New immigrants have the potential to add a great deal to the New Zealand economy. Aside from bringing with them new skills and knowledge, they bring social and cultural benefits for the whole society. Further, their on-going links to families in other countries can serve as conduits for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, which can be vital for stimulating local innovation and entrepreneurship. From 1981 to 1996, the share of foreign-born members of New Zealand’s working age population increased from 16.0% to 19.0%. In Auckland, the share grew from 26.0% to 31.0%. See Figure 4.20. Evidence from census data collected in the 1980s and 1990s indicates that the average immigrant tends to have higher qualifications than the average non-immigrant. In 1996, the proportion of working age immigrants with a university qualification was 16.0% for all immigrants, and 25.0% for recent immigrants. At that time, just 8.0% of working age New Zealanders held university qualifications (Winkelmann and Winkelmann 1998).

 

 

 

 

Data Source: Winkelmann and Winkelmann 1998.

  

While New Zealand as a whole benefits from its immigration policies, new immigrants typically face disadvantages in the labour market, as measured by participation rates and average incomes. In the 1990s, the employment rates of skilled immigrants were disappointing. This situation was attributed to insufficient English language skills, although it has also been acknowledged that cultural obstacles to “fitting in” to the close-knit work environment of small firms and discrimination on the part of employers may have played a part (OECD 2003). A study conducted by Asoka Basnayake (1999) found that, among a selective sample of new immigrants, 47.0% considered that they had faced discrimination while trying to find employment and when in employment. While, with time, immigrants tend to catch up economically with native-born members of the labour force, more could be done to help new immigrants enter the New Zealand labour force. The Department of Labour (2003) has suggested that “doing more to smooth the path of workers born overseas will enhance New Zealand’s ability to survive and thrive in the global market-place” (18). Some voluntary initiatives have been developed. For example, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Work and Income has supported a pilot scheme called Newkiwis that matches qualified new immigrants to workplaces in an effort to give them valuable local work experience. Meanwhile, in July 2003, the Government tightened the immigration rules. The general skills category under which people who scored enough points on set criteria were automatically granted residency has been abolished. It has been replaced with an "invitation only" skilled migrant category.   The new system has been designed to avoid the problem of highly qualified new immigrants being unable to find suitable work.

 

More initiatives to help new immigrants acquire experience in the New Zealand workplace could help to reduce barriers to the acquisition of appropriate employment. Efforts to reduce discriminatory practices on the part of employers are also necessary. In addition, more analysis of the work experiences of new immigrants would be useful. This would allow for disaggregation across groups, since available evidence suggests that the experiences of new immigrants vary considerably, depending upon their country of origin, their qualifications, work experience, and gender (Winkelmann and Winkelmann 1998).[i]

 

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