04/08/10 - Skills shortage slows recovery

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The sense the IT landscape was markedly different coming out of the global financial crisis than it was going in was strengthened by a new report from recruiters Hudson.

Economic Recovery and the New IT Skills Shortage is the result of roundtable discussions with information and communications industry leaders and chief information officers (CIOs) across Australia and New Zealand.

It paints a picture of CIOs having to shift their organisations but struggling to find the right people to make the necessary changes.

In some cases it's their own fault. While some organisations cancelled or delayed projects in the downturn, others went further and purged their IT departments, losing valuable skills in the process.

There are a huge number of projects lining up to be done and major questions are being asked as to whether there are enough people in the marketplace to do them.

That's not unusual, but the difference is the way the skills mix has changed.

"If there was a skills crisis in Australia and New Zealand before the downturn, it is nothing in comparison to that which the industry now faces on the upturn," the report says.

As always, seasoned IT professionals with advanced business skills are the most valuable but there is also a shift in where the action is happening.

Over the past decade or so there has been a lot of investment in back-end systems.

Now the emphasis is on what the customer sees, as senior management has got over its doubts and is treating the web as a primary delivery channel.

But the skills needed to roll out web-based solutions may be very different to those found in traditional IT teams.

It's about sites that work better and which transfer business processes online so the web becomes a primary communication and transaction space for dealing with customers.

Peter Mahler, the acting CIO of financial services firm AXA, says his firm's aim is to get 80 per cent of customer interactions onto the web, both for cost savings and for better service.

"As CIOs we wanted to do this stuff five years ago, but we were infants and the technology wasn't ready. But now that's where a lot of skills are going to be needed."

While New Zealand's Ultra-Fast Broadband Investment Initiative and the National Broadband Network across the Tasman may be a decade away from being completed, some organisations are starting to strategise around them.

In many cases that means focusing on short-term gains through activities such as data centre virtualisation, cutting the number of physical servers needed on site, refreshing core applications to ensure they are flexible and responsive to changing market conditions and improving services delivery.

Organisations that act early will be better able to cope with user expectations of applications that are available anywhere at any time.

The alignment of the needs of organisations with the activities of their IT departments has long been on most must-do lists, and it is finally happening.

Finding IT people who really understand the business has always been hard, although it is something our universities have tried to produce in recent years.

"While technical and vendor-specific skills seem plentiful, strategic and conceptually oriented skills such as enterprise architecture, business analysis, project management, business relationships and vendor management, and data management are in short supply," the report says.

"CIOs ... want employees who can ask the right questions of a project business sponsor to deliver projects fully and efficiently."

Annabelle Klap, Hudson New Zealand's director of ICT recruiting, says rather than the monolithic outsourcing projects of the past, cloud computing offers organisations the option of palming off specific applications or business processes.

"Cloud is all about driving out cost and efficiency for new generation IT and companies are moving to that," Klap says.

That changes the balance of where people need to hire.

"In the past, contractors were brought in to run projects. When it comes to cloud, I would be saying to a lot of employers, 'You need to invest in permanent staff, or upskill your existing staff.'

"Instead of hiring people for their technical skill sets, now IT is trying to align itself around the business and staff now have to wear multiple hats, business, commercial, technical."

As the market picks up, a skill shortage is already emerging for good business analysts.

Klap says companies need to seriously think about internal recruitment for such roles.

She says the place of the CIO in organisations also needs to change.

"Over the years a lot of CIOs have not sat at the executive level but reported to the chief financial officers.

"Some of us believe to realise the full potential of IT, the CIO needs to be on the executive committee."

(Source Adam Gifford, NZ Herald)

01/08/10 - Customs hit by sex-for-residency allegations

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A SENIOR Customs officer in Auckland is under investigation for trying to use his position to fast-track residency for a female Indonesian overstayer he was allegedly having sex with.

The Sunday Star-Times has learned a Customs investigation – under way since May – is looking into claims the officer accepted sex and money from the woman in exchange for helping her with immigration issues.

Customs is refusing to release details of the case, saying only that an officer has been stood down and an internal investigation is being conducted into an employment matter. A spokesman said the inquiry would take at least another six weeks. It is unclear if the police have been involved.

The allegations have shocked the man's colleagues. He has more than 25 years' experience, is married, and holds a senior position within the Customs service.

Sources have told the Star-Times that Customs investigators found documents in the officer's desk that caused them concern. The documents related to his using his title and senior position to fast-track residency for the Indonesian overstayer.

A subsequent New Zealand Immigration Service investigation found he had pressured immigration staff to fast-track the application. The source said the investigation established there were "financial transactions" between their bank accounts, and Customs had uncovered evidence of an ongoing sexual relationship as payback for support.

A source said an Immigration Service employee was also under investigation for helping the Customs officer assist the overstayer.

The Department of Labour's head of immigration, Nigel Bickle, confirmed the service was conducting an investigation into one of its staff "in terms of possible inappropriate use of information".

He said he could not comment further while the investigation was under way because it could prejudice inquiries.

The Star-Times last week approached a Customs officer named by a source as the suspended officer, but he denied it was him. "I'm on leave at the moment, I don't have to disclose anything. I haven't been stood down at all, so I don't know where you got your information from," he said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, I don't know any Indonesians."

The officer said he had been on leave for "a couple of weeks". Asked when he would return to work, he said: "That's my business. I could go back any time I like."

He said he planned to go away on holiday with his wife this week.

The officer called the allegations "crap" and said several times he would call his boss, Customs investigations manager Bill Perry, to sort out the matter. Perry said on Friday he had not received a call from the officer. He said he could not comment on whether the man was at the centre of the allegations.

Labour's Customs spokesman, Su'a William Sio, urged the service to finish its investigation speedily and release the results publicly, because the allegations were serious.

A spokesperson for Customs Minister Maurice Williamson said the minister would not comment on an employment issue.

(Source Sunday Star Times)

28/07/10 - Shortfall in migrants could cost NZ economy 'over $1b'

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New Zealand is threatening to undershoot the number of migrants it needs to keep the economy healthy, say immigration consultants.

Immigration New Zealand has returned its lowest number of "expressions of interest", after a period of six months where selections have been around 30 per cent lower than previous years.

If the trend continues, less than 13,500 applications will be selected this year.

The numbers of skilled and business migrants finally approved could fall far short of the 27,000 to 30,000 people the New Zealand Residence Programme targets, an immigration commentator has said.

Mike Bell, who runs the online move2nz site, says this is the lowest selection since the present rules were introduced in 2005.

"At this rate, it suggests that an additional 5500 people would be required to meet the minimum numbers under the quota," said Mr Bell.

The direct financial impact on New Zealand of fewer skilled migrants coming could be a loss of more than $1 billion, because an average migrant family spends about $200,000 in New Zealand to start their new lives.

But other immigration observers say the impact could be greater, as it would leave New Zealand short of skills in vital industries and stall economic growth.

"This is worrying. There may be concerns for jobless New Zealanders but slashing skilled migration numbers is not the solution," said Dr Henry Chung, senior marketing researcher at Massey University.

Immigration expert Paul Spoonley says the global economic crisis has also resulted in a reduced number considering migration, and this could impact on migration numbers to New Zealand this year.

But head of Immigration Nigel Bickle says it is on track to meet immigration targets, despite the low selection on July 14.

(Source Lincoln Tan, NZ Herald)

26/07/10 - Immigration relaxes entry rules for child students

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Children as young as 5 could come to New Zealand to study for up to three months each year on a visitor's permit, under immigration policy changes taking effect today.

Immigration NZ has announced several amendments to policy, including one that would enable visitor's permit holders in Years 1-13, which the agency says is usually between 5 and 18 years, to study for a single period of up to three months per calendar year in non-consecutive school terms.

Department head Nigel Bickle said these children could also come to New Zealand without their parents or legal guardians because the policy had no guardian requirements.

But while immigration rules allow 5-year-olds to study here without their parents, Ministry of Education rules prevent them from being enrolled.

The Ministry of Education's Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students restricts any signatories from enrolling anyone under the age of 10, and under the revised immigration rules, all students wanting to study longer than two weeks will need to be enrolled in schools which have signed the code.

Ministry spokesman Joss Debreceny said that, under the code, students under the age of 13 must live with their parent or legal guardian while studying here.

The code had undergone a revision, and now schools could enrol young international students between 10 and 13 as group students if they came to New Zealand without their parents.

The ministry has also published on its website a set of guidelines for schools hosting short-term international students.

"If a school-age visitor is not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, schools should request a letter of consent from the visitor's parent or guardian, giving permission for the visit and approving the arrangements," the guidelines say.

Students under 10 still cannot be enrolled, even as group students.

"If a group of students come for a short, properly organised visit, then they may come without their parents or guardians if the students had their parents' or guardians' permission," Mr Debreceny said.

The ministry guidelines said schools should also ensure these students had "first language support" if they had limited English language abilities.

People involved with the export education industry said the policy change was positive and believed it would benefit the industry.

Josie Kim, a Korean education agent, said it would "most definitely" boost the number of young children coming from South Korea - New Zealand's biggest market for international students aged 13 and under.

"The changes will make New Zealand far more cost competitive for us to market now."

In the past, parents had to factor in the cost of also coming here, she said. Short English language or immersion courses were very popular.

In other changes taking effect today, all temporary permit holders will be able to study more than one course for up to three months instead of a single course under current rules.

(Source Lincoln Tan, NZ Herald)

23/07/10 - Trio who employed illegal workers jailed

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Three directors of a Hawke's Bay company that employed illegal workers in orchards and vineyards between 2004 and 2006 have been jailed for three years.

Michael Wauchop Porter, 53, Miles Elliott, 45, and Dharminder "Bubbly" Singh, 42, directors of Contract Labour Services NZ Ltd (CLS), had previously admitted a representative charge of conspiring to aid and abet foreign nationals to stay and work in New Zealand illegally.

CLS was set up to provide labour at peak harvest periods in New Zealand orchards and vineyards.

The trio entered guilty pleas on the third day of a trial in Hastings in May, after an agreed summary of facts was negotiated. The trial had been expected to take more than five weeks.

A fourth accused, Surjit "Uncle" Singh, 62, the father of Dharminder Singh, who was employed as a clerk, was sentenced to nine months' home detention when the men appeared for sentence before Judge Russell Johnson in the High Court at Napier today.

The crown said CLS directors attempted to hide their use of illegal labour by operating two sets of accounts.

One set covered employees legally entitled to work and who paid tax on their earnings, while a second set involved the use of false invoices issued to fake sub-contractors to mask the hiring of illegal workers who were paid in cash with no deductions for tax.

CLS grouped the workers into an A list for workers with visas and work permits, and a B list for illegal workers. Crown prosecutor Clayton Walker said the now-liquidated company had employed illegal workers to meet seasonal labour shortfalls and had done so for commercial gain.

One crown witness, a former CLS employee, estimated that up to $100,000 a week in false invoices had been generated at peak periods.

Mr Walker said the offending permeated the whole company structure, starting from the three directors and involving staff at various levels of the firm.

"All were necessarily brought into involvement in the illegal activity," he said.

Illegal workers were told to avoid attracting the attention of police or other authorities and were often housed in remote areas to minimise the risk of being found by the Immigration Department.

Tony Snell, counsel for Dharminder Singh, said it was not a case of people smuggling or sweatshop labour, with many workers being paid relatively good money during picking seasons.

He said the offending had taken place against a backdrop of acute labour shortages and the use of illegal labour had allowed CLS to ensure picking contracts and timetables were met.

Peter Collins, counsel for Porter, said there had been an explosion in horticultural expansion during the period the company existed and pressure was put on the firm because not enough labour could be found locally.

Bill Calver, acting for Elliott, said his client "broadly knew what was going on" although he was not involved in hiring staff, or the financial side of the business.

CLS was not a company that set out to act illegally but came under pressure when demand for its business virtually trebled overnight.

"This was not a conspiracy where a group of people sat around a board table and worked out a plan," he told the court.

Judge Johnson said while there had been commercial pressure to provide labour at peak periods and a number of prominent industry figures had provided references, it would be a sad day when good citizens thought it was appropriate to meet such demands by indulging in criminal activity.

He said it was difficult to quantify in dollar terms the seriousness of the offending but it was clear that the accused had sought to circumvent a labour shortage in a cunning way.

(Source NZPA)

22/07/10 - Businesses see skills shortage ahead

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Business leaders warn New Zealand faces a looming skills shortage.

The number of immigrants last month was the lowest for five years. Statistics NZ says the number of people arriving in June exceeded those leaving permanently by only 100.

Business New Zealand says most developed countries are experiencing low immigration in the sluggish economic climate, but this is likely to intensify existing skills shortages.

However, Waikato University professor of population economics Jacque Pote says the long-term trend for immigrants is still upward.

Professor Pote says people tend to be less mobile in times of economic uncertainty.

He says gains in net migration in recent years have been due partly to fewer New Zealanders going overseas, which is common in times of economic uncertainty.

(Source Radio New Zealand)

21/07/10 - NZ migration continues to decline

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New Zealand's population gain from migration continued to decline in June, with seasonally adjusted net of only 70 people for the month, the lowest level since November 2008.

Net permanent and long term migration gains, on a seasonally adjusted basis, had steadily declined from 1800 in January, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said publishing the data today.

ASB economist Jane Turner said net migration had slowed "very rapidly", proving much weaker than expected over the June quarter.

The fall in net migration had been a result of a sharp rise in departures, particularly to Australia, as well as a sudden slow down in arrivals.

Arrivals fell 2.5 percent in June, the third consecutive monthly decline, with arrivals now 9.4 percent lower than year-ago levels, she said.

The fall in arrivals appeared to be concentrated to those requiring work permits, reflecting a weaker labour market in this country.

Meanwhile, permanent departures had been lifting strongly since the end of 2009, particularly to Australia, where the economy had fared relatively well through the recession, with labour demand recovering early, Ms Turner said.

More recently, departures to Britain also appeared to be recovering, perhaps reflecting pent-up demand as young New Zealanders had deferred the traditional OE experience during the heights of the global recession.

On an unadjusted basis, PLT departures outnumbered arrivals by 700 last month, a reversal of June 2009 when there were 700 more arrivals than departures, SNZ said.

The net outflow of 1800 migrants to Australia last month was up from 1200 a year earlier, but still well down from the net outflow of 2900 in June 2008.

There was also a net outflow of 200 migrants to Britain in June 2010, compared to a net inflow of 300 a year earlier.

For the year to June there was a net migration gain of 16,500, up from 12,500 in the June 2009 year.

The net PLT outflow of 15,900 in the year to June 2010 was down from 28,700 in the June 2009 year

(Source Otago Daily Times)

21/07/10 - Visitor arrivals hit 2.5 million

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Annual visitor arrivals to New Zealand hit the 2.5 million mark last month for the first time, says Statistics NZ.

"This milestone was almost reached in 2008, but the global economic downturn contributed to a decline in visitor numbers after a peak of 2.497 million in the March 2008 year," population statistics manager Bridget Hamilton-Seymour said this morning.

The 2 million visitor mark was reached in the November 2002 year, and the 1 million mark in the April 1992 year.

Visitors from Australia accounted for 1.119 million or 45 per cent of all visitors in the June 2010 year. A further 25 per cent of visitors came from four countries; the UK(248,900), the US(194,000), China (105,200), and Japan (83,600).

June visitor arrivals were up 8 per cent from the same month last year, with more people arriving from Australia and a recovery in numbers from China, Japan and Korea. Arrivals from these countries in June last year were particularly hit by the H1N1 pandemic.

Looking at the visitor numbers, Goldman Sachs JBWere economist Philip Borkin said Australian arrivals remained at elevated levels, up 7.9 per cent year on year, but the rate of growth had moderated.

"There is also a clear sign of Asian arrivals rebounding from swine flu- induced weakness, with Korean, Chinese and Japanese arrivals up 33 per cent year on year," he said.

Borkin said he forecasted arrivals growth to slow to 1.1 per cent in the 2011 financial year.

"This is largely a result of a continued moderation in arrivals from Australia (albeit off high levels). Arrivals from the UK and Europe are also expected to remain subdued, which will likely weigh on the total tourist spend."

Arrivals growth should pick up to 6.1 per cent in the 2012 financial courtesy of the boost provided by the Rugby World Cup, said Borkin.

Today's statistics also include migration numbers, which show the lowest monthly immigration figure since it November 2008.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, net permanent and long-term migration (arrivals minus departures) was 100.

Statistics NZ said that on an unadjusted basis, there were 500 fewer arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens and 900 more departures of New Zealand citizens compared with June 2009.

The annual net migration gain was 16,500 in the June 2010 year, down from the recent peak of 22,600 in the January 2010 year.

The main inflows of migrants were from the United Kingdom, India, and China.

There was a net outflow of 15,900 migrants to Australia, well down from 28,700 in the June 2009 year.

ASB Bank economist Jane Turner said the rapid slowing of migration was not expected.

"The decline in net migration has been a result of a sharp increase in departures, particularly to Australia, as well as a sudden slow down in arrivals," she said.

"The fall in arrivals appears to be concentrated in those requiring work permits, reflecting the weaker NZ labour market."

Prior to the recession, New Zealand's labour market was extremely tight with acute skill shortages, so employers looked offshore to fill vacancies.

"However, labour demand has eased back over the past year and as a result we are now seeing fewer permanent arrivals, particular from the UK, South Africa, Japan, Fiji, Samoa, and the Philippines," said Turner.

Permanent departures, particularly to Australia, had been lifting strongly, while departures to the UK also appeared to be recovering.

The sharp slowdown in net migration will reduce support for the housing market over the next year," said Turner. "We continue to expect further recovery in residential construction for the time being, reflecting the strength of net migration over the previous year. However, the sharper than expected slow down in recent months brings into question the strength and longevity of this recovery."

In the upcoming review of the Official Cash Rate, the Reserve Bank might "look a bit closer at its relatively upbeat residential investment forecasts, given signs of slower population growth".

Despite this, the Reserve Bank was likely to remain reasonably comfortable with the slowing household sector, as it has been looking for a rebalancing in economic growth for sometime.

Philip Borkin said the possibility of net migration turning negative over the coming months could not be ruled out.

Borkin said that while the moderation in net migration was not unexpected, the pace with which it was occurring - and particularly as it was being largely driven by fewer arrivals - was a surprise.

"It is of course not out of the question that we will see net flows turn negative over the coming months," he said. "Clearly this removes a source of support for domestic demand and the housing market. While it is unlikely to be a major concern yet, it also may intensify some of the difficulties some businesses are reporting in finding skilled staff."

(Source NZ Herald)

09/07/10 - Skills shortages threatens Aust economy

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A shortage of skilled workers could dampen Australia's renascent economic expansion, a new survey says.

The Australian Industry (Ai) Group/Deloitte survey of more than 400 chief executives found 34.7 per cent of businesses believed there was at least a high risk that a skills shortages would have an adverse effect on operations this year.

The level of concern rose to 47.5 per cent of all companies for 2015, according to the report, Skill Shortages: A high risk business, which was released today.

Ai Group chief executive, Heather Ridout, said the lack of skilled employees was set to increase, which would be the number one danger to Australia's economic growth.

''Of particular concern is that shortages are intensifying in occupations associated with manufacturing, construction and engineering, which are pivotal to the Australian economy,'' Mrs Ridout said.

''These occupations are based on skills which have a long development lead time, are in high use across the economy and whose absence puts industry at high risk.''

Deloitte Consulting Asia Pacific regional managing partner, Gerhard Vorster, said businesses could not remain idle despite the lack of skilled workers.

''CEOs committed to driving growth need to win the race for talent or risk being overtaken by the competition,'' Mr Vorster said.

Mr Vorster said Australia's education and training providers were collaborating with business to increase the number of skilled workers.

''While addressing the supply of talent, employers must also address their own demand,'' he said. ''Those that fail to innovate around processes, systems and working practices are going to face a very bleak future.''

The occupations employers have difficulty in filling were metal fitters and machinists (59.6 per cent unfilled vacancies), engineering professionals (51.7 per cent), metal casting, forging and finishing trades persons (36.7 per cent), structural steel and welding trades workers (32.9 per cent) and business administration managers (36.7 per cent).

Respondents said the government should have a large input in fixing the skills shortage, the report said.Reforms suggested include extra financial incentives for small business, tax breaks for training spending and supporting trades apprenticeships.

(Source Dominion Post)

Comment: the same may be applicable to NZ.

12/07/10 - Seven Immigration NZ staff dismissed

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Seven Immigration New Zealand staff have been dismissed this year.

Immigration head Nigel Bickle says the incidents involved serious breaches of the department's code of conduct, but not theft or corruption.

The code of conduct bans actions such as revealing information held by the department without permission, and misusing or falsifying its records.

Mr Bickle says high standards are important in order to maintain the integrity of the Immigration Service following external inquiries into the department over the past couple of years.

However, he says he has confidence in the vast majority of staff.

(Source Radio New Zealand)