NZ seeks Australian workers

New Zealand has a skills shortage and its government is targeting Australia to get its workers back.

The government is holding job fairs around Australia to try and fill a skills shortage.

New Zealand’s employment minister Stephen Joyce told the ABC’s RN Breakfast program that many skills are needed.

"Computer software and design is important – we have some very good companies that are growing in that area and frankly are being held back by the lack of experienced staff," he said.

"The construction industry hasbeen growing a lot with the rebuilding of Christchurch and we are about to exhaust the domestic supply of people in that respect; engineering and process workers in the high tech manufacturing space and a number of other areas as well."

The conservative government of John Key expects the New Zealand economy to generate 50,000 new jobs over the next two years.

It is going to be a push to fill them with the jobless rate at 5.4 per cent in the June and September quarters, which is the lowest it has been since December 2008.

The country is targeting Australians and Kiwi expats to fill the gaps as the economy booms and the unemployment rate falls.

In October, more people moved to New Zealand than moved to Australia for the first time in two decades.

New Zealand’s employment minister Stephen Joyce said the lure of good jobs should see that continue.

"The New Zealand economy has been getting progressively stronger and our view is that it is a bit of a trans-Tasman labour market for skills and some people but that doesn’t mean that it should always drift westward it also means that it could be a move eastwards as well and we are very keen to have that opportunity to pick-up some good skilled people," he added.

New Zealand has already held a jobs fair in Perth and is holding another one in Sydney this weeken
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