New Zealand is the country of choice for many professionals with international qualifications and experience. Auckland is the seventh ranked city in the world with 37% of Aucklanders not born in New Zealand, and people of 181 different ethnicities residing in its regional boundaries.1 Immigrant talent is here and committed!
But New Zealand is yet to effectively tap into the talent and diversity it currently houses, with “nearly 50% of all skilled migrants to New Zealand [are] inactive, unemployed or confined to jobs for which they are over-qualified”2. Getting skilled immigrants into jobs that fit is both an instant lift to productivity, and opens up local jobs for other semi-skilled people. Barriers such as a lack of information, inadequate recognition of international qualifications, lack of upgrading opportunities, lack of networks and social capital, and lack of opportunities to gain New Zealand work experience are real for skilled immigrants. There is anecdotal but frequent evidence of immigrant accountants, engineers or lawyers driving taxis or flipping burgers.
This is where the work of OMEGA comes in. OMEGA works in partnership with organisations, to see the greater Auckland region prosper by fully engaging the contributions of skilled immigrants. Programme records show that 80% of skilled immigrants who complete the Mentoring Programme find relevant work within three months of completing their sixteen week mentoring partnership.
Both the Mentoring and Paid Internship Programmes are designed to assist internationally trained professionals in non-regulated3 business professions. The programmes’ main areas are IT, banking and finance, HR, engineering, sales and marketing, and logistics, but other industries are also supported. Applicants need a minimum Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent post-secondary education, have at least three year’s work experience in their field, be able to communicate in business English, and possess a CV. Each applicant undergoes a thorough screening and interview process before being made available for either programme. The threshold for screening is high, and only work ready, skilled immigrants who are committed and eligible to work in New Zealand participate in OMEGA’s programmes.
1Immigration and Ethnicity in the Auckland region2006 Census series.
2OECD, International Migration Outlook, 2007.
3 OMEGA addresses barriers to employment and not the criteria required by regulatory bodies or boards.
New Zealand is the country of choice for many professionals with international qualifications and experience. Auckland is the seventh ranked city in the world with 37% of Aucklanders not born in New Zealand, and people of 181 different ethnicities residing in its regional boundaries.1 Immigrant talent is here and committed!
But New Zealand is yet to effectively tap into the talent and diversity it currently houses, with “nearly 50% of all skilled migrants to New Zealand [are] inactive, unemployed or confined to jobs for which they are over-qualified”2. Getting skilled immigrants into jobs that fit is both an instant lift to productivity, and opens up local jobs for other semi-skilled people. Barriers such as a lack of information, inadequate recognition of international qualifications, lack of upgrading opportunities, lack of networks and social capital, and lack of opportunities to gain New Zealand work experience are real for skilled immigrants. There is anecdotal but frequent evidence of immigrant accountants, engineers or lawyers driving taxis or flipping burgers.
This is where the work of OMEGA comes in. OMEGA works in partnership with organisations, to see the greater Auckland region prosper by fully engaging the contributions of skilled immigrants. Programme records show that 80% of skilled immigrants who complete the Mentoring Programme find relevant work within three months of completing their sixteen week mentoring partnership.
Both the Mentoring and Paid Internship Programmes are designed to assist internationally trained professionals in non-regulated3 business professions. The programmes’ main areas are IT, banking and finance, HR, engineering, sales and marketing, and logistics, but other industries are also supported. Applicants need a minimum Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent post-secondary education, have at least three year’s work experience in their field, be able to communicate in business English, and possess a CV. Each applicant undergoes a thorough screening and interview process before being made available for either programme. The threshold for screening is high, and only work ready, skilled immigrants who are committed and eligible to work in New Zealand participate in OMEGA’s programmes.
1Immigration and Ethnicity in the Auckland region2006 Census series.
2OECD, International Migration Outlook, 2007.
3 OMEGA addresses barriers to employment and not the criteria required by regulatory bodies or boards.