New Zealand to grant automatic residency to certain skilled workers | World | T.W.

New Zealand officials announced on Monday (12.12.2022) that there is a need for more than 75,000 international workers, from nurses to teachers and mechanics, due to labor shortages in the national and international markets. At a press conference, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said about 94,000 jobs had been offered to foreign workers since June and about 17,000 international workers had since received visas to work in the country.

“The global labor shortage is contributing to the labor shortage here … It’s clear that labor shortages persist not only here, but in the markets we compete in,” Ardern said. In other measures, he announced that nurses and doctors will go on the “green list” of staff to live directly in New Zealand from this Thursday, December 15. Ten more industries were added to that “green list” this Monday, notably in the healthcare, education and construction sectors. There are currently 97,000 people looking for work in New Zealand, where the unemployment rate is 3.3%.

“Since the start of the pandemic, 3,474 nurses have come into the country, but it’s clear we need to do more to get nurses choosing New Zealand,” Immigration Minister Michael Wood said. However, the New Zealand Nurses Association estimates the country needs 4,000 more nurses. Health Minister Andrew Little had already warned earlier this year that New Zealand needed hundreds of mental health workers.

“We need to attract skilled workers to our shores with pay, our conditions and safety. So we’re talking to businesses and industry groups and expanding our plan to make New Zealand the most attractive place to live on the planet,” he said. Representative. New Zealand, which fully reopened its borders in August after the pandemic, is a “great place to live, work and play”, the president added, adding that he wants to “stay as competitive as we can”.

lgc (afp/efe)