Immigration policy changes welcomed by infrastructure sector

The addition of green list pathways for skilled civil construction trade workers alongside skilled civil engineers shows the world New Zealand is open for business once more, says Civil Contractors New Zealand Chief Executive Alan Pollard

The changes will see Green List pathways for residence for skilled civil construction machine operators, drainlayers, site supervisors and truck drivers – people who often had vital skills and practical knowledge that often went unrecognised.

These skills result in good transport, water, internet, energy and other infrastructure networks – all major contributors to a country’s standard of living and quality of life.

These are rewarding, well-paying jobs with great benefit for our communities. With these changes, skilled civil construction workers now have long term prospects and can build a life for themselves here. I’m really looking forward to seeing the results their contribution brings.

Skilled civil tradespeople are in hot demand globally and will be sorely needed to take the pressure off the country’s existing workers and site supervisors, who are often responsible for onboarding and training new workers and ensuring project quality.

The inability to recruit workers from overseas has hamstrung the civil construction industry at the very time they were most needed to construct and maintain the country’s essential infrastructure networks.

The country’s shortage of skilled civil construction workers has been welldocumented and has impacted projects requiring specialist capability and experience. The lack of skilled workers has been the industry’s number one challenge for several years.

While businesses had put a lot of energy into identifying talent and developing people within New Zealand, they had at the same time been severely restricted by closed borders, a small pool of prospective workers and few infrastructure construction training opportunities.

We recently met with the Minister of Immigration and his officials to explain the need for skilled civil tradespeople, who play a vital role in constructing our transport and water networks, alongside our other essential infrastructure like ports and public spaces.

I’m pleased to see this need for civil tradespeople and site supervisors acknowledged by the minister, and opportunities created for these skilled workers to enter the country and contribute their skills and experience toward constructing our essential infrastructure.

While there are still significant improvements that could be made, the next step needs to be a co-ordinated international campaign to recruit top international talent, leveraging New Zealand’s global status and international networks.

See the full list of changes here