BEVS

This is not strictly correct.

It is more true to say that if an NZ employer is suffering bad labour shortages & having trouble attracting overseas employees ( heavy goods drivers) then they may need to dangle the carrot of the person being able to apply for a work to residence visa. To do that then yes, the pay offer would need to be $55K. However there is no requirement for them to do this. Much would depend on the labour market in the area.
That would be for any employer. Be they in Canterbury or have paid the fee to be accredited.

Hospitality and hotel chains are frequently accredited employers. They certainly don't pay $55K pa to staff as what they need is employees and the turn round is just a part of the industry.

MrsFychan

what they need to pay to aid an overseas employee to get a visa is different to what they actually pay.
No idea what this means
OP doesnt mention his licence so he may well be a Class 2.

jarv5116

Your just repeating exactly what I says.
26.50 x 40 x 52 is 55,120
if your on a work to residence visa you have to get paid it for visa requirements. If your on a work visa it's different like I says. The employer can pay you what you want. Go on the transport sites that are accredited employers they will all say that they will pay the 26.5 a hour to meet visa requirements.

There is a real shortage of HGV drivers, Crane Drivers and heavy machine operators. The wages in NZ for doing these jobs pay a hell of alot more than the UK. The UK is the exact same no one ones to pay 1000s for licences. but the difference is the UK has a unlimited amount of cheap labour from Eastern Europe that's happy to meet the demands.

If you enjoy truck driving like I says you will like it out here. Better pay and no bullshit.

BEVS

I most certainly am not.
You are misinterpreting in a kind of back to front way & also misrepresenting what an accredited employer is and what criteria they should meet.
To repeat. An accredited employer is under no obligation to pay $26.50 ph to any overseas worker. They will be paying the going rate just like any other employer
If a vacancy is deemed worthy of $26.50 ph then an applicant might choose to apply for a WTR visa. It is that way round. That is how it works. That is why it is best to check.

Accredited Employers


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grant r

Thank you all for your above reply's and my apologies for being slow to reply.
To answer some reply's above I've held a class 1 (your class 5) for nearly 20 years hauling mostly containers but have experience in hauling trailers as well.
I worked in america for 5 months hauling combine harvesters and grain carts operating a crash box splitter range (my 1st ever experience of a crash box and hopefully my last )
I understand what all of you are saying about accredited companies, the pay of 26.50 and that maybe some companies don't always pay what they say their going to pay, shock horror a company lying lol
I would be fully prepared for this and to have to prove myself is something i understand that i would need to do. For the first year or two out there i would rent out my property here in case things didn't work out.
I'm interested in the Tauranga area due to its large port operations there and if anyone has any information on that area would be very helpful thanks.

escapedtonz

I live in Tauranga. What do you wanna know ? Ask on here or PM.

grant r

Anything and everything lol
Do you know what the work situation is like for expat truck drivers? I was thinking because of the port that it would be good?
Good or bad areas to live in? i don't mind if its busy inner city living or more rural, I've lived in both types of places and they have there good and bad points.
I was thinking of coming for a visit early next year and visit some companies in person, i always feel this is the best way to get a job, is this something that kiwi's would appreciate?
rental prices and cost of living i can research online but if there's anything you can think of it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

jarv5116

Most of the trucks are manuals out here aswell with high and low ration with split gears. I don't know if thats same as American ones. All the axle combos are different out here, very rare you see a normal Arctic out here.
Its not that the employers pay you or rip you off. It's more todo with the type of Visa you are on. If your on a work to residence visa you need be paid 54k a year over 40 hours basic.

I don't know about Tauranga specifically.
You need to be careful where you live with work options thou. What NZ class as cities are like small towns in the UK. Places like New Plymouth, Hastings, Gisborne they are like small towns and will struggle to find permenant work. It's not like the UK where there is loads big cities and loads work.

Places like Tauranga forget about inner city life.

grant r

I've driven those type of trucks both here in the UK and in America so that's not so bad.
I chose Tauranga because it has the port there and because of my experience hauling containers so hopefully it has a good supply of work, but a visit to the area will help answer that.
Inner city living is not something that bothers me anymore i prefer a peaceful life now lol

escapedtonz

Heaps of jobs here for HGV drivers - days, nights, a mixture, guaranteed min 40hrs per week but you may have to negotiate and push for more money as $24/hr seems the offer for class 5 but that ain't gonna get you the visa. A lot of the work is for companies based around the Port Of Tauranga. Logging trucks are huge here and the Port has a huge holding area for logging so that may be an industry to get in to and may command more pay ?

Bad areas to live Merivale, Parkvale, Gate Pa, some parts of Welcome Bay, some parts of Brookfield, some parts of Judea, some parts of eastern Mt. Maunganui and some parts of Papamoa.
The nicest suburb is most definitely Bethlehem which has everything if you want suburbia of course. Otumoetai/Matua/Bureta all fine just older. Tauriko fine but bigger more expensive and semi rural. Anywhere West from Bethlehem (over the Wairoa River and down SH2) fine but going rural. There's a saying here that West is best. We are rural in Te Puna which is the first place West over the river. The Avenues which is the closest to the city is fine. Omokoroa fine but further out West. There's a few more places around that I havent mentioned like Maungatapu, Ohauiti, Oropi, Pyes Pa etc which are fine.
Just to give you some reality though. Merivale is the lowest socioeconomic area in Tauranga - period! BUT in my opinion it's like Beverley Hills compared to some places near where I lived in the UK. No burnt out cars and all that crap in the front garden. It's actually ok and we'll looked after but you just get to know that's where the drugs crime gang stuff goes on.
Coming to visit is highly recommended and companies will be well please with your commitment to check the place out first and to place yourself in front of them in person. Kiwi companies definitely like potential employees to go that one step further.

Rental prices are ever growing and not too far from Auckland prices. Tauranga has been the fastest and steadiest growing city in NZ for years and as property values go up so does rent. There is a distinct lack of rental properties here and competition is fierce. You'd be well advised to sign up with a rental agent early and get them to do the work for you to find properties that fit your criteria. At the end of the day the rental agent is the one who decides on who the tennant will be and in our experience if you have your name down you're effectively on a waiting list. We did this and when it was our turn we were offered 3 properties....it was just take your pick. If you're on your own then there's more options for room rental or part house share etc. Be prepared to pay a few weeks of rent at the beginning of a contract even though you may not yet be moving in.....kind of guarantees it doesn't go to the next person.

Tauranga is a pretty cool place. We moved here for a better climate, better weather and to be near great beaches as we originally did 2.5yrs in Welly.

grant r

Thanks for all that useful information i will certainly take note of the areas you said. I've lived in essex most of my life and there are certain areas of towns you definitely wouldn't want to live lol i think abit out of town but drivable for work would be nice out there.
Great to hear there's plenty of work i hear what your saying about the hourly rate and also logging trucks, but i wonder do the accredited companies pay more? because they know that's what the drivers have to earn to be able to stay.
What you say about the rental market is very interesting and i hadn't realised it was an agent that got you the rental! It will only be me moving out there so where or how i live is of less importance if you get what i mean.
I'm looking for a more chilled relaxed work/life balance than what you get in this country! How do other road users perceive truck drivers out there? Because in this country we are just something that gets in the way of their busy life's lol cut up, brake tested and generally disliked

BEVS

Doubtful. They are in business after all. If they offer higher rates then they must pay that also to the homegrown truck drivers too. That would then have a knock on effect of putting up wages for the occupation in general and lowering profit margins. Trucking companies don't want this.

An overseas driver can stay xxx amount of years anyway on a renewable temporary work visa / permit. No need for the accredited company to be ensuring someone has the right of NZ residence a couple of years down the line. Not just that, someone with NZ residency is free to work for anyone , anywhere at any occupation so once they obtained NZ residency they could just up and leave the company at that point. If they keep the driver on a rate below the threshold, then the driver is tied to the employer as a temp work visa is dependent and tied to the employer offering the work.

escapedtonz

Out of town but within a reasonable driving distance of the Port could be pretty much anywhere in and around Tauranga. I suppose it depends on the time you'd be starting work and max distance/max time for the commute but in reality unless you're travelling in peak traffic (which can be a pain in specific locations a couple times a day Mon-Fri) you will never be more than 30 mins from the Port no matter which area you live so long as you not far out rural.

There has been much talk about it recently on this forum and a discussion I decided to stay out of as I just can't be arsed with drama.
All I'll say is this.......
Accreditation is approved for employers who are able to demonstrate (amongst other things) that they are worthy of this trusted status by Immigration NZ. Trusted to do the right thing by NZ and Kiwis, which includes recruiting locally where possible, training and upskilling locals, offering opportunities to locals already working for them, having solid Human Resource processes and practices, being financially stable and have had no issues in terms of employment disputes, problems with unions, workers’ rights and so on and ONLY where necessary offering work to candidates overseas who don't normally have the right to live and work in NZ.
The accreditation/talent visa policy was created to provide a Residence pathway (by means of Work To Residence Visa and Talent Visa) for people with jobs that in recent times paid a minimum of $55 000 per annum. The idea behind it being that there are those who come to NZ and find work who make a highly valuable economic contribution to that company and to the country but who may never score sufficient ‘points’ to qualify for a Resident Visa under the Skilled Migrant Category - now named Skilled Migrant Resident Visa (SMRV) or whose jobs are not defined as “skilled”. It was meant to compliment the Skilled Migrant Category objectives.
Accreditation has worked for many companies in many industries that have ongoing recruitment needs that cannot be satisfied locally - truck driving being one of those. There is no labour market test attached to the resulting visa applications which means employers haven’t needed to keep proving they cannot find staff in NZ but made a genuine effort to do so. In an extremely tight labour market where thousands more jobs are being created each month than there are people to fill them, offering this Residence pathway is one way to help a company retain staff, so with all that said it goes without saying that YES, of course the employer will be paying at least $26.50/hr for a 40hr week to achieve the essential minimum $55 000 per year as that is all part and parcel of the Accredited Employer/Talent Work Visa/Work To Residency Policy although the policy papers probably don't specify in black & white that the employer has to pay minimum $26.50/hr for a 40hr week to achieve the essential minimum $55 000 per year.
From the migrants perspective the 30 month Talent work visa allows them to apply for a resident visa after 24 months. With the WTR visa it is a 24 month visa with the intention of the holder moving to Residence at the end of the 2 years, however the holder can actually apply for Resident status as soon as they are on NZ soil and working.
Partners and children are also granted temporary work and student / visit visas and so receive access to the same status, care and benefits. School age children are treated as domestic students in terms of cost of education (paid for out of taxes for the most part). It is potentially a really good option for a lot of companies in a country where there are simply not enough people to fill the jobs being created while at the same time offering a more certain pathway to Residence for those willing to commit and prove their value over that two years.
There was talk in cabinet last year (2018) of increasing the $55 000 salary threshold but there has been nothing since, only speculation and the effect it would have on employers.
I don't agree that paying one person one wage - i.e. paying a migrant $26.50 per hour to satisfy the Accreditation policy means the employer has to pay other employees the same. There will always be people at work doing the same job who are on better money and those employees may have just turned up from overseas. It's tough but a real fact of life and all you can do is suck it up, be better to get more $$$'s or move elsewhere.

The majority of properties in NZ are managed by a rental agent who takes full responsibility of managing the whole process from selecting the tenant to doing all the necessary tenant security/financial checks to managing maintenance, collecting the rent...everything, in return for a small % fee. Out of the 5 properties we've rented in NZ only one of them was managed personally by the owner. All the others we had to deal with a local agent. The managing agent is generally the one you need to convince, not the owner.
Since it is only you coming out, you'll more than likely only be looking for a one, maybe two bedroomed place or even just a house share or renting a room. Because of this is is less likely you'll be dealing with an agent and more likely you'll be dealing directly with an owner as your landlord and I'd also say if it was me I'd live more or less anywhere in and around Tauranga as the worst place here isn't anywhere near as bad as the bad council estates back home. No point paying out loads of $$$'s to live in the same size house in a 'nicer' area when you aren't there most of the time.

I understand what you mean about a more chilled relaxed work/life balance. I feel I have achieved that, BUT there are many people who say the opposite. I don't know enough about the truck driving industry in NZ to make a call. I have heard in the past that truck drivers work more or are expected to work more than the typical 40hrs/week as there is a higher demand for work and reduced regulation of driving hours and all that jazz, BUT don't know if that's actually true?
I'm sure you know but the major industry export in NZ is milk powder. Instead of just looking at the Port of Tauranga for trucking jobs or even looking at the logging industry, also consider the milk tanker industry and have a look at Fonterra and maybe the possibility of collecting milk from farms all over the Bay Of Plenty and delivering that to the plant for processing. After a recent site visit to a Fonterra plant in Hamilton (Te Rapa), they are always looking to recruit drivers and I believe they are very well paid way in excess of $26.50 per hour.

I'd like to say trucks are respected over here for the work that they do and the reasons why they are such an essential part of NZ given the other transport methods aren't that great. I experience lots of trucks on my commutes and I have always respected them probably just because of who I am and where I came from BUT I know for sure they frustrate the life out of some people. One major frustration I've found is that trucks have a speed limit of 90kph on the open state highways where it is 100kph for the majority of other road users, but what you'll generally get is trucks doing 100-105kph on the flat meaning you can't legally overtake so you sit there in a huge convoy for miles until a passing lane appears and when you do overtake you have to go like 120kph + to pass quickly and are at serious risk of a ticket but yet the trucks trundle along all day and night at 100-105kph without consequence.
Kiwi drivers aren't the best and I've often said they pass their driving tests blindfolded.
Overall I'd say there is a higher respect here than the UK as there's much less traffic and people, but you may find it is similar ?

BEVS

The reason I will come back to this again is that I think it important to keep things as accurate as is poss. & I also think perhaps there is a little muddle over terminology here.

There is no requirement at all for an NZ approved accredited employer to pay $55K pa. It is free to offer what rate of pay it wishes for any given vacancy. There is nothing in the policy guidelines for accreditation that states rates of pay. The rules and regs are there to ensure the employer is bona fide, stable and of a standard but it is also there to ensure an employer does not abuse workers from overseas. Accreditation is to help employers net in the labour force it feels it needs. Example: A hotel chain and general hotel workers i.e. chambermaids etc.

An accredited talent WTR policy is there for a twofold reason. It is there to once again help the employer attract the person it needs for a set vacancy. It is also there as a lure for the possible overseas applicant.
The word talent is the key here & why the salary level was set to $55K. That being seen as a rate commensurate with a quality skill & expertise. It is there to dovetail. A company may need a particular skill or expertise and not find a suitable applicant here on NZ soil. An overseas applicant might come along or be actively sourced but may not be of an age ; have the matching formal quals etc to enable a skilled migrant policy approach. In such a case an accredited employer can offer to 'sponsor' & provided the set criteria is met all will be well. I know of one currently - that of a game keeper. The employer is accredited as there is a need for staff and there is a turnover but when it came to overall management of this there was no-one to fit the bill so n experieced gamekeeper was actively recruited from overseas.

If the OP wishes to remain in NZ then he must ensure he meets the $26.50ph threshold and that it is set that will be for a good two years.

grant r

Yed I see what you mean, thanks for the reply.