Recent research indicates that the Taranaki economy is improving and local business owners have a positive future outlook. As the economic situation continues to improve, Taranaki’s businesses will likely return to a growth model, which involves bringing in additional staff. 

It can be challenging to find the right person for the job from within Taranaki. As a region we are experiencing skill shortages in some professional sectors. One potential solution to this problem could be to hire migrants. 

A recent survey found that 83 percent of responding employers hired migrants because they couldn't find a New Zealander with the right skills, and that satisfaction with migrant workers was also high with 87 percent of employers stating that they rated their migrant employees as good or very good. For a full copy of this report and statistics visit the Department of Labour website.

The Department of Labour wants to support employers to meet their staffing needs, and is doing this through the development of a Best Practice Guide to checking the entitlement of prospective migrant employees, and a new online enquiry system called VisaView, which will allow employers to easily obtain information on a foreign job applicant’s job entitlement.  

For more information visit http://www.immigration.govt.nz/visaview.

If you are having trouble finding people with ‘the right skills’ for your business, contact Carrie at Venture Taranaki for assistance whether it be help to find skilled migrants or other Carrie Thorne - email: Carrie@venture.org.nz, or phone 06 759 5158.  Alternatively, check out the region’s recruitment website, www.taranaki.info/jobs.