Kiwi expats seeking jobs back home
By Esther Goh,
More than a quarter of highly-educated, well-connected Kiwis working abroad are looking to return home.
According to an online survey of more than 15,000 New Zealanders living offshore carried out by expat network Kea New Zealand, 27 percent of respondents are currently looking for jobs in New Zealand for themselves or others.
They're also more educated, on the whole – the five-yearly ‘census’ Every Kiwi Counts showed that compared to on-shore New Zealanders in the 2006 Census, the overseas Kiwis surveyed are about seven times as likely (34 percent vs 5 percent) to have a post-graduate qualification and almost three times as likely (31 percent vs 11 percent) to have a bachelor’s degree.
Kea New Zealand global chief executive Dr Sue Watson said there was significant potential to fill New Zealand’s talent deficit with skilled expats keen to come home.
Nearly half of overseas-based Kiwis in the survey reported that they earn more than NZ$100,000 per annum while one in five aged over 50 earn more than NZ$200,000 per annum.
One in four respondents say they plan to return to New Zealand, but that they also plan to live somewhere else in the future. A further 22 percent say they are likely to – or definitely will – return to New Zealand.
Family and lifestyle ties were the main drawcard, with only 6 percent naming general economic factors in their desire to move back.
“There is a large connection and communication job to be done if we are to entice those Kiwis looking to return home," Watson said.
At least 600,000 New Zealanders live overseas, including almost one in four of all highly-educated Kiwis.
Ministry of Economic Development deputy secretary Mark Steel said: “Expats are a quarter of our educated workforce so it’s important that we understand their short-term goals and long-term ambitions so we know what they can contribute if they return.”
Comments
Daniel McGowan
A friend with a PhD from Cambridge University and research experience returned to NZ about a year ago; after a year of trying to find a job back here, he is now moving back to the UK, where he has four interviews already lined up. I know he'd love to live here, as I'm sure many of the expat kiwis discussed in this article would. However, until there are jobs for this overseas talent to come back to, talk of filling “New Zealand’s talent deficit with skilled expats keen to come home” is just hot air. Pay is a minor issue—most would happily take a pay cut to return to the kiwi lifestyle—but for many there are simply no opportunities here to work in their chosen career. Investment in R&D here is relatively pitiful, and until that is resolved it is pointless striving to be a true knowledge economy driven by innovation and higher education. KEA does a great and important job, but how can they entice expats home when there's nothing here for them to do?
Phil Lynch
Totally agree with Daniel. Not enough skilled jobs here. I get the feeling a lot of these people are working in roles that don't exist, and perhaps never will exist in New Zealand.
I'd be interested to hear more on the breakdown of what skills these expats have - are they service based jobs? Or hands on? Hi-tech? Mining? If they are service focused roles, perhaps NZ should be developing international service businesses?
Or perhaps a good place to start, is an investment fund with these high salary earners - and encourage them to invest in NZ businesses like those featured in Idealog. The Kea fund anyone? If there are 600,000 kiwi's with half earning 100K or more… then there are billions of dollars in foreign cash. I know plently of offshore kiwi's that would be interested in investing in NZ and typically choose property <cringe!>.
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