ability or talent’’ which he can renew.
He’s temporarily moved to Australia, where his parents are, but is setting up a project he hopes will inspire New Zealanders to pursue hospitality careers.
He thinks in New Zealand hospitality as a profession isn’t taken as seriously as it is overseas, where fine dining is a big industry. Seeing restaurants closing in New Zealand as the sector takes a hit, he hopes convincing people to stick with the industry will aid its recovery.
‘‘The big part of going travelling overseas is to show and teach what I’ve learned.’’
Researcher Dr Jude Wilson believes travel is in Kiwis’ DNA, pandemic or not. Wilson, who studied the New Zealand OE for her PhD, said history showed global crises, like recessions, didn’t make much of a dent in Kiwis’ willingness to move, but perhaps made us more cautious.
Her analysis of OEs dating back to the 1950s showed a shift in why we travelled. Once it was simply to see the world, but people often gained more: life experience, appreciation for other cultures and learning to overcome challenges.
As access and ease of travel improved, travellers had pursued better jobs or study.
‘‘It’s always been seen as a rite of passage,’’ says Wilson. ‘‘The problem for me with that was, what happens if you’re a person who doesn’t do an OE?’’
Lennox says that while travel broadens the mind, the silver lining is that the pandemic has shown that more than ever, location is less important than real skills. Companies around the world were changing hiring policies, and, for example, Facebook had agreed all its staff could work from home for the rest of 2020.
‘‘Before, if you wanted to be promoted, you had to live near headquarters, now I think there’s an opportunity for people to work internationally.’’
Lennox says people were already thinking differently about how to do business without having to ‘‘schlep on a 15-hour flight’’ and New Zealand as a place to launch business and nurture entrepreneurs had also improved. He thinks the OE used to be a one-way-ticket situation, now people were more willing to return with the skills they’d picked up, to pass them on.
‘‘I think people need to think of their career as a series of chapters, and a few of them might be international, but not all of them.’’
‘‘It’s always been seen as a rite of passage. The problem for me with that was, what happens if you’re a person who doesn’t do an OE?’’
Dr Jude Wilson