As much as the liberals love trying to claim the US should become like other nations, the latest policy from New Zealand is one they don’t want the US to eliminate. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford made a landmark announcement that fits with their conservative government’s vision, and we should be so lucky.
“Getting our immigration settings right is critical to this Government’s plan to rebuild the economy. The Government is focused on attracting and retaining the highly skilled migrants such as secondary teachers, where there is a skill shortage. At the same time, we need to ensure that New Zealanders are put to the front of the line for jobs where there are no skills shortages.”
She continued, “I am bringing in a suite of changes that will improve the AEWV scheme and ensure we are better testing the local labour market and reducing the risks of putting New Zealanders out of work. Many of these are not new, but rather a return to pre-pandemic settings that better balanced the needs of business with the wider interests of New Zealand. It is important that the AEWV settings facilitate the right mix of skilled temporary migrants to address genuine skill and labour shortages, support rebuilding the economy, and to help manage numbers and pressures on core infrastructure, such as schools, housing, and the health system.”
This shift excludes many of the retirees and undertrained expats who have relocated to the island country. In their list of changes, they are making simple decisions we can make here in the US as well, and they make logical sense.
Requiring immigrants for the low-skilled level 4/5 roles to speak English, have a minimum of skills, and work to get an AEWV role and making employers prove things before bringing expats over are genius decisions.
