The floodgates have opened and people are leaving in droves for opportunities overseas, but some Kiwis are staying put because they get the best of both worlds.
Working in Aotearoa for an offshore boss is the answer for a growing number of people who want opportunities but don’t want to leave, said Wendy Hewson, New Zealand general manager for international recruitment company PersolKelly.
“We are seeing an increasing number of people working for overseas companies,” she said.
“They’re getting to enjoy New Zealand, their family and friends and the lifestyle without leaving, because obviously not everybody is free to pack up and go overseas, like a lot of our under-35s are doing.”
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The advantages include higher pay, and flexibility. The downsides can include unsociable hours and the time it takes to build up trust with an overseas employer.
The pay differences can be startling between New Zealand and elsewhere. According to Hays’ salary guides, there is a yawning gap between the top pay in Auckland and in Sydney.
An equity partner in a law firm in Auckland earns an average NZ$350,000 a year. In Sydney, the average salary is at least A$700,000 (NZ$783,000).
For special counsel, the pay is NZ$190,000 a year in Auckland and A$250,000 (NZ$279,000) in Sydney.
In Auckland a construction manager earns on average NZ$153,000 to NZ$224,000, while in Sydney they are paid between A$250,00 and A$320,000.
For a chief information officer, the pay averages NZ$220,000 in Auckland and A$306,000 in Sydney.
A director of customer service at a contact centre would get an average NZ$145,000 in Auckland, and A$200,000 in Sydney.
Better pay was generally one motivator for working for an overseas company, particularly in banking and tech, but people also loved the flexibility, Hewson said.
“So it’s not always more pay, sometimes it’s actually comparable.
“I think we all need as employers to be open to new ways of solving the issue of not enough people or not enough expertise.”
Hewson, whose own manager is Singapore, said the one-way traffic out of Aotearoa was disappointing.
“We were certainly expecting the floodgates to open post-pandemic. And we are certainly seeing a flood of our young people, under 35, leaving for either their OE or to work offshore.
“We’re probably disappointed, in our industry, to see the very small amount of people coming into the country.”
After 88 consecutive months of net migration gains, the last 21 months have been mainly net migration losses, Stats NZ said on Monday.
There was an annual net migration loss of 12,400 in the year ended July 2022. This was made up of net losses of 8300 New Zealand citizens and 4100 non-New Zealand citizens.
“Young people are going overseas, the world’s open now, we’re just not seeing the same influx of people able to get into our country. It’s much slower,” Hewson said.
“So we’re still in this really difficult situation of not enough people. We’re just one of many countries finding the same thing, looking for unique ways to identify people.”
That means the doors may also be opening for older people, who have struggled to find work but were now seen as a potential talent pool to tap into, Hewson said.
“We think it makes sense. There are a lot of life skills, a lot of good skills.”
Louisa Taylor, general manager of Canterbury Tech, said Australia was a big competitor for New Zealand tech talent, and she was aware of some people working in Christchurch for Australian companies.
Many graduates, particularly in tech, believed they could earn more by working overseas. However, there were some very well-paid jobs in New Zealand, and many local companies also offered good opportunities, she said.
“One of the issues is companies not advertising their entry-level job salaries. Lots of graduates think their only option is to go overseas because of the big salaries.”
She wanted employers to be more transparent about pay when they advertised, particularly junior-level jobs.
Jobseekers in tech needed to look beyond a job title that neatly fit their qualifications. Tech underpinned every sector, from film, to construction, to legal and beyond, she said.
And in Christchurch, you can still buy a house for $600,000 or less.
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