Recruiter warns of impending NZ worker exodus

A Dunedin recruiter is warning New Zealand's borders reopening could put even more strain on the country's tight labour market. With the pandemic placing significant pressure on New Zealand's labour market, unemployment was at one of its lowest levels at 3.2%

Platinum Recruitment director Dean Delaney points out that although opening borders might relieve certain sectors, such as agriculture and horticulture, there was a cohort of New Zealanders who were ready to leave the country as soon as they could. This is largely due to the rising costs of living in New Zealand. 

Most sectors in Dunedin were short-staffed, but the city's IT sector was "critical" and was most at risk of employees leaving offshore which creates challenges for securing skilled workers. As the majority of the sectors' workforces were aged between 25 and 35, a lot of those people would be heading overseas as soon as they could.

On the other hand, New Zealand was seen as a destination for a lot of young professionals throughout the world and they would be trying to get into the country when travel restrictions allowed. What we can acknowledge is that if organisations were willing to be flexible and are attuned to the wellbeing of their employees be it cultural or financial wellbeing, it would open up a massive talent pool and may challenge the impending employee exodus in the country.