Migrants need to find niche

Skilled migrants are still in high demand, but for those coming into Southland on temporary work visas, looking to eventually gain residency, the message is simple; if you want to stay, you need to upskill.
Every year hundreds of migrants from destinations like the Philippines, South America and the Pacific Islands come to Southland for entry level work on temporary work visas; the proviso being they must find full-time work in order to stay, at least until they have residency.
Invercargill-based Settlement Support Coordinator for the Department of Labour, Sue Morrison-Bailey, said these types of entry level roles included work in fast food operations, which in a time of recession were not always readily available.
This has been further exacerbated by a July 2008 government policy requiring essential skills to be employed in some roles and a commitment to ensure foreign workers were not being employed at the expense of New Zealanders.
Because of this policy, she said, there had been some instances of migrants applying for residency before they qualified for this status, or renewing their permits before the unemployment level moves up due to the freezing works closing for the season.
For many the entry level work was essentially their only port of call, as freezing works could not guarantee year-round full-time work and they often lacked the skills and experience required to work on farms.
"In regards to dairying, the job shortages are for skilled farm or herd managers. To do the job you need to have two or three full-time seasons, because you're working in multi-million dollar businesses," Ms Morrison-Bailey said.
"Work and Income finds it very hard to get an off-season freezing worker into that job without the experience."
In some cases employers were faced with a ‘Catch 22' when looking for workers, she said, as off-season freezing workers weren't interested in doing some jobs that migrants were keen, often "desperate" to do, but couldn't because of their restrictions.
She said upskilling, through the likes of the Agriculture Industry Training Organisation (ITO) and other New Zealand qualifications was the key to ensuring employment, and thus residency.
Anecdotal evidence suggests migrants are very much enjoying their experiences in the south.
"The majority of workers who came in the last year, your Filipinos, South Americans, Pacific Islanders, are looking to renew their visas and are happy living in Southland.
"We just need to look after these people."