WHV / working in NZ - has the recession hit Kiwis too?!

CamillaRhodes

Hey all. I'm thinking of going to NZ later this year on a WHV - my last chance to do so since I'll be 29 by then. I'm wondering if NZ has been hit by the recession as hard as Ireland has been, and if it'll be possible to find any sort of work over there (the sorta thing people usually get on WHV's, either office temping or working in a bar/ cafe / hostel). What about fruit-picking / vineyard work?

This also specifically applies to my boyfriend, who's thinking of coming too but can't get a WHV (he's from a country which doesn't qualify), but I think he can get a Horticulture / Viticulture temporary work permit. Obviously this will only happen if there is work going in horticulture/viticulture.

Anyone in NZ right now who can give some advice on this would be great, ta!

majiktripp

I was there until recently (only home 1 day!) and found it pretty ok. My phone was still ringing with Recruitment agencies looking to hire me even when I was finished my original job over there, dont get me wrong its not all good though. Initially it took me 1 month to find work which is tedious and resutrating but had to be done. Email your cv to EVERY agency you can and see what they say (www.madison.co.nz for start) and work from there. Also seek.co.nz will give you an idea of available jobs. Its not as bad as here , not yet but Australia is starting to feel it now and once they do it'll only be a short time until New Zealand is worse off.
Having said that, I would go again tomorrow, I still have 3 months left on my WHV and would love to go back, its a fantastic country/people/experience so no regrets. **** the way I feel yet, I might be on a plane soon enough myself.

pclancy

Theres always temp office work going and probably some fulltime stuff depending on your career. Im in IT so have been lucky to get two contracts without too much hassle. Coming into the end of summer now so I dunno what vinyard/horticulture work there will be but you really need to come down and look around at whats here. Applying for stuff from abroad wont get you anywhere really.

Credit crunch hasnt bitten so hard here yet. I think kiwis live well within there means compared to Irish people. Much less flash new cars or houses that people cant afford though there have been quite a few mortgagee sales appearing.

Rabies

pclancy wrote: »

Credit crunch hasnt bitten so hard here yet. I think kiwis live well within there means compared to Irish people. Much less flash new cars or houses that people cant afford though there have been quite a few mortgagee sales appearing.

Thats so true.
New Zealanders are not paid as well as those from Europe or America. More people rent homes than buy, very good second hand car market here, some people can't afford new ones. For a western world country, the pay is fairly crap. But yet people love it here (including myself).

NZ doesn't have many multinational manufacturing or production companies. Not much natural resources on land, the oil and gas is off shore. So there aren't as many companies here to pack there bags and leave when the down turn kicked in. What has happened is many people on contract work in financial institutions, IT companies and sales lost their jobs due to restructuring.

In general, NZ is going ok so far. The housing market has slowed and foreign student intake is down (thats not a bad thing). So far, things are not as bad as everywhere else. NZ relies heavily on tourism and agriculture to fund the country from the ground up.

Personally I wouldn't mind seeing a drop in the tax rate, its fairly crippling. And tax free allowance for those on minimum wage, really don't see how some people survive in this country.

Crumble Froo

ha, as one of the ones on min wage, and not even a guaranteed 40hrs a week.. i can tell you rabies, you just scrimp and save and scrimp and save. could count on one hand how oftne we've gone out drinking in the last year, if you want something, we save up for it, and we're absolutely terrified of the concept of owning credit cards :P

19% tax is pretty rough, i feel, i hate looking at the before and after on that one... but once i get some qualifications, i should be able to work my way up the wage chain.

Rabies

Don't worry about the credit cards. You can't get one here unless you're a resident or have a $5k in the bank.

I've tried

I started on min wage when I came here first, thankfully that's long gone. Still not on amazing money, but its enough if I do 40hr week. Usually aim for 45hrs a week if I can.
That reminds me, I need to ask for a pay rise soon. $1-$1.5 an hour more would be nice.

Crumble Froo

ha, when i asked my employers to sponsor me for the work visa, they were going to put me on a whooping $14 an hour (omg,WOW, i was genuinely excited), so im curious to see what im gonna be on when i go back to them now. if i go back. *crosses fingers for visa to come through*

but it's pretty uncertain work, just a reliever/temp for preschools, so can get 9hr days one week, and 3hr ones the next, few days off added into the mix. which suits me on a lifestyle basis, but not so much financially.