hippyhattie

As there seem to be quite a few UK prison officers posting now I thought i'd see if there were any more lurking and try to get an idea of how many are actually going and also where are you going?

If job offer comes through following Paul's interview last week we are off to Dunedin.

Laura

MV5555

hi laura i know of at least 4 who are posting on this forum.........after speaking to them it would seem a good number who have been offered posts are not taking them up, the only thing that may hold me up giving it a go is if i cant sell my house

hippyhattie

Hi

I have to say that financially its going to cost us quite a lot to get there what with medicals,airfares,shipping costs,accomodation and car hire when you first arrive.

We won't have that much to take with us as by the time mortgage is repaid together with redemption penalties and estate agents fees there's not going to be a huge amount left!! ...all this is asuming that Paul gets offered the job!!!

Maybe once they realise how many are actually turning the job offer down they will see that they need to increase the wages of correction officers to be able to recruit the number they need.

Laura

dekajack1

Hi,

be gentle with me this is my first time posting on the forum, although I continually check it and have found it useful with the same questions running around my head as everyone elses.

I presently work for the Scottish Prison Service and am looking to relocate to New Zealand, Wellington area in January. Would be grateful for any information regarding renting, good schools and any new build propeties.

hippyhattie

Hi

I have sent you a pm

laura

ranbysue

My husband is a Prison Officer in the Midlands region of the Uk and he too has been offered a job in NZ. Last Wednesday our EOI was successfully selected and we are now awaiting the further checks to be carried out.

He has been offered Waikeria Prison near Te Awamutu which I believe is near Hamilton in the district of Waikato. Although all of this is gaining a faster pace, I still haven't quite made up my mind although my husband really wants to go but I will await the EOI checks first.

We would have preferred Northland prison in the Bay of Islands as we wanted to be nearer the sea, however Waikeria at the time of interview was the only one left with vacancies (so they said) on the North Island.

Kindest regards and I too would like to hear from others going to this prison or nz.

Suze

MV5555

hi sue im starting at waikeria nr hamiulton in jan /feb .my visa has just come through

ranbysue

Hi MV555

Have you or are you going to rent and have you looked into the cost of this at all as we haven't really as yet. Will you live in hamilton to start off with?
Do you have a family and if so how old. We have two children aged 9 and 7.

We have just had our EOI accepted and are awaiting the rest.

Good to speak to you. Keep in touch

Suze

livewire

Gosh! I didn't realise that they were recruiting prison officers from the UK.

I thought they were targeting their staff from the Pacific Islands. The two hardest jobs to fill are supposed to be prision officers and bus drivers - both were being pushed towards Pacific Islanders until recently.

I've not read any of the other threads from POs but please be careful about salaries and working/living conditions.

livewire

Take a look at this article in the NZ Herald

It's about bullying Samoan officers. It also states that the salary is $36K after training. And this one showing that they are recruiting from Samoa

Then there's this one about over crowding and health and safety

MV5555

and heres another that might interest
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=10113634

St George Six

Three years ago they recruited 80 British Police officers, many did not settle and returned, be warned.

Kev

ukkiwi

$36k??! - hope the people going from the UK understand this salary will not go anywhere near being enough to live on.

K9s

Out of 75
3 returned home
Rest stayed and are loving it ( unlike some on this site )

They are now recruiting overseas police officers again as we speak, so it was obviously a success

ranbysue

Last week we had our EOI selected and this morning received a large package from the NZ immigration service inviting us to apply for residency. After four months of me agonising over the whole issue of leaving the UK, I was almost convinced that it was the right thing to do for me and my family. However, after reading this thread I am now unsure about the move all over again, as the NZ prison service doesn't appear to be a very attractive employer - according to the NZ Herald and also some of the comments made on this forum.

If anyone working in the service could fill me in a bit more about the job then I would be very grateful as time is running out for us.