In this honest episode of Soft Landing, I break down the current state of the New Zealand job market and why so many people, especially migrants, are finding it incredibly hard to land interviews and secure work.
We talk about:
-
Why unemployment has risen from 3% to 5%
-
The impact of the recent recession and economic slowdown
-
Why employers are hesitant to hire offshore
-
What this means for migrants, job seekers, and families already in NZ
It's not all doom and gloom, there is hope. I share some real talk, context, and perspective to help you better understand what’s happening on the ground and what you can focus on while things shift.
Whether you're still overseas or already here trying to find your feet, this episode is for you.
Stay Connected
Follow my Soft Landing podcast and subscribe to my YouTube channel @softlandingnz for real stories, walkthroughs, and practical tips for newcomers to New Zealand.
📍 All links & platforms: https://linktr.ee/softlandingnz
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
There are over 100,000 people whoimmigrate to New Zealand every year with
the intention to make New Zealand theirhome, leaving behind everything they
know as normal day-to-day life and havingto learn new ways of doing things, new
norms, new cultures, and different values.
There are many people who struggle withthis transition and find it challenging
(00:25):
to adjust and settle so they cancall and make New Zealand their home.
The purpose of this podcast is for meto share my journey and our challenges
with the hope that you can learn from meand my family and have a softer landing.
There will be good days and baddays, but with time, more good days.
I believe we have made theright choice for our family.
(00:47):
I want to try and help you do the same,but hopefully with a softer landing.
This is Soft Landing and Iam your host, Brett Colette.
Welcome to this podcast, designed foranyone thinking about preparing for, or
who has just immigrated to New Zealand.
Subscribe now so you never miss an episodedrawing from his personal experience.
(01:09):
This series will guide you throughthe process of preparing for your
move and helping you navigatethe challenges of immigration.
Hey everybody.
Welcome back to my podcast.
I'm first of, I just want to reallythank those of you that, take the time
to listen to me regularly, and not onlylisten to my podcasts, but follow me on
(01:30):
all my social media platforms like YouTubeand TikTok and Facebook, et cetera.
I really, appreciate your guys' support.
and I'm, hoping that, I'm continu tryingto help and add some value and help
you with your immigration journey, andhopefully you'll continue to be able
to learn from us and just hopefullytogether we can make New Zealand home.
(01:51):
So really, I'm just so grateful.
Guys, thank you for all your support.
If you guys are on you and you,this is the first time you are
listening to me and joining us.
I do ask, stay obviously andlisten to this podcast today.
It's gonna, I'll get into thetopic shortly, but I do ask,
go back to episode number one.
I do try and share my journey inchronological order, order so you can
(02:15):
get to know me a little bit better.
I think it's, important for you tounderstand where I'm coming from and
what my experiences have been and whatI'm actually trying to achieve here.
I want you to try and understandwhy I am sharing this information
and what we're trying to do.
I don't know.
Y Yeah, it's, immigration's a tough thing.
(02:36):
This is definitely not forsissies, that's for sure.
And the whole intent here is just totry help each other so we can actually
genuinely make New Zealand home.
So on that one, what I really wanted toshare today is something, oh, it's a bit,
it could be controversial, it could be alittle bit of a tough one, and I know I
always try to keep it positive and upbeat.
But, what I really wantedto tackle today is.
(02:58):
A lot on social media.
I've been seeing a lot of differentpeople on different platforms around
immigration, where you are, it'stough out there in the market.
a couple things.
Let me explain where I'm going with this.
So the first thing that's reallytough is there's a lot of people
that want to immigrate here.
(03:19):
they're trying, they darnedest to,to get that first interview and to.
Get a foot in the door so they can evenstart the visa process and even get
you just to make New Zealand home and.
That is the first challenge thatthey're finding extremely difficult.
It's they're, applying forhundreds and hundreds of jobs
and just getting no responses.
Sometimes they get responses, but it'srejection after rejection, which is
(03:40):
extremely tough to deal with, and it'sso difficult to stay motivated and to
keep pushing on when you can't even getthat first step done, let alone getting
to a stage of doing visas, et cetera.
Getting here to try and worktogether on the challenges that you
have With immigrating, it's, youcan't even get a foot in the door.
So that's the first challengea lot of people are having.
The next challenge that I'm seeinga lot of people are having is
(04:01):
those that have arrived here.
And there's a lot of people that havelost their jobs once they've got you.
So they've started working, but thenthey've gone through restructures
or a consultation process in thecompany that they've started with,
and they've actually lost their jobs.
Now that's extremely stressful because.
(04:25):
Some people, their visas and the waythey've got here, it's linked to that job.
Now they've gotta find anotherjob to link to their work visas.
Otherwise they have to go backto the country they've come from,
which is extremely stressful.
It goes without saying, if you don'thave income coming in, how do you keep a
roof over your head and feed your family?
So that's a tough one.
so it's tough on both endsat the moment in the market.
(04:49):
So I think what I wanted to do is I wantedto give a little bit of a lay of the land.
I've been spending a little bit of time.
Over the last past week and a bit,trying to do a little bit of research
and trying to get my head around whatthe hell's going on, why are things so
tough, and what is actually happening.
So I can share with you guys a littlebit and over and above doing the research
online, what I've also been doing is I'vemet with a couple of immigration agents.
(05:10):
I've, spoken to actual agents.
I've spoken to owners of immigrationcompanies, I've spoken to recruiters.
I've spoken to a couple ofother people that are in my
industry that employ people.
And what's going on?
Just a couple of other people that areimmigrants as well as Kiwis and just
trying to get an understanding of what'stheir mindset and their feel on what's
(05:32):
happening in the country at the momentwith relation to immigrants and jobs
and all the rest of in the economy.
Also, just reading a lot of feedback on mysocial media from a lot of you to try and
understand what's going on, and that's whyI thought it was important for me today.
I have to give a little bit of a,
an.
(05:52):
Share a little bit about the lay ofthe land of New Zealand right now.
Where are we at in New Zealandand why is all of this happening
and what's going on now?
Again, I'm no professional guys.
I'm not an expert.
So this is all from mypersonal experience.
This is all in my opinion, butI, really wanted to share this.
(06:12):
so starting off, I think thething we gotta realize is that
New Zealand at the moment has.
We are only just startingto come out of a recession.
Times have been extremely tough thelast few years here in New Zealand,
so we are only slowly startingto come out of that recession.
(06:33):
But what that does mean is whilewe've been in that recession,
our unemployment has, risen.
We, we've gone.
From a three point something oddpercent of unemployment up to five
point something percent of unemployment.
And a lot of people say in comparison to alot of other countries, that's not a lot.
But it is a lot.
If you think about the size of ourcountry, New Zealand is not big.
(06:56):
I think we've got between five and 6million people in the entire country.
So it is a small market.
It is a small country in comparisonto a lot of other countries.
So when we are having an unemployment.
Rate growth from three point somethingodd to five point something odd.
That 2% is big in thebigger scheme of things.
(07:16):
For us, it does have a knock on effectbecause what it's meant for us immigrants
is, and it's not just immigrants, it'sactually, it's locals, it's q's, it's
everyone that is here at the momentthat it, we're, we are all in this
together and we're all struggling.
It's not just immigrants.
What it does mean isthat if you think about.
(07:37):
The new government that came ina year and a bit two years ago,
whatever else, they first went anddid a whole lot of restructuring
and everything in the public sector.
So I think in the last year alone,there's been over 6,000 people that
have been let go in public sector.
Okay.
That have lost their jobs andnot just immigrants, people
that just work in public sector.
(08:00):
So what that means is that themarket has literally been flooded.
With a whole lot of talent in alldifferent skill sets just from
the public sector's restructuring.
Also what it's meant is because we'vebeen in that recession, a lot of
private sector organizations have beengoing through these restructures and
(08:20):
they've let go a lot of talent as well.
So there's a lot of that talent thathas now gone back into the market.
So I think at the moment where wesitting is we sitting in a market where
there is a lot of talent sitting outthere and employers have got a lot
of choice for skill in the market.
So the last thing a lot of people andemployers are gonna do is start looking
(08:45):
outside of the country when we've alreadygot so much talent inside the country.
And let's be honest, the rightthing to do is to help the people
that are here, immigrants or not.
It's just New Zealand.
It's people that are in thiscountry right now that need work.
It's only right for all of us to tryand get our current people that are
(09:06):
living in this country employed sothat they can feed their families
and put a roof over their heads.
It would be wrong of us to neglecttrying to hire people here locally.
when we've got the skill in countryalready and starting to go and getting
people offshore and outside the countryhired, it just, it, would be wrong.
It wouldn't sit well with me asmuch as I want every immigrant to be
(09:29):
able to, or any potential immigrantto have what I've got and be here.
And I know you'll say it's easyfor me to sit here and say.
Yeah, but Brett, you're there.
it's easy for you just to talk.
I get it.
But I'm just trying to giveyou a perspective and an
understanding of war higher.
It is so tough out there for you guys topotentially get into this country, start
thinking and realizing that we've got somestruggles that we've gotta work through
(09:55):
and, one of them is our unemployment.
We got to look after the peoplethat are here first before we bring
even more people into the country.
I think the other thing you've gottarealize is when our borders were closed
in New Zealand, WW New Zealand was good.
They really looked after the people andthe, and I'm talking with Code COVID.
Okay.
Specifically, they closed thoseborders and it was really tight,
(10:20):
where they locked down and kepttheir, people safe, which was great.
But it had a knock oneffect to the economy.
It really hit the economy hard, andthat's why they went into that recession.
But when they opened up those borders,they really let in a lot of people
and we flooded the market with alot of skill, but with the economy
not doing so post that as well.
(10:42):
And now letting in a lot of people,it's unfortunately put us in a
situation, and this again in my pemy opinion and with the research that
I've done is we've got a market wherethere is a lot of people available.
But not as many jobs to go around.
So that's why it's making itextremely tough for people.
(11:03):
And I think that's why, one of the reasonsyou're really struggling to get those
interviews and to actually get a foot inthe door if you're outside the country
and want to come here to New Zealand.
What you also gotta realize, and, thisis another thing that I've learned
here, is besides you're gonna lookafter your own and you're gonna look
after your people that are here.
(11:24):
People are also gonna look after theirown, as in whether they're thinking it
or not, or doing it intentionally or not.
They will look after their,
they, their people.
So Kiwis are gonna naturally want tolook after Kiwis and give them jobs
too, whether they're doing it or not.
Consciously or not, it does happen.
(11:46):
I like to believe that most are gonna goand rather get the best skill for the job.
Which I really hope in general most do,but it is gonna happen where some of them
are gonna look after their own as well.
So then there is that sense of biastowards Im immigrants, which is tough.
It's really tough.
But you've gotta understand peopleare struggling here or people not just
(12:07):
immigrants in New Zealand, yes, there'sa lot of us that are doing really well
in comparison to the rest of the world.
I'm not saying it's all doom andgloom, I'm just trying to get you a
bit of a lay of the land to realizethat things are tough here as well.
Okay,
Employers and people.
People hire people.
Okay.
People work for people.
yeah, it's all about companies orwhatever, but you are going to, and it's
(12:27):
the right thing to do, is to help peoplein the country at the moment get jobs.
That is the immediate need thatthey, it's the right thing to do.
A hundred percent behind that.
But I've also realized in New Zealanda big thing around finding jobs is,
yeah, and I believe it's still valid.
All the information that a lotof us are giving out there, me
included, where they're saying, okay.
(12:49):
You gotta make sure you get your,CVS in a professional state.
You gotta try and make them more alignedto what Kiwi employers are looking for.
That all helps.
It helps you stand out that littlebit better than anybody else.
A hundred percent.
You gotta do that.
How to interview, how to bemore relatable and informal and
think about the actual values.
(13:10):
And a hundred percent all of theirtraining is good and it's all valid.
A hundred percent valid.
But a big thing here in NewZealand is it's about networking.
It's huge on networking.
Half the hires that are going on outthere haven't even been advertised on
Seek, they haven't even been advertisedon with recruiters or anything like that.
(13:33):
It's actually, it's who you know it.
It's getting to know those now,you'll say, yeah, Brett, but how
do I get to know those networks?
I'm outside of the country.
I'm just trying to give you the layof the land and say why it's that.
Even that much more difficult forimmigrants outside the country
to get an interview becausealready there's this flood of
skills sitting in country already.
(13:54):
There's people that know eachother here and got networks, and
of course they're gonna rely onthose networks to try and help each
other out to get each other jobs.
It's only natural and the right thingto do, but it does mean all of us
immigrants that are outside the country,or potential immigrants that want to come
in, it's gonna make it that much harder.
To even get an interview, letalone get into the country.
(14:15):
So that's why it's toughout there at the moment.
It's not easy.
I think another thing that you've gottarealize is I'm not saying all this stuff
is doom and gloom and you'll never beable to get a job and you're putting
in all that effort and, oh, why bother?
I'm not.
I'm saying, if this is really what youwant and you want to be here, and it's
something that's right for your familyand you've done the right pros and cons.
(14:38):
You gotta keep at it.
You gotta push through and have that grit.
I just need you to realize it's notthat easy at the moment and understand
why it's not that easy at the moment.
You, there's other factorsat play at the moment.
There's other issues that arehappening that are outside
of our control at the moment.
So trying to recap.
(15:00):
Yes, there's.
There's that difficulty in NewZealand at the moment with regards
to our economy, with regards tous coming out of a recession.
We are coming out of the recession, soI do believe it's going to get better.
I don't think it's gonna happen overnight.
I do believe our, I'm hoping that ourunemployment is reaching the ceiling of
(15:23):
that five point odd percent and it shouldhopefully turn my opinion, I think it's
only gonna turn in the new physical year.
So we are in 2025, July, 2025.
At the moment, I think it'sonly gonna turn in January.
We, will start seeing it reallystarting to turn the other way.
And what I mean by turn the other way,hopefully it'll get to a stage then where.
(15:45):
There are a lot more jobs availableand a lot more people in country will
start getting jobs, and once they'vegot enough jobs and businesses start
thriving again and moving in theright direction, they will naturally
want more people and we won't haveas many people here in New Zealand.
So they would naturally start.
Then as long as the skill is not sittinghere in country, then they would look to
(16:09):
offshore and that's when opportunitieswill open up for immigrants again.
So I do believe there's a lightat the end of the tunnel, and I do
believe it's not a train coming away.
So it will change, it will get better,but I think we gotta do the right thing
to see through the tough times rightnow, and look after the people that
are in country and try find them jobs.
And that even goes for the immigrantsthat have lost their jobs at the moment.
(16:32):
Of course, you wanna tryfind them jobs first.
they've, they're here, they'vegot, they've packed everything up.
They've spent everythingthey've got to be here.
So if they've lost that job.
It's important to try find thema job before you try and get
more people into the country.
So I think that's why it's tough.
Now, I've said all of this, butthere is another caveat as well.
We are a small countryand there's two things.
(16:53):
We are still losing a lot of our owngood talent here in country to other
countries, particularly Australia.
So we are seeing that there's an exit ofa lot of our skills for a lot of reasons.
It can be for the job security,it can be for potential.
better earnings in other countriesand like Australia, where they're
also saying that potentiallythat the cost of living is, less.
(17:16):
And it's a good debate that youcan have, but we are genuinely
seeing it in the numbers.
So I've seen.
In the departure numbers, there'sabout 70,000 odd Kiwis alone.
So it's citizens, kiwi citizensthat are leaving every single year.
Remember, we only get in plus minus150,000 immigrants every year, and of
those 150,000, we are seeing 70,000kiwis that are leaving the country.
(17:38):
So there is a bit ofa brain drain as well.
But with that brain drain, ismore of the higher end skill.
It's the skill that we need.
We are finding, when I say there'sa lot of people available and
skill on the market, a lot ofthat skill that's on the market is
your low to mid skill level jobs.
(18:02):
it's not your high-end specialized skillsif you've got high-end specialized skill.
The likelihood of you notbeing employed is lower.
it's just natural.
We need those people, so they're gonnahave jobs, they're gonna have work.
That's why we've got the green lists.
(18:22):
the green list tells you that we'vegot certain gaps in our skill sets.
And those gaps at the moment is alot in medical, in nursing, there's a
lot in education and there's a lot init, and even construction positions.
And I'm not an immigration agent, soI'm not gonna tell you, you'd have
to see a actual immigration agent toget all the details of which are on
the green list, or go to the relevantimmigration websites and have a look.
(18:45):
There is obviously certain skills thatare sought after, and those people in
country with those skills are gonna havejobs, and it still means that if you are a
potential immigrant with those skills, youhave got a pathway and there is still a
potential for you to come into the countryeven right now because we don't have that
skill, and that is skill that we need.
(19:07):
It's sought after skill.
So do I think that everybody that wantsto come here is gonna be able to get jobs?
The truth is no, not everybody'sgonna be able to come to New Zealand.
We just can't.
We are not a big enough countryto be able to cater for everyone.
And the, I would love nothing morethan everybody to have the opportunity
that I have for me and my family.
(19:27):
And I'm, extremely grateful for thisopportunity and I, know some people
will give their left arm for thatopportunity, and I would love that
everybody could have it, but the truthis not everybody's gonna be able to.
To immigrate because we just cannotaccommodate everybody in New Zealand.
You just can't.
But if you are somebody that's got a highend skill, a sought after skill, there
(19:50):
is definitely an opportunity for you tomove here and you can still make it work.
Even with all the other challengeswith our cost of living, housing,
all the rest of it, it isrelevant to what you earn as well.
So you can still make itwork a hundred percent.
I don't wanna deter everyone.
I just, I'm trying to keep it realand just really get you to understand
the lay of the land at the moment andwhat's going on and why some people
(20:13):
are really struggling, but therestill are opportunities for those
that have got that high end skill.
I think what I wanted to do is maybealso just share a little bit of.
I don't know, maybe my guide ormy steps to keep in mind if you're
immigrating because I don't want toend it on, it's all doom and gloom.
(20:36):
it's not all doom and gloom.
As I said to you, I genuinely believethis is gonna turn by the end of the year.
We are training upwards.
We are heading in the right direction.
People locally are doing the right thing.
By hiring people and talent that we've gotin country, it's the right thing to do.
Right now.
We need to get our, People employedand able to look after their
families and provide for theirfa, it's the right thing to do.
(20:56):
So we gotta focus on that.
And I'm positive it will change.
And once we've got people on the marketcurrently in those low to mid-level
skillsets, majority of them starting toget hired and we see the trending down
of our unemployment rate, then it willopen up to others outside of the country.
In that mid, low to mid skilllevel as well, and there will be
(21:19):
further opportunities for people.
So it will happen.
There still definitely areopportunities for people that are
on that high end specialized skill.
That's why we've got the green list.
So there definitely stillis opportunities for that.
But don't fool yourself.
The market is tough.
Immigration is, it's not easy.
And especially right now, it istough to come into the country,
but it's still in my opinion.
(21:40):
One of the best things I've everdone, and I would love nothing
more than other people to havethe same opportunity I've had.
So I think the first thing that you wouldwanna do, if you, are looking to come
to New Zealand and immigrate here, thefirst thing you gotta do is you really
gotta make sure you know your why,you know your reason and your purpose,
and your reason for wanting to be hereand why you're picking everything.
(22:01):
From, and, literally moving your,you and your family from whatever
country outside of New Zealand on theother side of the world, and why are
you actually coming to New Zealand?
It's gonna be so important to know that.
Why?
Because I'm telling you, once youstart this immigration journey, and
you get here, you're gonna have gooddays and you're gonna have bad days.
And on those bad days, you'regonna have to be able to know your
(22:22):
why and be very sure of your why.
Because you're gonna have to look to that.
Why?
To remind yourself.
Why you, did this, and why youhere, and why you gotta keep pushing
and why you gotta have that, grit.
Because if you weren't clear on that whyand you didn't fill, like I've said, those
two bags up with, issues on both sides.
'cause don't fool yourself.
(22:42):
New Zealand has issues as well, okay?
But you've gotta fill those two bagswith all your pros and cons and pretty
much say, okay, staying in the countryI'm in, there's the pros and cons.
Moving to New Zealand pros andcons, and you really gotta.
In my opinion, your bag with allthe positives, the one that's
heavier with positives, and filledwith positives, that's the one you
(23:02):
choose because you're gonna have toremember, ah, that's why I did this.
keep going.
Don't give up.
So my first step is you really gotta besure about your why and your reasoning
for wanting to move to New Zealand.
Be very clear on that becauseyou're gonna need to look back
on that, on those, tough days.
The other thing you've gotta do is youreally gotta do your homework, okay?
(23:24):
And you've gotta inval evaluate you,your options with employers out here.
What do I mean by that?
by doing your homework.
You do your research on what thecost of living is here, okay?
And I'm not saying it's only all aboutthe money, but I can tell you if at
least you can financially not onlyjust afford to survive here, but thrive
(23:47):
here and you've got enough money to.
In the bank.
Okay.
Or you're earning enough, thenyou can actually make it work
and then you can start dealingwith all the other challenges.
'cause there's more challengesthan just the financial side.
But I genuinely believe iffinancial is not working, geez,
nevermind everything else.
That's hard.
Your finances aren't even making it.
(24:09):
You are really gonna struggle here, andit's gonna, it's gonna be one hell of
a journey and potentially that's whyyou may not be able to make it work.
So really do your homeworkaround the finances.
What I mean by that is you would wantto go look on, on, on places like
see, can trade me and look at all thedifferent jobs that are available.
Look at what they'repaying for your skillset.
Once you, get an average and an idea ofwhat they're paying for your skill set.
(24:33):
Go to go do a little bit of researchof what the actual cost of living
is, to live here in New Zealand forif you're a family of four, what it
costs to, to live, a decent life, herein New Zealand for a family of four.
Or if it's just you andyour partner or just you.
But you gotta do that research so youknow how much it's gonna cost to see if
the skillset I've got in the job that Icould potentially get there, will it pay
(24:55):
enough for me to actually make it here?
Not just make it and survive, but thrive.
I do a full tutorial.
I've done it recently in the last month ortwo, in 2025, I think it was May of 22 5.
I, put it out there on my YouTubechannel where I spent two hours breaking
down in detail how much it costs tolive here in New Zealand with a lot
(25:16):
of other, information that'll help youanswer all those questions to see that
okay with my skill sets, if I had toget a job that pays X amount of money.
Can I actually make it work here?
And not just work butactually thrive here?
So do that homework.
You really have to do that homework, okay?
Once you've done the homework and you,realize, okay, I know why I wanna do this.
(25:38):
And the pro I've done the pros and consand it really makes sense for me and
my family to move new to New Zealand.
And you're now, you're set.
This is the right thing to do, and you'vedone your homework and you realize with
the skill sets and everything that yougot, you can find a job and it'll pay
enough for you not to just survive,but actually thrive and do well.
For you and your family.
Now, you know there'spotential there financially.
(25:58):
The next thing that I reallysuggest is you've gotta understand
your visa pathway, okay?
Understand what visas you wouldqualify for, and not only what
visas you would qualify for, buthow can you become a resident?
How can you become a citizen?
So you've gotta pathway to actuallyplant roots and make New Zealand home.
And the way to do this is you'vegotta go for professional help.
In my opinion, it's the way I did it.
(26:19):
You can try do it all byyourself, but I'm telling you.
The visa stuff and everythingchanges all the time.
And to stay on top of that and toplay around with moving your whole
family to the other end of the world,I think it's a lot of stress on your
shoulders to try do it by yourself.
And you'll see on social media, alot of people say, do it by yourself.
These immigration agents charge afortune and it's a waste of money.
(26:41):
Everybody's gonna have their opinion andeverybody's gonna be able to try back
it up with whatever, Information they,from experience, what I'm telling you,
in my opinion, we used an immigrationagent and yes, it was a lot of money.
And yes, there's times you think, geez,I paid them a lot of money for that.
But I'm telling you, when you aremoving your family to the other end
(27:02):
of the world and there's so manyother things that's unknown and
it's so difficult and stressful.
I did appreciate that we had theirsupport es, especially when it came to
the visa side, so that I knew there wasa definite pathway for me to follow and
there was a, definite way to be ableto get our, residency, our permanent
residency, our citizenship, so thatif I packed everything up and spent
(27:24):
everything, I have to get my family here.
That I could make it home and stay hereand I wasn't gonna get here and go, oh
crap, now I don't have something changedand I, can't get my residency and now
I can only stay for X money and thenI've gotta go back to where I came from.
No, that wouldn't work for me.
It's far too risky.
So my advice is really, you wouldwant to go to an immigration agent
(27:45):
and confirm you definitely have apathway, to making New Zealand home.
What I mean by that is.
Getting your residency andeventually your citizenship.
so know what that path is and what'sinvolved, with regards to that pathway.
And what you also wanna do is if youreally have decided your reason for
being here is strong and you, a hundredpercent behind, it's the right thing
(28:07):
for you and your family and you'vedone your homework and you could get
a job that pays enough and now you'veengaged an immigration agent, what you
also wanna be able to do, where I wastalking about getting that job offer.
A lot of companies don't, they, don'twant to or can't wait months and
months for a position to be filled.
So if you are that immigrant thatthey potentially wanted to inta,
(28:28):
even with you being on the greenlist and a sought after skillset,
and, they're prepared to take you on.
They're not gonna wait whatmonths and months for, you
to get here to New Zealand.
So what they, you've got to do isyou've got to not only understand
your pathway with that immigrationagent, but you've gotta get to a
point where you are visa ready.
So you've worked with your immigrationagent and you've done everything
(28:51):
and there's a lot of paperwork on alot that you have to go through, but
you want to get to that point where.
You've got everything done for your visas.
You are ready to pull that trigger.
All you need now is that job offer, andonce you've got the job, offer your visa
ready and you can get moving quickly.
To be able to get the visa andget here and start that job.
So you, don't want to wait orhave the employer wait more
(29:13):
than two to three months.
If it's more than two to three months,they're not gonna be prepared to wait.
There's, especially if there'sother people that are available
that can start quicker.
Now I am talking more to, in the waythat New Zealand is right now, it is
people that are on the green list.
It is people that aresought after high end skill.
Yes.
You guys are, the ones that are gonnabe able to get the opportunities now,
(29:34):
but you still need to be visa ready.
You still need to be, move quickly.
So again, my advice is getting that,immigration agent, understanding
your pathway and then workingtogether with them to get visa ready.
So by the time you actually do getthat job offer, you can move quickly
in getting your Visa sorted outso that you can get you and start
working with them so that they don't.
(29:55):
They, you've secured that jobs thatyou don't lose that opportunity
because if, you have to wait morethan two to three months, I'm
telling you if they, sorry, have towait more than two to three months.
I wonder if they'll keep it open.
They may potentially withdraw thatopportunity, which would be really sad.
The next thing you wanna alsoreally think about is that it's
expensive moving countries.
Okay.
It costs a lot, especially if you'recoming from a country, like I'm talking
(30:17):
from my experience from South Africawhere our ran is, our currency is so low
and so weak that I had to take all our.
Our wealth, our money, oureverything, and pretty much
divided by 10 or maybe even 10.5.
So
it, wasn't, I wish it was only justhalved, but it was a 10th of what.
(30:38):
We had in value because we had toconvert it to New Zealand dollars.
So just that alone madeit extremely difficult.
Nevermind the cost of allthe flights and moving.
If you move with pets, movingthe pets across and getting the
containers sorted out and all theother unforeseen, and it's expensive.
So as much as you're doing your homeworkabout what you can earn and the cost of
(31:00):
living to live here and making sure thatyou can make it on that salary here.
It's also doing your investigationand working out well.
What is the actual cost?
'cause there's immigration costs herefor immigration agents and everything.
Yep.
There's also your flights.
Yep.
And there's also, thecontainers and everything else.
Yep.
Oh, maybe you don't take a container,but then you have to start up and kid out
a house eventually here, whatever else.
(31:21):
My point, I'm trying tomake it, it costs a lot.
You have to.
Really do your homework on thatcost as well, and have a plan.
I've spoken about on one ofmy other podcasts before.
Have a plan for moving here.
This is a big thing.
and also don't underestimate how.
This is going tochallenge you emotionally.
This is going to challengeyour mental wellbeing a lot.
(31:45):
You are going to need gritwhen you're doing this.
Don't underestimate that.
This is not an easy thing to do.
So getting back to it, and Iknow keep recapping, but I'm
just trying to really drive home.
You've gotta think these thingsthrough, over and above just the
lay of the land of New Zealand.
What's going on at the moment?
You've gotta make sure you've got aclear why you're doing this for your
family and that it's the right thing.
You gotta make sure thatyou're doing your homework.
(32:08):
and what I mean by homework is lookingat what jobs you, can get with your
skillset and how much it pays and howmuch it actually costs to live here.
Making sure you get that help froman immigration agent, understanding
your pathway to actually getting yourresidency and your citizenship here and
all the costs associated with that, andmaking sure you get visa ready so that
(32:29):
when you get that job offer, you canmove quickly on getting that, job and
actually getting here and understandingthat's gonna cost you a lot to get here.
It's not a cheap thing to do.
And it is emotionally draining,so be prepared for that.
You really got to thinkthese things through.
And then the last thing you gottathink about is when you get here.
It's still not easy.
There's so many other things you'regonna have to do and there's so
(32:51):
much you're gonna have to learnin such a short period of time.
And I've shared this on many of mypodcasts and content is that the,
challenges around being an immigrantin a new country and the stuff you
don't know and the stuff you strugglewith, and the stuff that is from the
smallest thing of just trying to pump.
Tires with air to filling your car withfuel, to having to mow your own lawn.
(33:12):
And I know I'm talking from a SouthAfrican perspective now, and some
people say, gee, you spoiled brick.
But it's all these little things thatadd up, how the medical health system
works here, how it works with your kids,here, just the little cultural nuances
with the workspace and the banter.
All of these things.
Put a toll on you and takes time to learn.
(33:34):
So as much as it's hard to, at thevery beginning, find this job and
do all this stuff that I've spokenabout, you get through all that and
you finally get here and it doesn'tend because there's still more you
need to get through for another year.
So I think really what I was trying toshare today is that I know it's tough out
there for many of you at the moment, thosethat are trying to immigrate and get here.
(33:57):
Have got challenges, just tryingto find that first interview and
going through so many rejectionsor just non responses in positions
that they, that you're applying for.
But I wanted to give you a bit ofa lay of the land, why and what's
going on in the country at the momentand the challenges that we've got.
I do believe it's gonna turn, Ido believe it's gonna get better.
I do believe there's a light atthe end of the tunnel and it's
not a train heading our way.
(34:18):
I am pos positive about the outlook.
I do think it'll change.
I think it's gonna take time.
I think it's only gonna be in thenew physical year in 2026 that
things are gonna start improvingand, going on an upward trend.
I still believe there'sopportunities for people that are
on the green list with that skill.
I still think it's tough for you to get infront of the right employee and get those
interviews, but you've got a higher chancethan anybody else at the moment because
(34:41):
of the state of, New Zealand and wherewe are at the moment with unemployment,
et cetera, and all the other.
Stuff I've spoken about.
I do know it's also tough for a lot ofthose people that are in country that have
lost jobs and everything that's going on.
So it's the right thing for usto try as employers, to find
jobs for those people first.
It's, what's gonna help us turnthe, economy and the country around
to eventually even then have theripple effect of helping others
(35:03):
eventually be able to move, to NewZealand and make it home as well.
So this is why I wanted to shareyou guys is give you the lay of the
land and give you a little bit ofa reality check of what's going on
so you can try and understand why.
Things are tough out there, butalso give you a little bit of hope.
I do believe things are gonna change.
Okay, the, those pointsthat I spoke about now.
So there, there's five ofthem and I'll recap on those.
(35:26):
You gotta keep those in mind.
It is the right approach if youwant to still make New Zealand home,
but it's still, in my opinion, oneof the best countries to live in.
And I'm so grateful to be hereand to have this opportunity and
I wanted for more and more people.
I, of course I want, but I also knowit's not gonna be possible for everybody.
But for those of you that do havethat high end skill and are and
want to, move across to New Zealand,keep those five things in mind.
(35:50):
so the first being, be very clear on whyyou're doing this, because you're gonna
need to refer back to and remind yourselfwhy you're doing it when you're going
through those hard di difficult days.
You also need to do your homework.
Make sure that the, job offer thatyou're gonna get, or the skill that
you've got and the jobs that you canfill here do pay enough for you to, Not
(36:12):
only make it work here or just survivehere, but to be able to thrive here.
And then you want to be able to, in myopinion, work with an immigration agent,
get yourself visa ready so you can movequickly once you get that job offer, but
also so you can be very clear on what thatpath is to residency and citizenship here.
that to me would be a deal breaker.
I wouldn't be able to move and takethe risk of moving my family to the
(36:34):
other end of the world, but not beingsure if we'd be able to actually
get our residency and actuallybecome citizens so that we wouldn't.
Have done all of this to just betold, sorry, you gotta go back to
the country you came from, that,that would be far too risky for me.
So you need to work with an immigrationagent on that, in my opinion.
Yeah.
And understanding your pathways, you needto know, this is anex expensive thing.
(36:57):
financially this is not aneasy, or a cheap thing to
do, as well as it's not easy.
It's emotionally draining.
It's gonna be tough.
You're gonna have to do a lot ofplanning here and you're gonna
have to show a lot of grit.
And keep going to make this work.
It's not an easy thing to do, andeven when you get here, there's
gonna be a lot of things that you'regonna still find changing, and it's
(37:17):
still gonna be tough to settle.
It takes a good year or twoto start getting into a bit
of a, routine and a. Comfort.
Oh, okay.
I'm feeling like I'm settling andI can actually make this work.
So I just wanted toshare this with you guys.
I know sometimes it can be a little bit ofa downer and a tough topic to talk about.
I know it could even be controversial.
Some people will listen to this and havea lot of different opinions to what I've
(37:40):
shared, but I thought it's an importantone for people to try and understand
why things are tough at the moment.
and I just want to leave with,I do believe it's gonna turn,
I do believe there's still,
There's still opportunities andthere's still, it is gonna improve
and it is gonna get better.
so just hang in there, guys.
(38:01):
don't give up.
It is gonna get better.
but we just gotta getthrough this tough time.
If this resonated with you or if thishelped you, please share it with others
that may need to hear this so it canhelp them understand and just keep them
motivated and going and not to give up.
Please share it with them.
And I ask, if you can alsofollow me on my YouTube channel.
(38:25):
It's, soft Landing, NZI share notonly all these podcasts, but a lot
of other content to try and help.
With how tos and guides on how tomake it work and how to make New
Zealand home so that we can makethis easier for, us immigrants.
So please go, subscribe, follow me on myYouTube channel and share this podcast
(38:45):
with whoever needs to hear this so wecan try and help as many immigrants
as possible make New Zealand home.
With that guys, I just wanna thank youagain for listening and you must keep
well and keep safe and we'll speak soon.
Cheers.
There are over 100,000 people whoimmigrate to New Zealand every year with
the intention to make New Zealand theirhome, leaving behind everything they
know as normal day-to-day life and havingto learn new ways of doing things, new
norms, new cultures, and different values.
There are many people who struggle withthis transition and find it challenging
(00:25):
to adjust and settle so they cancall and make New Zealand their home.
The purpose of this podcast is for meto share my journey and our challenges
with the hope that you can learn from meand my family and have a softer landing.
There will be good days and baddays, but with time, more good days.
I believe we have made theright choice for our family.
(00:47):
I want to try and help you do the same,but hopefully with a softer landing.
This is Soft Landing and Iam your host, Brett Colette.
Welcome to this podcast, designed foranyone thinking about preparing for, or
who has just immigrated to New Zealand.
Subscribe now so you never miss an episodedrawing from his personal experience.
(01:09):
This series will guide you throughthe process of preparing for your
move and helping you navigatethe challenges of immigration.
Hey everybody.
Welcome back to my podcast.
I'm first of, I just want to reallythank those of you that, take the time
to listen to me regularly, and not onlylisten to my podcasts, but follow me on
(01:30):
all my social media platforms like YouTubeand TikTok and Facebook, et cetera.
I really, appreciate your guys' support.
and I'm, hoping that, I'm continu tryingto help and add some value and help
you with your immigration journey, andhopefully you'll continue to be able
to learn from us and just hopefullytogether we can make New Zealand home.
(01:51):
So really, I'm just so grateful.
Guys, thank you for all your support.
If you guys are on you and you,this is the first time you are
listening to me and joining us.
I do ask, stay obviously andlisten to this podcast today.
It's gonna, I'll get into thetopic shortly, but I do ask,
go back to episode number one.
I do try and share my journey inchronological order, order so you can
(02:15):
get to know me a little bit better.
I think it's, important for you tounderstand where I'm coming from and
what my experiences have been and whatI'm actually trying to achieve here.
I want you to try and understandwhy I am sharing this information
and what we're trying to do.
I don't know.
Y Yeah, it's, immigration's a tough thing.
(02:36):
This is definitely not forsissies, that's for sure.
And the whole intent here is just totry help each other so we can actually
genuinely make New Zealand home.
So on that one, what I really wanted toshare today is something, oh, it's a bit,
it could be controversial, it could be alittle bit of a tough one, and I know I
always try to keep it positive and upbeat.
But, what I really wantedto tackle today is.
(02:58):
A lot on social media.
I've been seeing a lot of differentpeople on different platforms around
immigration, where you are, it'stough out there in the market.
a couple things.
Let me explain where I'm going with this.
So the first thing that's reallytough is there's a lot of people
that want to immigrate here.
(03:19):
they're trying, they darnedest to,to get that first interview and to.
Get a foot in the door so they can evenstart the visa process and even get
you just to make New Zealand home and.
That is the first challenge thatthey're finding extremely difficult.
It's they're, applying forhundreds and hundreds of jobs
and just getting no responses.
Sometimes they get responses, but it'srejection after rejection, which is
(03:40):
extremely tough to deal with, and it'sso difficult to stay motivated and to
keep pushing on when you can't even getthat first step done, let alone getting
to a stage of doing visas, et cetera.
Getting here to try and worktogether on the challenges that you
have With immigrating, it's, youcan't even get a foot in the door.
So that's the first challengea lot of people are having.
The next challenge that I'm seeinga lot of people are having is
(04:01):
those that have arrived here.
And there's a lot of people that havelost their jobs once they've got you.
So they've started working, but thenthey've gone through restructures
or a consultation process in thecompany that they've started with,
and they've actually lost their jobs.
Now that's extremely stressful because.
(04:25):
Some people, their visas and the waythey've got here, it's linked to that job.
Now they've gotta find anotherjob to link to their work visas.
Otherwise they have to go backto the country they've come from,
which is extremely stressful.
It goes without saying, if you don'thave income coming in, how do you keep a
roof over your head and feed your family?
So that's a tough one.
so it's tough on both endsat the moment in the market.
(04:49):
So I think what I wanted to do is I wantedto give a little bit of a lay of the land.
I've been spending a little bit of time.
Over the last past week and a bit,trying to do a little bit of research
and trying to get my head around whatthe hell's going on, why are things so
tough, and what is actually happening.
So I can share with you guys a littlebit and over and above doing the research
online, what I've also been doing is I'vemet with a couple of immigration agents.
(05:10):
I've, spoken to actual agents.
I've spoken to owners of immigrationcompanies, I've spoken to recruiters.
I've spoken to a couple ofother people that are in my
industry that employ people.
And what's going on?
Just a couple of other people that areimmigrants as well as Kiwis and just
trying to get an understanding of what'stheir mindset and their feel on what's
(05:32):
happening in the country at the momentwith relation to immigrants and jobs
and all the rest of in the economy.
Also, just reading a lot of feedback on mysocial media from a lot of you to try and
understand what's going on, and that's whyI thought it was important for me today.
I have to give a little bit of a,
an.
(05:52):
Share a little bit about the lay ofthe land of New Zealand right now.
Where are we at in New Zealandand why is all of this happening
and what's going on now?
Again, I'm no professional guys.
I'm not an expert.
So this is all from mypersonal experience.
This is all in my opinion, butI, really wanted to share this.
(06:12):
so starting off, I think thething we gotta realize is that
New Zealand at the moment has.
We are only just startingto come out of a recession.
Times have been extremely tough thelast few years here in New Zealand,
so we are only slowly startingto come out of that recession.
(06:33):
But what that does mean is whilewe've been in that recession,
our unemployment has, risen.
We, we've gone.
From a three point something oddpercent of unemployment up to five
point something percent of unemployment.
And a lot of people say in comparison to alot of other countries, that's not a lot.
But it is a lot.
If you think about the size of ourcountry, New Zealand is not big.
(06:56):
I think we've got between five and 6million people in the entire country.
So it is a small market.
It is a small country in comparisonto a lot of other countries.
So when we are having an unemployment.
Rate growth from three point somethingodd to five point something odd.
That 2% is big in thebigger scheme of things.
(07:16):
For us, it does have a knock on effectbecause what it's meant for us immigrants
is, and it's not just immigrants, it'sactually, it's locals, it's q's, it's
everyone that is here at the momentthat it, we're, we are all in this
together and we're all struggling.
It's not just immigrants.
What it does mean isthat if you think about.
(07:37):
The new government that came ina year and a bit two years ago,
whatever else, they first went anddid a whole lot of restructuring
and everything in the public sector.
So I think in the last year alone,there's been over 6,000 people that
have been let go in public sector.
Okay.
That have lost their jobs andnot just immigrants, people
that just work in public sector.
(08:00):
So what that means is that themarket has literally been flooded.
With a whole lot of talent in alldifferent skill sets just from
the public sector's restructuring.
Also what it's meant is because we'vebeen in that recession, a lot of
private sector organizations have beengoing through these restructures and
(08:20):
they've let go a lot of talent as well.
So there's a lot of that talent thathas now gone back into the market.
So I think at the moment where wesitting is we sitting in a market where
there is a lot of talent sitting outthere and employers have got a lot
of choice for skill in the market.
So the last thing a lot of people andemployers are gonna do is start looking
(08:45):
outside of the country when we've alreadygot so much talent inside the country.
And let's be honest, the rightthing to do is to help the people
that are here, immigrants or not.
It's just New Zealand.
It's people that are in thiscountry right now that need work.
It's only right for all of us to tryand get our current people that are
(09:06):
living in this country employed sothat they can feed their families
and put a roof over their heads.
It would be wrong of us to neglecttrying to hire people here locally.
when we've got the skill in countryalready and starting to go and getting
people offshore and outside the countryhired, it just, it, would be wrong.
It wouldn't sit well with me asmuch as I want every immigrant to be
(09:29):
able to, or any potential immigrantto have what I've got and be here.
And I know you'll say it's easyfor me to sit here and say.
Yeah, but Brett, you're there.
it's easy for you just to talk.
I get it.
But I'm just trying to giveyou a perspective and an
understanding of war higher.
It is so tough out there for you guys topotentially get into this country, start
thinking and realizing that we've got somestruggles that we've gotta work through
(09:55):
and, one of them is our unemployment.
We got to look after the peoplethat are here first before we bring
even more people into the country.
I think the other thing you've gottarealize is when our borders were closed
in New Zealand, WW New Zealand was good.
They really looked after the people andthe, and I'm talking with Code COVID.
Okay.
Specifically, they closed thoseborders and it was really tight,
(10:20):
where they locked down and kepttheir, people safe, which was great.
But it had a knock oneffect to the economy.
It really hit the economy hard, andthat's why they went into that recession.
But when they opened up those borders,they really let in a lot of people
and we flooded the market with alot of skill, but with the economy
not doing so post that as well.
(10:42):
And now letting in a lot of people,it's unfortunately put us in a
situation, and this again in my pemy opinion and with the research that
I've done is we've got a market wherethere is a lot of people available.
But not as many jobs to go around.
So that's why it's making itextremely tough for people.
(11:03):
And I think that's why, one of the reasonsyou're really struggling to get those
interviews and to actually get a foot inthe door if you're outside the country
and want to come here to New Zealand.
What you also gotta realize, and, thisis another thing that I've learned
here, is besides you're gonna lookafter your own and you're gonna look
after your people that are here.
(11:24):
People are also gonna look after theirown, as in whether they're thinking it
or not, or doing it intentionally or not.
They will look after their,
they, their people.
So Kiwis are gonna naturally want tolook after Kiwis and give them jobs
too, whether they're doing it or not.
Consciously or not, it does happen.
(11:46):
I like to believe that most are gonna goand rather get the best skill for the job.
Which I really hope in general most do,but it is gonna happen where some of them
are gonna look after their own as well.
So then there is that sense of biastowards Im immigrants, which is tough.
It's really tough.
But you've gotta understand peopleare struggling here or people not just
(12:07):
immigrants in New Zealand, yes, there'sa lot of us that are doing really well
in comparison to the rest of the world.
I'm not saying it's all doom andgloom, I'm just trying to get you a
bit of a lay of the land to realizethat things are tough here as well.
Okay,
Employers and people.
People hire people.
Okay.
People work for people.
yeah, it's all about companies orwhatever, but you are going to, and it's
(12:27):
the right thing to do, is to help peoplein the country at the moment get jobs.
That is the immediate need thatthey, it's the right thing to do.
A hundred percent behind that.
But I've also realized in New Zealanda big thing around finding jobs is,
yeah, and I believe it's still valid.
All the information that a lotof us are giving out there, me
included, where they're saying, okay.
(12:49):
You gotta make sure you get your,CVS in a professional state.
You gotta try and make them more alignedto what Kiwi employers are looking for.
That all helps.
It helps you stand out that littlebit better than anybody else.
A hundred percent.
You gotta do that.
How to interview, how to bemore relatable and informal and
think about the actual values.
(13:10):
And a hundred percent all of theirtraining is good and it's all valid.
A hundred percent valid.
But a big thing here in NewZealand is it's about networking.
It's huge on networking.
Half the hires that are going on outthere haven't even been advertised on
Seek, they haven't even been advertisedon with recruiters or anything like that.
(13:33):
It's actually, it's who you know it.
It's getting to know those now,you'll say, yeah, Brett, but how
do I get to know those networks?
I'm outside of the country.
I'm just trying to give you the layof the land and say why it's that.
Even that much more difficult forimmigrants outside the country
to get an interview becausealready there's this flood of
skills sitting in country already.
(13:54):
There's people that know eachother here and got networks, and
of course they're gonna rely onthose networks to try and help each
other out to get each other jobs.
It's only natural and the right thingto do, but it does mean all of us
immigrants that are outside the country,or potential immigrants that want to come
in, it's gonna make it that much harder.
To even get an interview, letalone get into the country.
(14:15):
So that's why it's toughout there at the moment.
It's not easy.
I think another thing that you've gottarealize is I'm not saying all this stuff
is doom and gloom and you'll never beable to get a job and you're putting
in all that effort and, oh, why bother?
I'm not.
I'm saying, if this is really what youwant and you want to be here, and it's
something that's right for your familyand you've done the right pros and cons.
(14:38):
You gotta keep at it.
You gotta push through and have that grit.
I just need you to realize it's notthat easy at the moment and understand
why it's not that easy at the moment.
You, there's other factorsat play at the moment.
There's other issues that arehappening that are outside
of our control at the moment.
So trying to recap.
(15:00):
Yes, there's.
There's that difficulty in NewZealand at the moment with regards
to our economy, with regards tous coming out of a recession.
We are coming out of the recession, soI do believe it's going to get better.
I don't think it's gonna happen overnight.
I do believe our, I'm hoping that ourunemployment is reaching the ceiling of
(15:23):
that five point odd percent and it shouldhopefully turn my opinion, I think it's
only gonna turn in the new physical year.
So we are in 2025, July, 2025.
At the moment, I think it'sonly gonna turn in January.
We, will start seeing it reallystarting to turn the other way.
And what I mean by turn the other way,hopefully it'll get to a stage then where.
(15:45):
There are a lot more jobs availableand a lot more people in country will
start getting jobs, and once they'vegot enough jobs and businesses start
thriving again and moving in theright direction, they will naturally
want more people and we won't haveas many people here in New Zealand.
So they would naturally start.
Then as long as the skill is not sittinghere in country, then they would look to
(16:09):
offshore and that's when opportunitieswill open up for immigrants again.
So I do believe there's a lightat the end of the tunnel, and I do
believe it's not a train coming away.
So it will change, it will get better,but I think we gotta do the right thing
to see through the tough times rightnow, and look after the people that
are in country and try find them jobs.
And that even goes for the immigrantsthat have lost their jobs at the moment.
(16:32):
Of course, you wanna tryfind them jobs first.
they've, they're here, they'vegot, they've packed everything up.
They've spent everythingthey've got to be here.
So if they've lost that job.
It's important to try find thema job before you try and get
more people into the country.
So I think that's why it's tough.
Now, I've said all of this, butthere is another caveat as well.
We are a small countryand there's two things.
(16:53):
We are still losing a lot of our owngood talent here in country to other
countries, particularly Australia.
So we are seeing that there's an exit ofa lot of our skills for a lot of reasons.
It can be for the job security,it can be for potential.
better earnings in other countriesand like Australia, where they're
also saying that potentiallythat the cost of living is, less.
(17:16):
And it's a good debate that youcan have, but we are genuinely
seeing it in the numbers.
So I've seen.
In the departure numbers, there'sabout 70,000 odd Kiwis alone.
So it's citizens, kiwi citizensthat are leaving every single year.
Remember, we only get in plus minus150,000 immigrants every year, and of
those 150,000, we are seeing 70,000kiwis that are leaving the country.
(17:38):
So there is a bit ofa brain drain as well.
But with that brain drain, ismore of the higher end skill.
It's the skill that we need.
We are finding, when I say there'sa lot of people available and
skill on the market, a lot ofthat skill that's on the market is
your low to mid skill level jobs.
(18:02):
it's not your high-end specialized skillsif you've got high-end specialized skill.
The likelihood of you notbeing employed is lower.
it's just natural.
We need those people, so they're gonnahave jobs, they're gonna have work.
That's why we've got the green lists.
(18:22):
the green list tells you that we'vegot certain gaps in our skill sets.
And those gaps at the moment is alot in medical, in nursing, there's a
lot in education and there's a lot init, and even construction positions.
And I'm not an immigration agent, soI'm not gonna tell you, you'd have
to see a actual immigration agent toget all the details of which are on
the green list, or go to the relevantimmigration websites and have a look.
(18:45):
There is obviously certain skills thatare sought after, and those people in
country with those skills are gonna havejobs, and it still means that if you are a
potential immigrant with those skills, youhave got a pathway and there is still a
potential for you to come into the countryeven right now because we don't have that
skill, and that is skill that we need.
(19:07):
It's sought after skill.
So do I think that everybody that wantsto come here is gonna be able to get jobs?
The truth is no, not everybody'sgonna be able to come to New Zealand.
We just can't.
We are not a big enough countryto be able to cater for everyone.
And the, I would love nothing morethan everybody to have the opportunity
that I have for me and my family.
(19:27):
And I'm, extremely grateful for thisopportunity and I, know some people
will give their left arm for thatopportunity, and I would love that
everybody could have it, but the truthis not everybody's gonna be able to.
To immigrate because we just cannotaccommodate everybody in New Zealand.
You just can't.
But if you are somebody that's got a highend skill, a sought after skill, there
(19:50):
is definitely an opportunity for you tomove here and you can still make it work.
Even with all the other challengeswith our cost of living, housing,
all the rest of it, it isrelevant to what you earn as well.
So you can still make itwork a hundred percent.
I don't wanna deter everyone.
I just, I'm trying to keep it realand just really get you to understand
the lay of the land at the moment andwhat's going on and why some people
(20:13):
are really struggling, but therestill are opportunities for those
that have got that high end skill.
I think what I wanted to do is maybealso just share a little bit of.
I don't know, maybe my guide ormy steps to keep in mind if you're
immigrating because I don't want toend it on, it's all doom and gloom.
(20:36):
it's not all doom and gloom.
As I said to you, I genuinely believethis is gonna turn by the end of the year.
We are training upwards.
We are heading in the right direction.
People locally are doing the right thing.
By hiring people and talent that we've gotin country, it's the right thing to do.
Right now.
We need to get our, People employedand able to look after their
families and provide for theirfa, it's the right thing to do.
(20:56):
So we gotta focus on that.
And I'm positive it will change.
And once we've got people on the marketcurrently in those low to mid-level
skillsets, majority of them starting toget hired and we see the trending down
of our unemployment rate, then it willopen up to others outside of the country.
In that mid, low to mid skilllevel as well, and there will be
(21:19):
further opportunities for people.
So it will happen.
There still definitely areopportunities for people that are
on that high end specialized skill.
That's why we've got the green list.
So there definitely stillis opportunities for that.
But don't fool yourself.
The market is tough.
Immigration is, it's not easy.
And especially right now, it istough to come into the country,
but it's still in my opinion.
(21:40):
One of the best things I've everdone, and I would love nothing
more than other people to havethe same opportunity I've had.
So I think the first thing that you wouldwanna do, if you, are looking to come
to New Zealand and immigrate here, thefirst thing you gotta do is you really
gotta make sure you know your why,you know your reason and your purpose,
and your reason for wanting to be hereand why you're picking everything.
(22:01):
From, and, literally moving your,you and your family from whatever
country outside of New Zealand on theother side of the world, and why are
you actually coming to New Zealand?
It's gonna be so important to know that.
Why?
Because I'm telling you, once youstart this immigration journey, and
you get here, you're gonna have gooddays and you're gonna have bad days.
And on those bad days, you'regonna have to be able to know your
(22:22):
why and be very sure of your why.
Because you're gonna have to look to that.
Why?
To remind yourself.
Why you, did this, and why youhere, and why you gotta keep pushing
and why you gotta have that, grit.
Because if you weren't clear on that whyand you didn't fill, like I've said, those
two bags up with, issues on both sides.
'cause don't fool yourself.
(22:42):
New Zealand has issues as well, okay?
But you've gotta fill those two bagswith all your pros and cons and pretty
much say, okay, staying in the countryI'm in, there's the pros and cons.
Moving to New Zealand pros andcons, and you really gotta.
In my opinion, your bag with allthe positives, the one that's
heavier with positives, and filledwith positives, that's the one you
(23:02):
choose because you're gonna have toremember, ah, that's why I did this.
keep going.
Don't give up.
So my first step is you really gotta besure about your why and your reasoning
for wanting to move to New Zealand.
Be very clear on that becauseyou're gonna need to look back
on that, on those, tough days.
The other thing you've gotta do is youreally gotta do your homework, okay?
(23:24):
And you've gotta inval evaluate you,your options with employers out here.
What do I mean by that?
by doing your homework.
You do your research on what thecost of living is here, okay?
And I'm not saying it's only all aboutthe money, but I can tell you if at
least you can financially not onlyjust afford to survive here, but thrive
(23:47):
here and you've got enough money to.
In the bank.
Okay.
Or you're earning enough, thenyou can actually make it work
and then you can start dealingwith all the other challenges.
'cause there's more challengesthan just the financial side.
But I genuinely believe iffinancial is not working, geez,
nevermind everything else.
That's hard.
Your finances aren't even making it.
(24:09):
You are really gonna struggle here, andit's gonna, it's gonna be one hell of
a journey and potentially that's whyyou may not be able to make it work.
So really do your homeworkaround the finances.
What I mean by that is you would wantto go look on, on, on places like
see, can trade me and look at all thedifferent jobs that are available.
Look at what they'repaying for your skillset.
Once you, get an average and an idea ofwhat they're paying for your skill set.
(24:33):
Go to go do a little bit of researchof what the actual cost of living
is, to live here in New Zealand forif you're a family of four, what it
costs to, to live, a decent life, herein New Zealand for a family of four.
Or if it's just you andyour partner or just you.
But you gotta do that research so youknow how much it's gonna cost to see if
the skillset I've got in the job that Icould potentially get there, will it pay
(24:55):
enough for me to actually make it here?
Not just make it and survive, but thrive.
I do a full tutorial.
I've done it recently in the last month ortwo, in 2025, I think it was May of 22 5.
I, put it out there on my YouTubechannel where I spent two hours breaking
down in detail how much it costs tolive here in New Zealand with a lot
(25:16):
of other, information that'll help youanswer all those questions to see that
okay with my skill sets, if I had toget a job that pays X amount of money.
Can I actually make it work here?
And not just work butactually thrive here?
So do that homework.
You really have to do that homework, okay?
Once you've done the homework and you,realize, okay, I know why I wanna do this.
(25:38):
And the pro I've done the pros and consand it really makes sense for me and
my family to move new to New Zealand.
And you're now, you're set.
This is the right thing to do, and you'vedone your homework and you realize with
the skill sets and everything that yougot, you can find a job and it'll pay
enough for you not to just survive,but actually thrive and do well.
For you and your family.
Now, you know there'spotential there financially.
(25:58):
The next thing that I reallysuggest is you've gotta understand
your visa pathway, okay?
Understand what visas you wouldqualify for, and not only what
visas you would qualify for, buthow can you become a resident?
How can you become a citizen?
So you've gotta pathway to actuallyplant roots and make New Zealand home.
And the way to do this is you'vegotta go for professional help.
In my opinion, it's the way I did it.
(26:19):
You can try do it all byyourself, but I'm telling you.
The visa stuff and everythingchanges all the time.
And to stay on top of that and toplay around with moving your whole
family to the other end of the world,I think it's a lot of stress on your
shoulders to try do it by yourself.
And you'll see on social media, alot of people say, do it by yourself.
These immigration agents charge afortune and it's a waste of money.
(26:41):
Everybody's gonna have their opinion andeverybody's gonna be able to try back
it up with whatever, Information they,from experience, what I'm telling you,
in my opinion, we used an immigrationagent and yes, it was a lot of money.
And yes, there's times you think, geez,I paid them a lot of money for that.
But I'm telling you, when you aremoving your family to the other end
(27:02):
of the world and there's so manyother things that's unknown and
it's so difficult and stressful.
I did appreciate that we had theirsupport es, especially when it came to
the visa side, so that I knew there wasa definite pathway for me to follow and
there was a, definite way to be ableto get our, residency, our permanent
residency, our citizenship, so thatif I packed everything up and spent
(27:24):
everything, I have to get my family here.
That I could make it home and stay hereand I wasn't gonna get here and go, oh
crap, now I don't have something changedand I, can't get my residency and now
I can only stay for X money and thenI've gotta go back to where I came from.
No, that wouldn't work for me.
It's far too risky.
So my advice is really, you wouldwant to go to an immigration agent
(27:45):
and confirm you definitely have apathway, to making New Zealand home.
What I mean by that is.
Getting your residency andeventually your citizenship.
so know what that path is and what'sinvolved, with regards to that pathway.
And what you also wanna do is if youreally have decided your reason for
being here is strong and you, a hundredpercent behind, it's the right thing
(28:07):
for you and your family and you'vedone your homework and you could get
a job that pays enough and now you'veengaged an immigration agent, what you
also wanna be able to do, where I wastalking about getting that job offer.
A lot of companies don't, they, don'twant to or can't wait months and
months for a position to be filled.
So if you are that immigrant thatthey potentially wanted to inta,
(28:28):
even with you being on the greenlist and a sought after skillset,
and, they're prepared to take you on.
They're not gonna wait whatmonths and months for, you
to get here to New Zealand.
So what they, you've got to do isyou've got to not only understand
your pathway with that immigrationagent, but you've gotta get to a
point where you are visa ready.
So you've worked with your immigrationagent and you've done everything
(28:51):
and there's a lot of paperwork on alot that you have to go through, but
you want to get to that point where.
You've got everything done for your visas.
You are ready to pull that trigger.
All you need now is that job offer, andonce you've got the job, offer your visa
ready and you can get moving quickly.
To be able to get the visa andget here and start that job.
So you, don't want to wait orhave the employer wait more
(29:13):
than two to three months.
If it's more than two to three months,they're not gonna be prepared to wait.
There's, especially if there'sother people that are available
that can start quicker.
Now I am talking more to, in the waythat New Zealand is right now, it is
people that are on the green list.
It is people that aresought after high end skill.
Yes.
You guys are, the ones that are gonnabe able to get the opportunities now,
(29:34):
but you still need to be visa ready.
You still need to be, move quickly.
So again, my advice is getting that,immigration agent, understanding
your pathway and then workingtogether with them to get visa ready.
So by the time you actually do getthat job offer, you can move quickly
in getting your Visa sorted outso that you can get you and start
working with them so that they don't.
(29:55):
They, you've secured that jobs thatyou don't lose that opportunity
because if, you have to wait morethan two to three months, I'm
telling you if they, sorry, have towait more than two to three months.
I wonder if they'll keep it open.
They may potentially withdraw thatopportunity, which would be really sad.
The next thing you wanna alsoreally think about is that it's
expensive moving countries.
Okay.
It costs a lot, especially if you'recoming from a country, like I'm talking
(30:17):
from my experience from South Africawhere our ran is, our currency is so low
and so weak that I had to take all our.
Our wealth, our money, oureverything, and pretty much
divided by 10 or maybe even 10.5.
So
it, wasn't, I wish it was only justhalved, but it was a 10th of what.
(30:38):
We had in value because we had toconvert it to New Zealand dollars.
So just that alone madeit extremely difficult.
Nevermind the cost of allthe flights and moving.
If you move with pets, movingthe pets across and getting the
containers sorted out and all theother unforeseen, and it's expensive.
So as much as you're doing your homeworkabout what you can earn and the cost of
(31:00):
living to live here and making sure thatyou can make it on that salary here.
It's also doing your investigationand working out well.
What is the actual cost?
'cause there's immigration costs herefor immigration agents and everything.
Yep.
There's also your flights.
Yep.
And there's also, thecontainers and everything else.
Yep.
Oh, maybe you don't take a container,but then you have to start up and kid out
a house eventually here, whatever else.
(31:21):
My point, I'm trying tomake it, it costs a lot.
You have to.
Really do your homework on thatcost as well, and have a plan.
I've spoken about on one ofmy other podcasts before.
Have a plan for moving here.
This is a big thing.
and also don't underestimate how.
This is going tochallenge you emotionally.
This is going to challengeyour mental wellbeing a lot.
(31:45):
You are going to need gritwhen you're doing this.
Don't underestimate that.
This is not an easy thing to do.
So getting back to it, and Iknow keep recapping, but I'm
just trying to really drive home.
You've gotta think these thingsthrough, over and above just the
lay of the land of New Zealand.
What's going on at the moment?
You've gotta make sure you've got aclear why you're doing this for your
family and that it's the right thing.
You gotta make sure thatyou're doing your homework.
(32:08):
and what I mean by homework is lookingat what jobs you, can get with your
skillset and how much it pays and howmuch it actually costs to live here.
Making sure you get that help froman immigration agent, understanding
your pathway to actually getting yourresidency and your citizenship here and
all the costs associated with that, andmaking sure you get visa ready so that
(32:29):
when you get that job offer, you canmove quickly on getting that, job and
actually getting here and understandingthat's gonna cost you a lot to get here.
It's not a cheap thing to do.
And it is emotionally draining,so be prepared for that.
You really got to thinkthese things through.
And then the last thing you gottathink about is when you get here.
It's still not easy.
There's so many other things you'regonna have to do and there's so
(32:51):
much you're gonna have to learnin such a short period of time.
And I've shared this on many of mypodcasts and content is that the,
challenges around being an immigrantin a new country and the stuff you
don't know and the stuff you strugglewith, and the stuff that is from the
smallest thing of just trying to pump.
Tires with air to filling your car withfuel, to having to mow your own lawn.
(33:12):
And I know I'm talking from a SouthAfrican perspective now, and some
people say, gee, you spoiled brick.
But it's all these little things thatadd up, how the medical health system
works here, how it works with your kids,here, just the little cultural nuances
with the workspace and the banter.
All of these things.
Put a toll on you and takes time to learn.
(33:34):
So as much as it's hard to, at thevery beginning, find this job and
do all this stuff that I've spokenabout, you get through all that and
you finally get here and it doesn'tend because there's still more you
need to get through for another year.
So I think really what I was trying toshare today is that I know it's tough out
there for many of you at the moment, thosethat are trying to immigrate and get here.
(33:57):
Have got challenges, just tryingto find that first interview and
going through so many rejectionsor just non responses in positions
that they, that you're applying for.
But I wanted to give you a bit ofa lay of the land, why and what's
going on in the country at the momentand the challenges that we've got.
I do believe it's gonna turn, Ido believe it's gonna get better.
I do believe there's a light atthe end of the tunnel and it's
not a train heading our way.
(34:18):
I am pos positive about the outlook.
I do think it'll change.
I think it's gonna take time.
I think it's only gonna be in thenew physical year in 2026 that
things are gonna start improvingand, going on an upward trend.
I still believe there'sopportunities for people that are
on the green list with that skill.
I still think it's tough for you to get infront of the right employee and get those
interviews, but you've got a higher chancethan anybody else at the moment because
(34:41):
of the state of, New Zealand and wherewe are at the moment with unemployment,
et cetera, and all the other.
Stuff I've spoken about.
I do know it's also tough for a lot ofthose people that are in country that have
lost jobs and everything that's going on.
So it's the right thing for usto try as employers, to find
jobs for those people first.
It's, what's gonna help us turnthe, economy and the country around
to eventually even then have theripple effect of helping others
(35:03):
eventually be able to move, to NewZealand and make it home as well.
So this is why I wanted to shareyou guys is give you the lay of the
land and give you a little bit ofa reality check of what's going on
so you can try and understand why.
Things are tough out there, butalso give you a little bit of hope.
I do believe things are gonna change.
Okay, the, those pointsthat I spoke about now.
So there, there's five ofthem and I'll recap on those.
(35:26):
You gotta keep those in mind.
It is the right approach if youwant to still make New Zealand home,
but it's still, in my opinion, oneof the best countries to live in.
And I'm so grateful to be hereand to have this opportunity and
I wanted for more and more people.
I, of course I want, but I also knowit's not gonna be possible for everybody.
But for those of you that do havethat high end skill and are and
want to, move across to New Zealand,keep those five things in mind.
(35:50):
so the first being, be very clear on whyyou're doing this, because you're gonna
need to refer back to and remind yourselfwhy you're doing it when you're going
through those hard di difficult days.
You also need to do your homework.
Make sure that the, job offer thatyou're gonna get, or the skill that
you've got and the jobs that you canfill here do pay enough for you to, Not
(36:12):
only make it work here or just survivehere, but to be able to thrive here.
And then you want to be able to, in myopinion, work with an immigration agent,
get yourself visa ready so you can movequickly once you get that job offer, but
also so you can be very clear on what thatpath is to residency and citizenship here.
that to me would be a deal breaker.
I wouldn't be able to move and takethe risk of moving my family to the
(36:34):
other end of the world, but not beingsure if we'd be able to actually
get our residency and actuallybecome citizens so that we wouldn't.
Have done all of this to just betold, sorry, you gotta go back to
the country you came from, that,that would be far too risky for me.
So you need to work with an immigrationagent on that, in my opinion.
Yeah.
And understanding your pathways, you needto know, this is anex expensive thing.
(36:57):
financially this is not aneasy, or a cheap thing to
do, as well as it's not easy.
It's emotionally draining.
It's gonna be tough.
You're gonna have to do a lot ofplanning here and you're gonna
have to show a lot of grit.
And keep going to make this work.
It's not an easy thing to do, andeven when you get here, there's
gonna be a lot of things that you'regonna still find changing, and it's
(37:17):
still gonna be tough to settle.
It takes a good year or twoto start getting into a bit
of a, routine and a. Comfort.
Oh, okay.
I'm feeling like I'm settling andI can actually make this work.
So I just wanted toshare this with you guys.
I know sometimes it can be a little bit ofa downer and a tough topic to talk about.
I know it could even be controversial.
Some people will listen to this and havea lot of different opinions to what I've
(37:40):
shared, but I thought it's an importantone for people to try and understand
why things are tough at the moment.
and I just want to leave with,I do believe it's gonna turn,
I do believe there's still,
There's still opportunities andthere's still, it is gonna improve
and it is gonna get better.
so just hang in there, guys.
(38:01):
don't give up.
It is gonna get better.
but we just gotta getthrough this tough time.
If this resonated with you or if thishelped you, please share it with others
that may need to hear this so it canhelp them understand and just keep them
motivated and going and not to give up.
Please share it with them.
And I ask, if you can alsofollow me on my YouTube channel.
(38:25):
It's, soft Landing, NZI share notonly all these podcasts, but a lot
of other content to try and help.
With how tos and guides on how tomake it work and how to make New
Zealand home so that we can makethis easier for, us immigrants.
So please go, subscribe, follow me on myYouTube channel and share this podcast
(38:45):
with whoever needs to hear this so wecan try and help as many immigrants
as possible make New Zealand home.
With that guys, I just wanna thank youagain for listening and you must keep
well and keep safe and we'll speak soon.
Cheers.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.