New Zealand looking to recruit Irish builders
New Zealand has said that it needed at least 8,000 construction workers to help to rebuild and repair about 100,000 homes damaged in the earthquake in February, which killed 181 people. The story was in The Times on August 20, 2011.
There were hundreds of commercial buildings either damaged or destroyed and they need to be rebuilt. Ian Simpson, chief executive of the country's Earthquake Commission, is quoted as saying that although the New Zealand labourers would be given first priority, it was keen to attract Irish workers because they were skilled, spoke English, and many were unemployed.
There has been a strong demand to take up the offer of work in New Zealand, according to Declan Clune, a licensed adviser for New Zealand at Visafirst.com. He told The Times that many workers are keen to find out how to get a visa and employer sponsorship. There is demand for engineers, quantity surveyors, construction project managers, foreman, scaffolders and electricians. Many people in Ireland are likely to have these skills because of their recent property boom.
New figures show that 100,000 people will have left Ireland in the two years to April 2012, more than 2 per cent of the population.
August 26, 2011
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