The Emigrate Show

Finding farm workers in NZ is a problem

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:22:45 +0000

According to an article in The Epoch Times farmers in New Zealand are having problems finding workers.

Jacqueline Rowarth, Professor of Pastoral Agriculture at Massey University, says that New Zealand farmers are among the most efficient in the world. Data systems show that Kiwis are ‘absolutely cutting edge’ with regard to technology that reduces the impact of farming on the environment, she says.

New Zealand produces around 2% of the world’s milk production, of which 95% is exported. It accounts for around 25% of the country’s total export earnings.

Yet it seems that this state of the art industry is struggling to find people in New Zealand to work in dairy farming.

“New Zealand produces only 100 agricultural graduates a year in the whole country. It’s hopeless,” says Rowarth. A ‘pathetic’ number out of 20,000 students.

Rowarth also attributes shortages to the indulgent style of parenting by baby boomer moms and dads that failed to instil in the new generation a desire to take on challenges and make a difference, a role agriculture could fulfil.

Anneke Bootsma and her husband run a 200 hectare farm with 500 cows in Tapanui, West Otago. She says finding staff that are passionate about dairying and producing high quality milk in an environmentally sound way is her biggest headache.

NT gets green light to recruit additional overseas workers

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:05:37 +0000

Chris Bowen, Australia’s Immigratrion Minister, has reached agreement with Northern Territory to tackle the chronic skills shortages that the area is currently facing. The move is generally seen to be a step in the right direction to address the issues the territory is having to deal with.

Mr Bowen has agreed to negotiate a new migration agreement for skilled workers with Northern Territory before other states. The new regional migration agreement will enable Northern Territory to bring in overseas employees to help fill its labour shortages.

Australia’s Northern Territory is facing a labour shortage due to the current resources boom in the area. As an example, the multi-billion dollar Ichthys gas plant alone requires nearly 20,000 additional workers over the next four years. According to the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce, this agreement will be very helpful for smaller Australian businesses that lose workers to the resources boom.

Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer, Chris Young, has gone on record as saying that “The new system should be faster and easier than the 457 visa application process for temporary overseas workers. The new scheme would speed up the application process and shorten the process to no more than three months. Smaller employers, who can demonstrate that they have genuinely tried to find local employees, will be able to enter the Australian immigration market and very quickly get an approval to bring in foreign staff.”

One year on … New Zealand remembers

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:48:10 +0000

A year after an earthquake wrecked Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city with a population of around a third of a million people, it is estimated that over 10,000 New Zealanders stood silent at a city park to remeber the 185 people who lost their lives ago one year ago. Police officers and fire fighters read the names of the people who perished on that day.

The reading of the names was followed by two minutes of silence at precisely 12.51pm, the moment that that 6.1 earthquake rocked the city. The earthquake caused devestation to thousands of homes and much of Christchurch city centre was lost as a consequence. The New Zealand government has estimated the damage at billions of dollars.

In an outpouring of grief that left many in tears, the ceremony at North Hagley Park was part of a day of remembrances taking place across New Zealand.

As the country recalls those painful and destructive events and memories of a year ago, the first steel piles are appearing in Christchurch city centre. Just a block from Christchurch’s ruined cathedral, a two-level retail and office project is among the first in the heart of the city. New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, said, “As many as 26 commercial buildings are under way in the inner city.”

The General Manager of operations at the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Warwick Issacs, when interviewed said, “Its sort of like spring for buildings, they are starting to appear now.”

Drummond report says Ontario reliant on immigration

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:02:34 +0000

The recently released Drummond report has concluded just how important immigration is to the province of Ontario. It says that immigration will account for all net growth in Ontario in the working age population for the forseeable future. Whilst Ontario still remains the top destination for immigrants to Canada, its position at the head of the table is slipping fast as people head westwards. In 2010, Ontario’s share of new immigrants was 52%, down from 64% just five years ago.

For many years, the federal skilled worker (FSW) program has been aimed at making Ontario the destination of choice for the high priority immigrants that most Canadian provinces have sought to attract. In 2001, Ontario attracted 89,078 workers through the FSW program; But just a decade or so later that number had dropped to just 53,885 in 2010.

The reason for Ontario’s demise is that the Canadian federal government has introduced new rules to ensure a flow of skilled workers heads to the resource rich Western provinces of British Columbia, Saskatechewan and Alberta.

If one takes a quick look at the current list of the 29 skilled occupations job descriptions it is clear to see what is happening. The key requirements are for mining engineers, geological engineers, petroleum engineers and so on not something that Ontario has an abundant need of.

Canadian immigrants are good citizens reveals poll

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:05:32 +0000

According to the results of the first poll, conducted by the Environics Institute, to quiz Canadians about their views on citizenship, most Canadians feel immigrants are just as likely to be good citizens as people who were born here.

This article is a shortened extract from the full version that can be found on the CBC News website.

A group made up of five national organizations – CBC, the Environics Institute, Maytree, The Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the RBC Foundation – commissioned the public opinion poll. They asked over 2,000 Canadians what they think are the characteristics of a good citizen and other questions about citizenship.

When asked in the survey what makes a good citizen, the top five responses were:
1. Obeying laws
2. Actively participating in the community
3. Helping other people
4. Being tolerant of others
5. Sharing or adopting Canadian values

The findings of the poll also reveal that Canadians have a broad, inclusive view of citizenship and see immigrants as their equals. Almost 90% or respondents agreed that a person born outside Canada is just as likely to be a good citizen as someone born here.

The key elements to making your migration pay off

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:01:56 +0000

As you form your plans to move to Australasia, you could be forgiven for feeling you are leaving all the woes of the UK and European economies behind and, to a degree you will. However, there is a hurdle to clear before these factors evaporate into the background; that hurdle is the conversion of your money (sterling most probably) into Australian or New Zealand Dollars.

You may consider that sending your money to Australia involves a straightforward international bank transfer with a cost of twenty Pounds or so and a day or two to wait for delivery. It can be that way but how much will you receive the other end? The huge variable is the exchange rate you receive; that is the factor that will determine how comfortably off you are when you land in your new country to start your new life.

That exchange rate you receive will be directly affected by:

Who you use to exchange your funds
Events in the global economy that are directly impacting the Sterling – Australian Dollar exchange rate at that time and
The timing of your transaction

Demand for Aussie visa soars

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:36:15 +0000

This week, emigrateshow.co.uk (ES) chatted with three leading UK MARA registered Australian visa agents to understand if the current hype surrounding increased interest in Australia was all it has been made out to be. We spoke to Darren Chatt (DC) of Visa-Go based in Edinburgh, John Adams (JA) who runs Immigration2oz.com and Sammy Naghi (SN) of emigrate-to-australia (Taylor Hampton Solicitors) who are located in London.

ES: “Have you noticed an increase in the number of enquiries from people wanting to emigrate to Australia since the start of 2012?”
SN: “Our company has seen a 500% increase in enquires compared to the same period last year. It seems everybody we have spoken to over the past few years has decided 2012 is the year to make the move down under. We welcome their enquiries of course and look forward to helping many of them to their dream.”
DC: “We have received 3 times the amount of enquiries in January 2012 than the previous year. It is always the same at this time of year, although the new rule change for skilled visas is pushing people along.”
JA: “A massive increase!”

ES: “What do you think might be the reason for this and do you believe that SkillSelect, the new processing system due to be implemented on 1 July 2012, is a key factor driving people?”
SN: “I think SkillSelect is a contributing factor for sure, but more importantly is the current state of the UK economy (high unemployment and low growth) which has been getting worse and worse over the past few years. The strength of the Australian economy, which is offering low unemployment and growth in many States, makes it very appealing to would be migrants.”

Destination Manitoba calling

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:40:43 +0000

According to a longer news article in The Globe and Mail, Manitoba was a place that grew only slowly a decade ago and fretted about the day it might start to shrink. But following the release of the results of the Canadian census, some of the most surprising population gains could be in a province that for years barely grew at all.

But according to the census Manitoba has more than tripled its share of national immigration in the last ten years and in the process has become a model for immigration reform. With roughly 3% of Canada’s population, Manitoba now attracts nearly 6% – or more than 15,000 people in 2010.

The overwhelming majority arrived under the provincial nominee program, which Manitoba was the first province to adopt in 1998. Manitoba is not a resource driven economy unlike its oil and potash rich Prairie cousins. So it’s no small accomplishment that Manitoba has become a destination for immigrants. The fastest growing region in 2010 was the agricultural and manufacturing belt south of Winnipeg.

Manitoba would like to see the cap on its nominee applicants raised. Federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, intends to reform Canada’s immigration system this year, but it’s not clear whether he will expand the nominee program. It may also be difficult for Manitoba, which already eats up nearly a third of the nominee allocation, to argue for more permits. In the meantime, Manitoba is pouring its resources into settling new arrivals.

Construction immigration flow into Canada needed

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:27:45 +0000

Bill Stewart is the vice-president of the Merit Contractors Association in Alberta. This is an extract of a longer article published in Canada’s Journal of Commerce.

Recent news reports that Citizenship and Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, and the federal government are contemplating creating a skilled worker stream for permanent immigration are welcome news for the construction industry. By most accounts, Canada’s construction industry will again be plagued with manpower shortages in the near future. The single largest factor leading to this shortage is the aging workforce. By 2015, it is estimated that 35 per cent of Canada’s population will be aged 55 years or older.

An estimated 3.8 million workers are expected to retire between 2005 and 2015. In construction, 210,000 of the current 1.2 million workers are expected to retire over the next eight years. While the impending demographic tsunami has been known for years, solutions are complex and clouded by politics. Despite the best efforts of governments, business associations, contractors and labour suppliers, forecasts indicate that there will be a significant shortfall in domestic resources to meet demands.

The Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA) for example, estimates that almost 160,000 offshore constructions workers will be needed within the next eight years to satisfy all the projected workforce needs. Unfortunately for the construction industry, Canada’s current immigration system does a poor job of targeting immigration for high-demand construction occupations. This is particularly true of the Skilled Worker Program (SWP), where about 280,000 people are admitted annually. According to the ministry, 46% of admissions under the program have a master’s degree or PhD, while less than 3% of admissions were apprentices, or held a formal trade certificate.

Did you hear about the Aussie pub with no bartenders?

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:11:36 +0000

Whilst it is perhaps unthinkable that the Australian hospitality industry should be faced with a serious shortage of labour, the reality is that it is facing something of a crisis. With this in mind, the Australian government is considering granting visas to 92,000 hospitality workers by 2015 to meet the skills shortage, which could be good news for Brits heading down under.

So severe are the shortages in the Australian hospitality and tourism industry that the government is in discussions to import 36,000 cooks, waiters, hotel managers, bartenders and other skilled workers to fill vacancies; with another 56,000 needed by 2015 according to federal Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson.

One of the main reasons for this parlous state appears to be that Australians are leaving the hospitality industry to move into much higher paying mining and resources jobs. However, what is clear is with tourism being worth AU$35 billion annually to Australia, the government needs to act quickly to address the situation.

A template labour agreement will be developed to help to ease labour and skills pressures by improving the tourism and hospitality industry’s ability to attract and retain labour in some of the occupations identified by the industry as being in critical shortage.

Chris Bowen, Australia’s Immigration Minister, said, “The agreement would cover waiters, chefs, bar attendants, hotel managers and other occupations which are hard to fill locally, or may be ineligible under other migration programs.”