Online job vacancies for skilled workers have increased for the second month in a row, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s latest Jobs Online report.

The latest seasonally adjusted results show that online advertisements for skilled workers rose by 2.0 per cent in May, although overall online job vacancies fell by 0.7 per cent.

Vacancies for skilled workers increased in most industry groups. The information technology industry featured one of the largest monthly rises (up 4.1 per cent), followed by the accounting, HR, legal and administration industry (up 2.8 per cent). The biggest fall was in the sales, retail, marketing and advertising industry (down 5.5 per cent).

The biggest increase in skilled worker vacancies was in Wellington (up 5.6 per cent). The Auckland region showed a small increase (0.7 per cent), but Canterbury experienced a fall in skilled vacancies (down 3.4 per cent).

Over the year, vacancies for skilled workers in Canterbury grew by 7.2 per cent. The information and technology industry showed the greatest increase in skilled vacancies (up by 28.4 per cent); sales, retail, marketing and advertising was up by 13.8 per cent. The construction and engineering industry showed a drop over the year of 6.3 per cent.

“From April 2012 to January 2013, the trend in skilled vacancies was flat. However, recent results suggest that skilled vacancies may be increasing,” said the Ministry’s acting manager of Labour Market and Business Performance, Julian Williams.

View more information on Jobs Online

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

Notes

Jobs Online provides information on the demand for labour by monitoring the number of jobs advertised on the main internet job boards. Jobs Online is adjusted for seasonal variations.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has filed action with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) in Auckland against an Auckland restaurant chain following complaints that workers are being paid less than $4-an-hour.

The ERA action lodged by the Ministry’s Labour Inspectorate demands that the business owners provide wages and time records, holiday and leave records and employment agreements for around 100 staff across the restaurant chain. The owners failed to meet a deadline to provide the records - which are required to be kept by law. The Ministry is also seeking penalties for failure to comply.

A total of 15 companies associated with the restaurant chain are involved and each face a maximum penalty of $20,000 in respect of each failure to comply under the Employment Relations Act

The restaurants are being investigated after Labour Inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand carried out a joint compliance operation, after receiving a number of complaints from workers.

Labour Inspectorate Northern Manager David Milne says the ERA action was a first step but if breaches are found to have occurred, further enforcement action is likely to follow including improvement or demand notices, financial penalties or court action.

Allegations included that workers were being paid around $265-a-week for up to 70 hours’ work or less than $4 an hour.

“The exploitation of workers is not welcome and breaches New Zealand law. The Labour Inspectorate will not hesitate to enforce and prosecute breaches of minimum employment standards such as minimum wage and holiday entitlements,” Mr Milne said.

“Most fair-minded New Zealanders do not support labour exploitation. By breaking the law, these businesses gain an unfair advantage over their competitors.”

“I would also encourage anyone in this situation or who knows of people in this situation to phone our call centre on 0800 20 90 20 where concerns will be handled in a safe environment. “

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) are pleased to announce that Tourism New Zealand will be leading the development of a China service delivery “toolkit”, to enable the tourism sector to better meet the needs of our fastest growing and second most valuable tourism market.

MBIE Tourism Policy Manager Robyn Henderson says that the idea for the toolkit came out of the China Market Review, released earlier this year by Prime Minister John Key.

“Tourism accounts for 16.8% of our exports and China is our fastest growing tourism market. One of the purposes of the China Market Review was to identify future strategies to ensure New Zealand captures greater value from the China market.”

“Improving service delivery is a basic but essential element of this, and the development of a service delivery toolkit was a key recommendation from the Review.”

Tourism New Zealand’s Industry Relations Manager Paul Yeo is leading the project and says the toolkit will give businesses and tourism providers basic, easy to assimilate information on the needs of the Chinese visitor market.

“The first step is to consult with those active in this space to assist with the design and implementation of the toolkit to ensure it is both relevant and fit for purpose for industry use.

“The toolkit will draw largely on existing research and understanding, but we may commission additional small-scale research or produce material where gaps are found.

“The toolkit, which is likely to have a significant on-line component, will be packaged in such a way that any business or tourism provider in New Zealand can access what they need – we want to ensure maximum uptake from the sector.”

The first stage of the toolkit is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.

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Employment is forecast to grow by about 130,000 jobs over the next three years, reports the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The Ministry’s report Short-term Employment Prospects: 2013 – 16 forecasts overall employment demand rising in response to stronger economic growth, associated mainly with above average employment growth for Auckland industries and from the Canterbury rebuild.

Over the same period, the unemployment rate is expected to trend down slowly and decline below 5% by the March 2016 quarter.

Key findings of the report are:

• Strong employment growth is expected in the construction and utilities industries over the next 3 years while the prospects for employment in other industries vary over time.
• Growth in demand for employment in highly skilled jobs (that is, managers and professionals across a number of areas) will be consistently high over the forecast period, accounting for about 50% of the overall employment growth.
• Opportunities for lower-skilled workers are expected to account for about 35% of the employment growth over the period. The food processing, retailing, accommodation, agriculture and construction industries are expected to create most of these opportunities.
• Auckland and Canterbury will account for almost half of the employment growth over the next three years.

The report Short-term employment prospects: 2013-16 is available for download.

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

Yao Wen Jiang, a company director, was fined $20,100 in Wellington District Court today for offences against immigration legislation relating to exploitation of unlawful workers.

Mr Jiang was also ordered to pay $16,121 reparation.

Mr Jiang pleaded guilty to charges of exploitation under the Immigration Act for being in serious breach of the Minimum Wage Act 1983 in respect of three employees who he knew to be unlawful.

Peter Elms, General Manager of Immigration New Zealand’s Intelligence, Risk and Integrity division, says that the judge in Mr Jiang’s case has sent a strong message to employers that exploitation of workers will not be tolerated, even if those workers happen to be unlawfully in New Zealand.

“When we talk about labour exploitation, we are talking about the most serious breaches of employment rights. All workers - whether they are lawfully in New Zealand or not - are entitled to the protection of the law. The fine and reparation order imposed on Mr Jiang shows just how seriously we take these types of offences. Employers have no excuse for failing to comply with the law,” says Mr Elms.

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

It’s all go for Canterbury builders. Get on board and ‘Build it Right’ for Canterbury.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), with Bunnings, Carters, ITM, Mitre 10 and Placemakers, are running a series of briefings to give builders working in Canterbury important info on repairing and rebuilding earthquake-damaged homes.

We‘ll cover your role and responsibilities, and the repair of foundations, linings and cladding.

The free briefings will run for two hours, either 7.30 - 9.30am or 5.30 - 7.30pm in the Jack Mann Auditorium, College of Education, Solway Ave, Ilam, Christchurch.

For more information and to register visit the Building and housing information website.

5 June 2013

The government is consulting with iwi and local authorities with an interest in areas proposed for the Platinum NZ 2013 minerals competitive tender.

“Platinum is an exciting commodity offering good potential for exploration and investment in New Zealand,” said David Binnie, General Manager of New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, a branch of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

"We are consulting with iwi and councils to identify any concerns and areas of particular sensitivity prior to finalising the areas that will be opened up for exploration.

“We are considering permitting exploration for platinum and other precious minerals over 4,422.75 km2 of prospective land across six separate areas of the South Island. Exploration permits will be limited to 12,000 hectares in size. The areas are located in the Southland, West Coast, Nelson and Kaikoura regions.”

Sensitive conservation areas listed under Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act and World Heritage Sites have already been excluded from the proposed tender areas.

Affected iwi and councils are being contacted directly by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals and have an opportunity to respond on the proposed tender.

The proposed tender is an opportunity to attract interest and competitive bids in the area of precious minerals exploration that could bring significant benefits to South Island communities and the wider New Zealand economy. Increased minerals development in the areas proposed has the potential to lead to new jobs and investment in regional infrastructure, either directly or as a result of flow-on effects to supporting industries.

The Platinum New Zealand 2013 tender is expected to be open for expressions of interest and bids later this year, with exploration permits awarded in 2014 following an extensive evaluation of bids received.

More information is available at www.nzpam.govt.nz

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

Documents

• South Island map showing all proposed tender areas for Platinum NZ 2013 [128 KB PDF]
• Individual maps of the six proposed tender area(s) for Platinum NZ 2013 [1.8 MB PDF]
• Q&As for Platinum NZ 2013 Consultation Phase [212 KB PDF]

Background

The six proposed areas for Platinum New Zealand 2013 are:

• Longwood – four blocks totalling 333.41km2
• Inland Kaikoura – two blocks totalling 220.18km2
• Rotoroa – 1119.98km2
• Mātiri – 629.04km2
• Grey River – 419.26km2
• East Nelson – 1700.88 km2

A minerals competitive tender involves a number of steps:

1. Iwi and local authority consultation – to seek feedback on a tender proposal.
2. The tender – when companies provide a work programme based bid to explore in a certain area; companies can put in multiple bids.
3. Evaluation of bids – undertaken by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, it includes a rigorous assessment of all bids against the criteria, terms and conditions of the tender.
4.  Award of exploration permits.

If successful, a company will be awarded an exploration permit for six years but this may be extended for a period up to, but not exceeding, 10 years from the commencement date of the permit.

Companies must meet strict health and safety obligations and any environmental requirements set by a regional authority under the Resource Management Act consenting process.

Exploration activities typically include land based and aerial surveys, geological mapping, geochemical sampling of rocks, and exploratory drilling. This work helps to build understanding of the geology of the permit area and to identify mineral deposits. Any discoveries are then evaluated for their commercial feasibility. Exploratory drilling would proceed on a small footprint within an exploration permit area.

An exploration permit does not include mining rights – any company that wishes to start mining will have to apply for a new permit and meet additional health and safety and environmental requirements. A mining permit is awarded for a much smaller land area than an exploration permit, with the actual mine footprint at any one time is much smaller again.

The minerals sector in New Zealand brings in around $20 million each year and contributes over $1.1 billion to GDP.

Affected Local Authorities being consulted with (10)

Affected Iwi being consulted with (17)

An investigation has been launched by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment into an Auckland restaurant chain following complaints that workers are being paid less than $4-an-hour.

The investigation, led by the Ministry’s Labour Inspectorate, was launched after the Ministry received a significant number of individual complaints, with some workers alleging they get paid the “Indian salary” of $265-a-week for up to 70 hours’ work.

The complaints also include allegations of:

• Workers not being paid any entitlements, such as holiday pay, public holiday payments or sick leave
• Workers being required to pay between $10,000 and $20,000 in order to remain in their job while they obtain residence
• Overcrowding conditions in accommodation provided for workers and illegal wage deductions for this accommodation

Labour Inspectorate Northern Manager David Milne says the investigation should serve as a warning to any business owners breaching minimum employment laws.

“Labour exploitation is not welcome in New Zealand and it is totally unacceptable if people are subject to this type of alleged behaviour. The Ministry will investigate and take action to the full extent available in law.

“For migrant business owners this could involve the ultimate consequence of deportation from New Zealand.”

The joint operation between the Ministry’s Labour Inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand involved visiting nine restaurants across Auckland, interviewing staff and requiring wage records for more than 100 staff.

The Ministry will analyse the evidence in the next fortnight before deciding next steps.

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

Landmark cooperation between New Zealand, Canadian, US and British authorities has seen a Somali woman with at least three identities sentenced to nine months home detention today.

A woman going by the name of Raha Ali Abdi was sentenced at the Auckland District Court after being convicted on two charges of supplying information she knew was false and misleading to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) officials.

Ms Abdi lied when trying to claim asylum and the right to work in New Zealand in 2007 and 2008. She told officials that she was not known by any other name and that she had lived in Somalia from birth until January 2007 when she fled Somalia via Kenya and arrived in New Zealand on 22 April 2007.

However, there was no record of Ms Abdi’s arrival in New Zealand. INZ found that her fingerprints matched those of a person who had entered Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom using different names.

INZ’s Identity Services manager Jacqui Martin says this is the first time evidence like fingerprints gathered as a result of cooperation under the Five Countries Conference (FCC) has been used in a prosecution for immigration fraud.

“The FCC brings together officials from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and Australia to work together to improve our immigration systems’ security, service and efficiency.”

Since 2010 INZ has been able to store and use biometric data, including fingerprints, which we can use to check against INZ’s FCC partners’ data.

“This case shows how FCC data sharing and our high-tech scanners are improving our detection of immigration fraud,” says Ms Martin.

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has today released the Quarterly Labour Market report for the March quarter – showing the latest developments and outlook for the labour market in New Zealand.

This issue of the Quarterly Labour Market Report looks at Maori employment by iwi region and the difference in labour force participation between the North and South Islands.

The Quarterly Labour Market Report also gives insights into employment trends by industry and region, matching labour supply with demand, and labour market participation broken down by age, gender and youth.

The report is available here

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

New Zealand businesses can avoid skills shortages if they plan ahead, new research has found.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has released two reports that investigate how employees’ skills contribute to business growth in New Zealand and the hiring difficulties firms face.

Nuran Çinlar, Head of Science, Skills and Innovation Research, says the reports offer some interesting insights that challenge commonly accepted beliefs about skills shortages.

“The research suggests that skills shortages are a real issue for some New Zealand firms and the impact on business performance can be significant.”

“We have found that firms who anticipate their future skills needs and begin the HR process early were much more likely to have the skills they needed, when they needed them. This contrasts with what we sometimes hear about, of businesses assuming they will be able to find the right people quickly, once they have an urgent need for new skills.”

Other findings include:

• recruitment difficulties are linked with higher performing firms, such as businesses that pay high wages, export, or undertake research and development. This suggests that recruitment difficulties are not being driven by businesses that simply can’t pay the market wage for the skills they need.
• skills shortages are often seen as a sign of growing economy, but the new research suggests that many businesses face recruitment difficulties in good times and bad, with reported recruitment difficulties persisting into the recessionary period after the global financial crisis.

Dr Çinlar says the research highlights the importance of tertiary education providers and businesses engaging with each other.

“We need our high performing businesses to have the skills they need to succeed. One way government can help is to get better information to students about what skills employers are demanding.”

Earlier this year, MBIE released the first Occupation Outlook report which examines 40 selected occupations to help students and parents better understand what jobs are needed in New Zealand. The report brings together a range of demand-side information, including feedback from industry and employment forecasts, to provide an assessment of future prospects for each occupation.

Other initiatives in place across government to deliver more skills in demand include the Vocational Pathways to help students make more informed decisions about their learning choices and the new Industry Training initiatives including New Zealand Apprenticeships. Additionally, Maori and Pacific trades training is expanding and the Skills for Canterbury contingency fund is focussing funding towards priority trades. The next Tertiary Education Strategy will seek further alignment between tertiary education provision and labour market requirements.

View the reports

The role of skills in supporting firm growth ambition

Firm-level hiring difficulties: Persistence, business cycle and local labour market influences

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

The Ministry is proposing significant change to the health and safety regulations for mining in order to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission of the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy.

We are now consulting on regulatory proposals for mining and hazard and risk management, training and qualifications, worker participation systems, and emergency measures.

Read more on the Labour information website.

New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals welcomes the release of the first systematic GIS-based compilation and interpretation of geological data, leading to improved understanding of the structure and distribution of sedimentary basins in the New Zealand region.

The New Zealand Extended Continental Shelf SEEBASE™ GIS project delivers a 1:3,000,000 GIS-based, geophysically constrained, depth to basement geological model across New Zealand’s onshore, Territorial Sea, Exclusive Economic Zone and Extended Continental Shelf.

“The project provides new interpretation and modelling in a cohesive, country-wide GIS-based package. This provides a foundation to guide relevant national resource delineation activities, inform allocation of acreage via the government’s Block Offer permitting rounds and it provides context for more detailed petroleum systems evaluation,” says Dr Brad Ilg, Manager Petroleum Strategy, Planning and Promotion.

New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals has funded the release of the database; the investment maximises the value of existing public-good pre-commercial data, Dr Ilg says.

SEEBASE™ includes processed geophysical data-sets, cultural data, terranes and derivative products, which can provide a wide variety of users with an accurate regional framework for the rapid assessment of available resources.

The project also encourages all interested parties to compile data and results with common GIS metadata standards to facilitate efficient knowledge transfer and concept development across government, organisations and industry.

This non-exclusive and now publicly available product has been developed by FROGTECH.

Download or order a hardcopy from the FROGTECH website.

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has declined more than 50 applications from India for permanent residence after discovering that they were submitted through an unlicensed immigration adviser.

INZ’s New Delhi branch identified 54 such applications submitted by Hyderabad-based Opulentus Overseas Careers.

INZ’s General Manager, Visa Services, Nicola Hogg, says that the branch reviewed all applications it held after identifying that that there may be an unlicensed agent involved in Skilled Migrant Category applications from the Chennai/Hyderabad area.

“INZ takes this matter extremely seriously,” Ms Hogg says. “Our investigators in New Delhi have established that applicants paid Opulentus to represent them in their visa applications and they were asked to deny the involvement of any immigration adviser if questioned by INZ.”

Under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 anyone giving immigration advice onshore or offshore must be licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority, unless they are exempt people such as lawyers with a current New Zealand practising certificate.

Opulentus had neither licensed immigration advisers nor exempt people. As a result, INZ declined all applications submitted by the company.

Ms Hogg says INZ’s action sends a strong message to unlicensed advisers that they will be found out if they do not comply with the requirement to be licensed.

Anyone seeking immigration advice is urged to read the Authority’s Immigration Advice Consumer Guide to find out who can give them immigration advice, how to use a licensed immigration adviser and what to do if they have a problem with their adviser.

Licensed immigration professionals are listed in the Authority’s online register for licensed immigration advisers.

Media contact: 027 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

Regulatory impact statements relating to the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Bill have been published on the Ministry’s Economic Development information website.