Main job sectors in New Zealand
New Zealand has many different industries requiring workers with specific skills and experience. These industries include agriculture and forestry, business and finance, construction, education and training, energy, engineering, health care, health technology, science, and tourism and hospitality.
- an architect
- a cadastral (land title) surveyor
- an electrical service technician
- an electrician
- a line mechanic
- a plumber, gasfitter or drainlayer.
- Energy in New Zealand — Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
- New Zealand Energy Strategy — Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
- New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals
- civil engineers
- mechanical engineers
- water and geotechnical engineers
- land surveyors, structural engineers.
- agricultural and forestry research and development
- environmental initiatives
- manufacturing
- energy production
- niche technologies
- leading edge science.
New Zealand's primary industries include dairy, beef and sheep, forestry, horticulture, pork, seafood, aquaculture, winegrowing, rural contracting and plant production. They account for most of our exports and are key to our economic growth.
Agriculture and forestry offer wide-ranging opportunities to develop a career, or to take advantage of the many types of seasonal employment.
The Ministry for Primary Industries website has information about job opportunities.
Primary industry careers — Ministry for Primary Industries
Find information about seasonal and short-term work on our 'Finding short-term work when on a working holiday' page, or on the Ministry for Social Development website.
Finding short-term work when on a working holiday
Fruit and vegetable seasonal work — Work and Income
Getting New Zealand training and qualifications
Industry training organisations (ITOs)
ITOs set qualification standards, provide training, and work with industries to determine skill development needs. This includes health and safety requirements and training.
The Primary Industry Training Organisation (Primary ITO) offers a range of programmes and support to workers in primary industries. There are a number of providers, but the Primary ITO is the best place to begin your enquiries.
Private training establishments
Private training establishments (PTEs) also provide training for primary industry work, from entry level up to post-graduate level. PTEs must be registered with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and meet national standards.
To find training courses on the careers.govt.nz website, type your area of interest into the search box.
New Zealand's service industry — including the banking and insurance industries — accounts for a significant percentage of the country's GDP (overall economic output). It is an important part of the economy, offering a wide variety of roles and opportunities.
New Zealand welcomes people with business and finance skills and experience.
Before you plan your move to New Zealand, check out where your skills will fit best, and which employers are looking for professionals like you.
Search for business and finance jobs at careers.govt.nz.
The construction industry is large, and new jobs are created each year. Many of these jobs will need to be filled by people from overseas.
There are opportunities for workers with a range of skills and experience — but there is a consistent demand for builders, managers, estimators, quantity surveyors and project engineers.
Before you plan your move to New Zealand, check out where your skills will fit best, and which employers are looking for professionals like you.
If you are interested in an engineering role, check out our engineering jobs in New Zealand information.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment produces a report on building activity nationally and regionally that you might find helpful.
The National Construction Pipeline Report 2024 — MBIE
Professional registration
Current New Zealand law requires you to register with a professional body if you are coming here to work as:
Whatever your occupation, you may find getting a visa more straightforward if you have professional registration in New Zealand.
Check if you need occupational registration for your job
Chartered Professional Engineers (CPEng)
In New Zealand, the titles 'Chartered Professional Engineer' and 'Registered Engineer' can only be used by engineers on the Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) register. The register is administered by Engineering New Zealand.
Generally, building consent authorities require Chartered Professional Engineers to certify engineering design work.
CPEng registration — Engineering New Zealand
Restricted building work and Licensed Building Practitioners
In New Zealand, some building or design work relating to residential buildings is classified as ‘restricted building work’. To do or supervise this type of work you must be a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) in the appropriate class.
You may need to gain experience working in New Zealand before you can apply to become an LBP. If you have an Australian licence, you may be able to obtain the equivalent New Zealand Licence through a Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Application.
Restricted Building Work — Licensed Building Practitioners
Your licence — Licensed Building Practitioners
Licencing classes — Licensed Building Practitioners
Getting New Zealand training and qualifications
Industry training
Industry training organisations (ITOs) offer qualification programmes and support. The ITOs for the construction industry are:
Private training
Private training establishments (PTEs) also provide training for construction work, from entry level up to post-graduate level. PTEs must be registered with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and meet national standards.
Check the Skills PTE website for more information.
Search for 'construction' on the careers.govt.nz website to find more information:
Search for a course or training provider — careers.govt.nz
Other training providers
SiteSafe is the national provider of construction health and safety training.
Some polytechnics also offer training in construction-related skills.
The New Zealand Government is working hard to recruit, train and retain more teachers. This includes attracting more teachers from overseas.
If you are an educator interested in coming to New Zealand, start by visiting the Ministry of Education's Workforce website for an overview of what is required.
Find out if you can teach in New Zealand, the process you will need to follow, and what documents you will need to provide.
Becoming a teacher in New Zealand — Education Workforce
If you have trained overseas, you will need to be competent in both written and spoken English.
For overseas-trained teachers — Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Public sector teaching jobs are listed on the Education Gazette website.
Fast track to residency
Most teaching roles, including primary and secondary school teachers are on the Green List and allow you to apply for immediate residence
Green List roles — jobs we need people for in New Zealand
Professional registration
You will need to register with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand to get a job and a visa.
New Zealand is investing heavily in renewable energy production and plans to be carbon zero by 2050. Fossil fuels will, however, continue to play an important role for the time being.
Taranaki, the centre of the New Zealand oil industry, is now also home to Ara Ake, a government-funded body set up to develop clean energy technologies.
Investment in new energy projects is expected to create many new jobs, and energy sector employers are looking for workers with expertise and experience.
Before you plan your move to New Zealand, check out where your skills will fit best, and which employers are looking for professionals like you.
You can also read about the energy industry in New Zealand:
Depending on your specialty, you may also want to check out information about finding jobs in science and engineering.
Engineering jobs in New Zealand include:
Before you plan your move to New Zealand, check out where your skills will fit best, and which employers are looking for professionals like you. You could start by visiting Engineering New Zealand's jobs website.
Engineering jobs — Engineering New Zealand
Support for migrant engineers
Engineering New Zealand has set up a Special Interest Group for Immigrant Engineers (SIGIE).
SIGIE aims to help settle migrant engineers into meaningful professional employment in New Zealand. It provides training, professional development, employment and career counselling and social and work opportunity networking.
Special interest group for immigrant engineers — Engineering New Zealand
There is consistently a high demand for health care professionals across New Zealand, in almost every discipline and specialty. A fast track to residency is available for many occupations.
New Zealand has a mixed public/private health care model. Each sector offers high standards of care.
Before you plan your move to New Zealand, check out where your skills will fit best, and which employers are looking for professionals like you.
Qualifications and registration
In most cases, when you apply for a visa, your qualification will need to be assessed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority of New Zealand (NZQA) against comparable New Zealand qualifications.
You will also need to register with the relevant medical body, for example, the Medical Council of New Zealand for doctors, or the Nursing Council of New Zealand for nurses.
Getting registered — Medical Council
Internationally qualified nurses — Nursing Council of New Zealand
Check if you need an international qualification assessment (IQA)
New Zealand has a growing heath technology industry, with opportunities for overseas workers.
Jobs in the industry are usually highly skilled and well paid.
The Medical Technology Association’s website has more information about health technology in New Zealand.
Science skills contribute to almost every industry in New Zealand and help to address many important issues.
Science jobs can be found in:
Before you plan your move to New Zealand, check out where your skills will fit best, and which employers are looking for professionals like you. You could start by visiting the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Science New Zealand websites for an overview of the science industry.
You can also search for science jobs on the Science New Zealand website.
Tourism, hospitality and seasonal work is often short-term. If you have a working holiday visa, this work could suit you.
Register interest in working in New Zealand
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