It will be easier for the building industry to find the workers it needs to help address New Zealand’s housing shortfall, with seven building-related occupations being added to the Immediate Skill Shortage List (ISSL), Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway announced today.

“The Government will build 100,000 affordable homes over the next 10 years and the construction industry needs skilled workers to achieve this,” Mr Lees-Galloway says.

“The Government will always ensure that where a genuine skill gap exists our immigration system will support employers to get the people they need.

“Adding these seven building-related occupations to the ISSL will make it easier for employers to get the people they require, including migrants, to deliver the homes this country needs.

“Employing skilled migrants will meet the immediate demand for people with the skills required to rapidly increase the number of houses in New Zealand. In the near future KiwiBuild will be a catalyst for more young New Zealanders to work in the construction industry.”

Employers whose occupations are on the ISSL and the Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL) do not need to go through the labour market process and do not need to prove they cannot find a New Zealander for the job.

A total of 34 occupations have been reviewed this year. In addition to the seven building-related occupations three motor industry-related professions are being added to the ISSL, as well as midwives and accountants. Five occupations are being removed from the ISSL and five from the LTSSL.

The removal and addition of occupations is the result of extensive consultation with industry groups, other stakeholders and relevant government agencies, alongside analysis of economic, labour market and immigration data.

“I want to emphasise that employers wanting to bring in migrant workers for occupations not listed on the ISSL or LTSSL can still do so, as long as they can show they’ve genuinely searched for suitably qualified and trained New Zealand workers,” says Mr Lees-Galloway.

“I also want to signal that New Zealanders will be given every opportunity to get work and better opportunities to train and learn through our Fees Free initiative, so future reviews of the skill shortage lists will be carried out with a view to reducing the number of occupations listed.

“The Government is committed to matching skilled migrant workers with the industries and regions that need them, by strengthening the labour market test for work visas and making the skill shortage lists more focused on regional needs.

“MBIE officials will be providing me further advice on how to achieve this commitment ahead of the next review, which is due to begin in April next year.”

The latest changes are detailed on the INZ website here. The revised lists will come into effect in February 2018.

Notes to Editors