Transcript
ROBERTA TIATIA: The biggest challenge at the moment is securing a genuine job offer. It is difficult because they are here in Samoa and the job is in New Zealand. I am finding that even when they go to New Zealand that’s a risk cos there is no guarantee they will get a job offer as well. So I think the job offer thing is the biggest challenge at the moment.
SARA VUI-TALITU: I thought that employers actually go there?
RT: Yep there are a couple of employers who come through Immigration NZ and there are some who come on their own to conduct their own interviews. But then that is not guaranteed either because there are only so many people and little jobs and so not everyone will get the opportunity if an employer comes here.
SV: So you are saying that of all the checks and balances you need, getting the job offer in New Zealand when you are in Samoa is probably the hardest?
RT: Yes I do think it is the hardest.
SV: Because you can't process the application without a job offer, so what do some people end up doing?
RT: Some people will either end up getting a visitor visa or limited visa to travel for 3 to 6 months to look for a job offer but again that is not guaranteed and so the family in New Zealand will need to work hard as well because without them the person here can't go over cos they don't know where to go. So I think that what we need to understand is that our families in NZ also find it challenging cos it is hard for them to commit also cos they work as well and they have to find the time with their families to work with them to go to each employer and I know we have tried to do it online but they get stuck cos they need a valid visa to be able to work in NZ and we can't even apply online for people who are skilled.
SV: Another barrier?
RT: Yes another barrier we are finding is that people that do get a job offer either through family or through whatever means they get a job offer then they go to NZ but they don't work for the company and either their families will go get them not even a month in, or they run away. Employer gets angry and they end up not trusting people from Samoa. That is the other thing I have been hearing that they go and ask for interviews but as soon as you say Samoa, they say 'on no we will go and hire from Tonga. Yeah.
SV: And why is that? Is it the fact that it is in a rural location?
RT: Yeah I think it is but there are some employers who provide accommodation and it is the NZ family who go and get them.
SV: And so they actually leave the job?
RT: Yeah they leave the job. Either they leave secretly or they can't do the job. I guess its just being homesick and it is not an easy thing to leave family and go to a whole new country.
But one new business has sprung up in Tauranga on the North Island's east coast to assist any Samoans who are struggling to find work.
Owner Alesana Talopa'u says he is committed to helping such people, because he saw a gap and he wants to give back to his community.
He says he also wants to encourage more Samoans to look beyond the bigger cities for work.
ALESANA TALOPA'U: Its really targeting Samoan people who have been successfully selected from the quota and one of the biggest barriers is often finding a job in NZ. I have lived here for the last 17 years. Have been in business and built up some networks and so it is really my way of connecting our people successfully selected on the quota with the jobs now available here and being able to be the intermediary for our people in Samoa who are looking for work and then marrying them up with these job offers and all these offers will get their employment contracts and their cover letter from the employer and so there is no reason for people to doubt job validity that will be coming from A plan B.
SARA VUI-TALITU: So what are the sorts of jobs that people could be connected with?
AT: Yes there are all sorts of jobs available down here. Tauranga is a place that is growing and we are seeing a whole lot of people who are moving out of bigger cities like Auckland Wellington and Christchurch and moving down to Tauranga. With this comes a whole lot of developments that's been happening. There's a lot of work in the construction industry, there is a lot of work in packhouses like kiwifruits and avocados and there is also work with the SAFE Foods industry and the big port of Tauranga. So a lot of the work is available here and those are the ones we are targeting at the moment and I know these are jobs that our people could do really well.
SV: What are some of the issues such people face who come to NZ for the first time?
AT: Well there is a lot of things that they need to set up initially when they arrive here and aren't really aware of. So when they arrive, accommodation is one of them. If you have no families in the place where your job offer is from, what do you do then? Well that part there we have another group to find accommodation with those guys working on that part to find accommodation for our people when they arrive here. Things like picking up people from the airport when they land to take care of them when they land and arrive here in NZ. What happens when you arrive and start the work the next day but have no transport? So all of these things have been considered and part of the service we will be providing for people. Setting them up with IRD numbers and setting them up with Working for Families, as we will know the type of income they are on, things like setting up bank accounts and schools close to where they are staying, if they have kids the sports and rugby clubs that kids can be enrolled in and all of things are things in place that we can offer to our people. It is things that they would normally rely on their families here to do, and some of our families who have been here aren't quite sure about such thing and so this is where we are coming in.
