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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez Reporter
New Zealand is looking at the
Philippines as a major source of skilled and unskilled workers, a
diplomat said Friday.
“New Zealand is open for
business,” Steve McCombie told The Manila Times in an exclusive
roundtable interview. He is the first secretary and deputy head of
mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Manila.
McCombie said New Zealand faces a
labor shortage, which is an opportunity for Filipinos. Job openings
exist in telecommunications, information-communication technology
and agriculture for skilled workers, he added. Plus, New Zealand is
the world’s fifth-largest designer and producer of power and super
yachts, and so there is also demand for civil, mechanical, chemical,
automotive and electrical engineers.
Even though New Zealanders enjoy
a wide range of comprehensive health-care services, the lack of
professionals who would provide these services is a mounting
setback, McCombie said. This sector needs nurses, radiologists and
general practitioners.
For unskilled workers, New
Zealand requires seasonal fruit pickers, he added. There is little
demand, if any, for domestic helpers in that country.
More information about job
opportunities is available from the website of Immigration New
Zealand, www.immigration.govt.nz.
“Filipinos are a good
preference. Language-wise, there will be no problem, because [they]
are also known worldwide as one of the most hardworking
employees,” McCombie said.
He noted that New Zealand’s
population of 4.1 million is aging, saying there are more sheep in
that country with about 41 million.
“That is why [we] have to
import [workers]. While other Asean nationals are also welcome,
Filipinos are most preferred since many of [them] are already highly
skilled,” he said. Asean or the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations is a grouping of 10 countries—the Philippines, Vietnam,
Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia
and Brunei.
Already, there is a thriving
Filipino community in New Zealand, McCombie said, adding that there
are up to 25,000 Filipinos permanently residing there. There is even
a Filipino community newspaper in Auckland, one of the major cities.
He said the Filipino immigrants have assimilated well into their
multicultural society.
McCombie added that the
relationship between his country and the Philippines is “warm and
positive.” He said the number of visas issued by the New Zealand
Embassy in Manila grew 340 percent in the last five years, from
3,400 issued annually to about 11,800 this year.
Also, the Philippines and New
Zealand recently signed an air-services agreement, which McCombie
said is expected to boost tourism and trade. When direct flights
will start is up to the airlines, though, he added.
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