He wāhi mahi Te Tauihu o te Waka e tino whāia ana | Marlborough as an attractive place to live and work
On this page
As a region we need to attract and retain people to make sure we continue to grow and are able to meet our future labour and skills needs. Eighty per cent of our growth comes from internal and international migration.
Stats NZ subnational population component changes at 30 June 2021(external link) — StatsNZ
Attracting people to our region is also important as there are many key workers that we do not train locally, especially in the professional services such as doctors, engineers and lawyers.
Workplaces report difficulties with attracting people to relocate to Marlborough and then retaining them (both people already here and new arrivals). Reasons for this include perceptions around the vibrancy of the town centre and recreation opportunities, ability to secure housing, job opportunities for partners as well as perceptions about secondary schooling. A recent report into Māori businesses highlighted the need to improve the Blenheim CBD and 73% of respondents to the Marlborough Town Centre Health Check Survey said that the Blenheim CBD had not improved over the last two years.
We need to showcase the high-skilled and well-paid jobs that are available here as well as the opportunities to develop a career pathway within our key sectors. We also need to be able to highlight the opportunity to work remotely and the promote Marlborough as having a great lifestyle, that is connected to Papatūānuku and our taiao.
“Many of the senior doctors in Blenheim come from overseas and when this happens, most do not stay long term. It is much easier to attract staff to Nelson than to Blenheim. It is close to crisis point”
Action for year one
Undertake research with people who have made decisions about moving to, or staying in Marlborough in the last 1-5 years, to understand how they perceived Marlborough and what influenced their decisions.
Connection to Te Tauihu Intergenerational Strategy
Pūtea – Economy: Attracting talent, intellectual capital and businesses to Te Tauihu, with the expectation that they are focused on the economy of the future we are trying to build.
How this contributes to our vision for the future of Marlborough
Outcome one: A resilient, sustainable economy and workforce
- The workforce and local industry are multi-skilled and adaptable to change.
Pathway three: People are attracted to live and work in and from Marlborough
- People see the opportunities in Marlborough and want to live here.
- We have an inclusive community that enables all people to thrive, including Māori, older workers, new arrivals and young people.
- We have the connectivity and infrastructure to work and do business across the country and the world.