A decade to recover

Chris Roberts, chief executive of Tourism Aotearoa, said the reliance on overseas labour grew around 2013 when a surge in the number of overseas visitors coincided with the growing perceptions jobs in tourism meant low pay, antisocial hours and casual employment.

While this was a turnoff for Kiwis, the more transient roles were ideal for visiting work visa holders who could earn money while seeing something of the country.

“We disagree with immigration settings being used as a tool to raise wage rates but we acknowledge the Government’s right to control it.”

But there are jobs right across the economy and that you simply can’t attract Kiwis to do.

Before Covid the industry was looking at a decade to re-engineer the shape of the workforce with better training and education curriculum changes making the sector more attractive to New Zealanders. The pandemic had thrown what was a strategy put in place three years ago into disarray.

He said job applicants were now in a strong position and pay rates were increasing.

Besides other businesses in other sectors paying to attract tourism workers and offering jobs on the spot, they were also being lured to Australia. Roberts said North Queensland and the Northern Territory were running recruitment campaigns in this country.

Roberts advised any employer to move quickly once they’d done necessary background checks on applicants.

Pay wasn’t the only factor needed to attract good staff to tourism.

“Train them up and they will stick with you.” Roberts said the industry was still pushing hard to have tourism be classed as an achievement standard, not the lower status unit standard for NCEA qualifications.

“Tourism and hospitality courses tended to be a dumping ground for less academically able students. This shows a lack of respect for them and the industry,” he said.

This could be about to change with the Ministry of Education reviewing NCEA subjects for Levels 2 and 3 this year. The ministry has received a submission from the Tourism Teachers’ Association for tourism to become an achievement standard subject.