Anglo Pacific International Plc has reported that removal bookings for New Zealand in 2011 are 26% up on 2010.

The Company has experienced greater growth this year to New Zealand than any other migration market and believes that the skills shortage caused by widespread earthquake damage could be partly responsible.

In February 2011 an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck the Canterbury region of New Zealand and was centred just 10km from Christchurch – the country’s second most populous city.  The most destructive in a year-long earthquake swarm affecting the Christchurch area, the disaster left many casualties and insurers with a total rebuild cost of around $15 to $16 billion NZ.  Now, in the aftermath, New Zealand’s single largest issue is a shortage of skilled labour. 

Jason Diggs, Anglo Pacific’s Sales Director and a native of Christchurch himself, commented “Whilst native New Zealanders are of course priority candidates, there is an acknowledgement that overseas tradesmen and construction experts will have to plug the shortfall.  The Canterbury Employment and Skills Board (CESB), a body set up in the wake of the earthquakes, has made a concerted effort to urge expat New Zealanders to return home and help with the reconstruction.  This Board will be attending migration and employment Expos across the UK in the coming months to recruit both expats and Britons to bolster Christchurch businesses.  Judging by Anglo Pacific’s much increased export bookings for New Zealand, their efforts could bear fruit.”

Estimates suggest that at least 8,000 construction workers will be required to rebuild and repair Christchurch’s 100,000 damaged homes.  If the rebuild is rolled out at a fast rate, literally tens of thousands of additional workers will be needed and, even if the program is staggered over ten to 15 years, the local Christchurch employment market still would not be able to cope.  The problem has been exacerbated by an exodus of Christchurch residents who have sought jobs and lives elsewhere to free themselves of the difficult conditions.

CESB Deputy Chairman, Alex Bouma, said unprecedented opportunities exist in Christchurch for skilled workers willing to relocate.  "There is going to be huge economic opportunity in Canterbury over the next three to ten years.  There's been expansive coverage of the disaster and what we're trying to say now is that the business community has moved beyond that to a large degree.  Sure we've still got a lot of things to deal with, but now there are unprecedented opportunities they can be a part of."

Ironically, even before the unprecedented string of seismic activity, New Zealand was in need of more skilled labour.  Hiring had already become increasingly difficult in the IT and computer sector to keep abreast of changing technology and the health sector is also crying out for staff.