Greetings, fellow navigators!
Firstly, we’re blushing: our expo in London got picked up by the media. There was a great buzz in all sectors representing the three countries Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
On to more practical matters, let’s talk about the one thing everybody needs: work.
New Zealand, Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu in Autumn, lifestyle travel photography by lifestyle travel photographer Matthew Williams-Ellis
New Zealand
It’s been described as a “rock star economy.” And while not everyone would necessarily echo that exact phrase, New Zealand has more than its fair share of opportunity. The bad news is that diary (formerly known as “white gold”) is suffering a drop in global demand. As a result our quite large agricultural sector has retrenched somewhat as it retools for new opportunities.
The good news is that there are plenty of economic drivers to take its place. Business confidence is emerging from a post GFC slump with the biggest quarterly rise in 8 years, and unemployment is trending down, currently at 5.3%. Overall, the indicators are good.
Construction is one of the hot employment sectors, with 31,000 new jobs in the last 12 months. If you’re into designing, specifying, building and maintaining stuff, you should probably check our listings. Health and social services also have a large, growing range of opportunities. The professions are as strong as ever, and education continues its upward climb.
Lastly, one of New Zealand’s big export earners is tourism. This means there are a great many roles in some amazing places. stay tuned for more stuff from us especially about this sector.
Australia
For a long time, Australia was heavily invested in mining and manufacturing. However, that’s now changing, partly due to the drop in global commodity prices, and stricter competition in manufacturing durables. So Australia’s traditional employment sectors are now being overtaken by professional services.
Leading these are the health services, which have seen quarter of a million new jobs since this time last year. If you know a few things about how to fix up a body, or how to care for people, check out these opportunities.
And professions – across the board – have good opportunities too. From traditional things like legal and accounting to snazzy stuff like science, IT and robotechnology, this sector has taken on 150,000 people in the last year, representing growth of 14%. Here’s a taste of what’s on offer.
Lastly, if you’re into education (either at school, or tertiary, or work training), then you could be one of the 120,000 people who’ve helped this sector grow by 13% in the last year. Here’s how.
Canada
The large Canadian economy – like many others in the developed world – is still emerging from the days of the GFC and its resulting shifts in commodity prices and global labour competition. As a result, mining and manufacturing have contracted in the last year. But there are new opportunities in professions such as public administration and finance, insurance and real estate.
Unemployment has turned a corner and – now securely below 7% – is independently projected to track down in the next 5 years. And, for those intending to work in the new-look Canadian economy, workplaces are likely to improve with a raft of new employment laws coming on line which will create safer, more transparent workplaces.
Meanwhile, recent research by Manpower group has shown that 32% of Canadian employers have roles which they’re struggling to fill. One of the main reasons for this is that there simply aren’t enough applicants with the right skill sets. However this might be a good problem for candidates, and applies across large swathes of the economy. Roles which employers are finding particularly hard to fill include: tradespeople, drivers, executive managers, technicians, sales reps, engineers, office administrators, labourers, accountants, clerks and teachers.