British expats are leading the way in the rebuilding of Christchurch, New Zealand, in the aftermath of the earthquake that demolished the city in February 2011.
Nearly 200 people died when the quake struck New Zealand’s second city on the South Island, but today new buildings are rising out of the ruins.
British expat workers account for almost half of the 440 visas issued to workers in the city. Surprisingly, out of the 214 visas, the most popular occupations are loss adjuster (60) and quantity surveyor (50).
Other key construction jobs like carpenters, joiners and painters made up the bulk of the rest.
Countries sending the most workers besides Britain are The Phillipines (80), ireland (69) and the USA (29).
Highly skilled workforce
An Immigration New Zealand spokeswoman said 11,795 British and Irish working- holiday visas were also issued in the past financial year, and some recipients could be working on the rebuild.
Canterbury Employment and Skills Board chairman Alex Bouma said: “We’ve got some really good cultural synergies with the Philippines. There’s a lot of English spoken there.
“There’s an excellent, highly skilled workforce that we can tap into. They can come in, do some work, add some scale and then leave again.”
“Every direction I look in there are high-rise buildings popping up. It’s absolutely going ahead leaps and bounds.
“We’re inevitably going to have to look offshore. There’s only so many of them and you need them for every single project.”
Meanwhile, one of New Zealand’s fastest growing urban centres around Tauranga on the North island’s Bay of Plenty, is a magnet for young expats.
Half of expats arriving in the area are aged under 45.
Plenty of jobs
British migrants make up the largest percentage of newcomers to the area, attracted by leading research and development companies, a lively waterfront nightlife and an outdoor lifestyle.
Jason Diggs, of Anglo Pacific, the UK’s largest international removers shipping to New Zealand, reckons 22% of the firm’s business goes to the country – second only as a destination to Australia
“We’re working in closely with an economic development organisation in the Bay of Plenty. It was established over a decade ago with the sole purpose of building a vibrant economy that attracts and retains talented people and the businesses that need them,” he said.
“British people still represent the majority nationality of migrants arriving in this North Island hotspot, around a fifth of the total, and we continually pass interested parties to a job seeker service. We know they’ll fall in love with the Bay of Plenty’s beaches and culture as well as its irresistible way of life.”
