Changes to Immediate Skill Shortage List and Long Term Skill Shortage List

Source: infonew.co.nz

1 September 2010, 2:09PM

By Department of Labour

The bi-annual review of the Immediate Skill Shortage List (ISSL) and the Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL), administered by the Department of Labour, has been completed.

The ISSL includes occupations that are in immediate demand in the New Zealand labour market. The LTSSL includes occupations that are in long term and global shortage.

Two occupations, Scaffolders and Automotive Technicians will be added to the ISSL, and three occupations, Ship’s Master, Ship’s Officer and Forest Scientist to the LTSSL. Thirteen occupations mostly in the building, design and racing industries will be removed from the ISSL. One occupation, Architect, will be removed from the LTSSL. In addition, four occupations will be removed from the ISSL as they are already covered in the LTSSL. Some requirements will be updated.

The ISSL and LTSSL will be released on 8 September 2010.

The removal of the occupations from the lists is the result of an extensive consultation with industry groups, other stakeholders and relevant government agencies.

Employers can still recruit migrants in occupations that have been removed from the lists. The employer will need to demonstrate genuine attempts to recruit suitable New Zealand citizens or residents. Temporary work visas or permits can be granted after there is evidence that there are no suitable New Zealanders available.

Immigration New Zealand works with a number of agencies when reviewing the labour market to help identify areas of immediate and long-term skill shortage. This is to ensure that the lists reflect genuine skill shortage so New Zealanders are not disadvantaged while at the same time making sure employers get the skilled employees they need to take advantage of improvements in the economy.

Head of Immigration New Zealand, Nigel Bickle says “For occupations no longer on the LTSSL and ISSL the labour market test process, where agencies such as Work and Income are involved, ensures that New Zealanders are not disadvantaged if seeking employment before an employer recruits a migrant worker. However, New Zealand still has skill shortages in certain areas and jobs may need to be filled by people from overseas.”

Mr Bickle says there will be ongoing review of all occupations on the list which will ensure flexibility in times of both shortage and economic growth.

Immediate Skill Shortage List (ISSL)

Thirteen occupations to be removed from the ISSL on 8 September 2010:
• Architectural Designer
• Architectural Draughtsperson (Civil CAD Designer)
• Architectural Draughtsperson
• Graphic Artist
• Fire Alarm Technician
• Florist (Senior)
• Gas Fitter
• Vehicle Body Builder (Bus or Coach only)
• Horse Trainer (Stallion Master)
• Horse Trainer (Stud Groom)
• Jockey
• Trackwork Rider
• Telecommunications Technician

Two occupations to be added to the ISSL:
• Automotive Technician (Motor Mechanic)
• Scaffolder (Advanced)

Four occupations to be moved from the ISSL to the LTSSL:
• Conductor (Conductive Education Practitioner)
• Construction Project Manager (Chip sealing, Asphalt or other Technical Manager) (Roading and Infrastructure)
• Construction Project Manager (Roading and Infrastructure)
• Ship’s Engineer

Four occupations to be removed from the ISSL as covered by the LTSSL:
• Marine Designer
• Systems Analyst
• Software Engineer
• ICT Support and Test Engineer
Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL)

One occupation to be removed from the LTSSL on 8 September 2010:
• Architect

Three occupations to be added to the LTSSL:
• Ship’s Officer
• Ship’s Master
• Forest Scientist

Four occupations to be moved to the LTSSL from the ISSL:
• Conductor (Conductive Education Practitioner)
• Construction Project Manager (Chip sealing, Asphalt or other Technical Manager) (Roading and Infrastructure)
• Construction Project Manager (Roading and Infrastructure)
• Ship’s Engineer

Interim Visas for Foreign Migrants in New Zealand!

source: nzherald.co.nz  25 August 2010

New interim visas will allow migrants waiting for their visas to be processed to continue working, Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman says.

It was a bonus for businesses and employees, Dr Coleman said.

“In most circumstances it provides continuity in the workplace as employers have the security of knowing their staff member can continue working legally while Immigration New Zealand processes their application.”

The interim visas will be in place by March.

Changes to the sponsorship provisions will allow organisations and government departments to sponsor someone’s visa where previously only individuals could.

– NZPA

Expect a strong recovery in NZ economy: Westpac

Expect a strong recovery in New Zealand’s economy, Westpac says

Monday, 18 January 2010, 4:33 pm
Article: Businesswire

Jan. 18 (BusinessWire) – New Zealand’s economic recovery will be stronger than most economists are forecasting, with growth likely to top 4% next year, Westpac Banking Corp said in its quarterly economic overview.

While the global financial crisis could mean a different kind of recovery, Westpac’s economics team suggests there is too much store being placed in that analysis, especially when so many of the factors now at play look the same or better than recoveries in the past.

Westpac’s forecast of a 3.7% rate of growth in gross domestic product this year, and 4.3% in 2011, is at the top end of the 16 forecasters the bank monitors, and it’s happy with that.

“We find that recoveries from past recessions have tended to be very strong,” said Westpac’s chief economist, Brendon O’Donovan. “On average, New Zealand GDP (economic) growth peaks at 6% per annum nine quarters after the recession has ended.”

“What is startling is how many favors are currently shaping up similar to that experienced in previous strong recoveries,” he said. “That would suggest that the risks to our forecasts are weighted more to the upside than the downside.”

Among factors looking similar or better than in previous recoveries, Westpac listed:
• A deep recession to start with;
• Asset prices, particularly housing, rebounding strongly;
• A mini-boom in migration is under way;
• World economic forecasts keep being revised upwards, led by Asian economies rather than Europe or the USA on this occasion;
• A dramatic shortfall in new houses being built;
• Unusually deep de-stocking, meaning firms will have greater inventory re-stocking needs. Inventories fell in mid-2009 by the greatest extent since records began in 1987;
• Reduced consumption mainly affected durable goods, especially cars. If and when spending returns to more normal patterns, these categories fuel a bounceback;
• Leading indicators including the interest rate outlook (rising), business and consumer confidence are “if anything, stronger in those most other economic recoveries”.

While credit, employment and mortgagee sales data would continue to look weak for some months yet, they were all late signals from the last impacts of the recession on firms and households that had hung on as long as possible, but failed late in the downturn.

While the global financial crisis was severe for world banking, there was no banking crisis in New Zealand and the terms of trade had returned swiftly to robust levels, reflecting demand for agricultural and other commodities from fast-growing Asian countries, where New Zealand was signing an increasing number of trade liberalisation deals that would assist growth.

“Simple arithmetic would suggest a stronger than usual rebound,” O’Donovan said.

Westpac expects a substantial improvement in parts of the economy that are exposed to domestic recovery, singling out construction, publishing and advertising, transport and sectors supporting oplant and machinery investment, and consumer durable goods.

(BusinessWire)

Confidence building on “tough” job market

By JAMES WEIR – The Dominion Post

Workers think there will be more jobs around in a year, and that they will be making more money, according to a bank survey. But for now, times are still “extremely tough” on the job front, with unemployment expected to keep rising to about 7 per cent in the middle of next year. Wage rises are slowing down fast. Workers are feeling much more secure about their jobs and confidence about the labour market is improving, according to the Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence survey. As job security improved, that would eventually translate to a greater willingness to spend, and a greater mood to demand higher wages, Westpac senior economist Donna Purdue said. The bank survey’s overall employee confidence index rose 6.9 points between the June and September quarters to reach 103. It was the second biggest quarterly gain since the survey began in June 2004. An index above 100 indicates there are more optimists than pessimists, while a number below 100 indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey was carried out in the first half of September. The survey showed the number of workers being paid more than a year ago had fallen. A net 15 per cent of those surveyed said they were better off than a year ago, down from a net 19 per cent in June. More people said jobs were hard to get, at a net 66.5 per cent in September, from a net 65.3 per cent in June. Both of those indicators were the lowest since the survey started five years ago, indicating that many people were getting little or no wage rise. Sales of big ticket products such as cars and furniture were hit the hardest in a time of low job security, so as security improved there should be a lift in sales. The survey result suggested that the worst was over for the jobs downturn.