New Zealand is facing a shortage of secondary teachers, and the government is looking for overseas workers to fill these positions.
To address this shortage, the New Zealand authorities have moved secondary school teachers to the Straight to Residence pathway on the Green List of in-demand occupations. The decision, first announced in April 2024, has entered into force as of May 1, 2024, VisaGuide.World reports.
Under the new policy, qualified secondary school teachers from other countries will have it easier to get a residence permit in New Zealand.
The change allows eligible overseas secondary school teachers to apply for residence from outside New Zealand when they have an offer of employment with an accredited employer and without needing to work for two years in New Zealand first.
‘Shortages in Secondary Teachers Have Been an Ongoing Challenge’
According to the Minister of Education, Erica Stanford, this policy will provide higher assurance and a simplified procedure for foreign secondary school teachers who wish to work in New Zealand.
This change will provide increased certainty and a more streamlined, prioritised process, with eligible overseas secondary school teachers able to apply for residence from offshore – rather than needing to gain work experience in New Zealand first.
Stanford further said that the shortage of these occupations had been a continuous challenge for the country’s education labor market. She mentioned, in particular, a shortage of secondary school teachers in subjects such as Science, Technology, and Mathematics.
Among other things, she said that foreign teachers are an essential part of New Zealand’s education system since most of them have over five years of experience and additional teaching skills.
The Ministry of Education is working to grow a sustainable domestic supply of teachers through attracting teachers back to teaching and retaining existing teachers, as well as increasing the number of New Zealand trained teachers through Initial Teacher Education.
New Zealand Tightened Work Visa Requirements Over ‘Unsustainable Migration’
While New Zealand is looking to attract foreign secondary school teachers, on the other hand, it has introduced stricter work visa rules.
New updates, introduced in April 2024, include an English language requirement for low-skilled applicants.
Moreover, low-skilled applicants are permitted to stay in New Zealand for three years instead of the former five-year period.
The government introduced those mentioned above and several other changes as a response to the “unsustainable net migration”.