A group of New Zealand employers was currently in the kingdom to recruit Tongan carpenters and hammerhands to work in New Zealand.
Officials from Downer New Zealand, Tradestaff and staff from the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment were in Tonga as part of the Pacific Trades Partnership.
The Pacific initiative is focused on recruiting skilled trade workers from the Pacific to assist New Zealand companies facing labour shortages, and is funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
It builds on the success of the Canterbury Reconstruction pilot 2016-2017 which brought Pacific carpenters to New Zealand following the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch.
The Tonga Institute of Science and Technology, with support from the Tongan Ministry of Internal Affairs, is assisting the employers with interviewing and screening 24 Tongan applicants.
Successful applicants will be given the opportunity to participate in carpentry-related short-term employment opportunities in New Zealand where they will be able to gain new skills and earn money to send home to support their families.
The initiative is initially focusing on recruitment from Tonga and Samoa and aims to provide work placements for 40-50 Pacific workers.
