hokeypokey

Hi - in reply to both previous posts. NZSWR are the only exclusive recruitment agency for SW's in NZ. You get a really personal & professional service from them and, having been there & done it themselves, they know what they are talking about. They also have a good rep with the main SW employers in NZ which are CYF (CP & YJ), district health boards (comm care & mental health) & department of corrections (criminal justice/probation service). There are also other smaller non government employers such as Open Home Foundation, Strenghtening Families and some Iwi social service providers (dependant on which area you are in).

I didnt view exclusivity as a problem to be honest because the "candidate profile" process NZSWR take you throughis really thourough and makes SW employers more confident in investing time & effort in including you in their selection process. They basically cut through all the worries employers have about your immigrations status, your qualifications & experience etc etc.

I started off being quite fussy as well in terms of the area I wanted to work in. I'd had enough of CP work and wanted opportunity for more direct/theraputic type work. Big problem I found is that, as an overseas applicant, these more popular jobs are filled really quickly by local applicants. Most employers wont consider an overseas applicant unless they are struggling to fill the post locally.

I also originally wanted to be based in Tauranga but even CP jobs there are impossible to get as an overseas applicant. I was sort of forced into taking the first post I was offered becuase of my visa situation. Immigration were going to decline my application after informing me that even though I was a fully qualified practicing SW with professional registration and had been assessed by the NZQA and NZSWRB as being appropriately qualified & experienced to practice as a SW in NZ, because I held a diploma in Sw and not a degree - i didnt actually have enough points to be ITA. They had already given me my ITA and I had already submitted it by this point so it was a tough position to be in - basically had to take first job i could in order to get enough points to get my PR.

In hindsight - working in CP here in NZ is actually a really good way of getting a broader understanding of working in a totally different system with different culture etc etc. I am now looking at it as a good way of getting a grounding in the NZ SW systems before then going for a more specialised job. I think having this experience in addition to my 6 years previous UK experience will make me more attractive candidate for more sought after popular sw jobs here in NZ.

My caseload here is entirely maori and many of the staff in the team I work in are also maori. Rotorua obviously has a higher percentage maori population than most other areas outside auckland and you would need to be prepared to work in a totally different culture with a completely different perspective on "the family" etc. I'm really enjoying learning about the culture and have picked up alot of the more commonly used maori & kiwi phrases. CP jobs are available everywhere but i would say there are more available in auckland - prob becuase of the size of the population there.

Obviously everyone is different but as far as I can tell NZ is the same as the UK in terms of the availability of CP SW jobs. This is connected to the higher turnover of staff in these posts but also due to the seriously decreasing numbers of SW graduates coming out of the uni's. CYFs pay a pretty decent wage ranging between $45-$60 ish thousand dependant on experience. I understand that DHB's and DOC pay relatively similar salaries with DHB's probably offering the highest range.

Community care/working with adults isnt my specialty so I dont know a huge amount about it here in NZ. What I do know is that all three areas of practice appear to be treated as 3 different functions coming under different "ministry's" instead of like the UK system where they are all part of the social work department. Teams are located in different offices and use different database systems. This is very different to the system i was used to in Scotland where we all shared the same office & computer system which obvioulsy made sharing information a hell of alot easier than it is here.

I pretty much got an interview for the first post I applied for and then got the job. The interview was pretty tough - it was 10:00pm at night, I had a telephone interview by three people from CYF's and they grilled me for over an hour. They asked "competency based questions" which were basically like being asked several complex essay questions one after the other!! Good thing is you know beforehand what competencies they will ask about and you can then prepare examples. Kerry Lee from NZSWR was also great in supporting me with interview prep and then consoling me afterwards as I thought I had done terribly! I was very surprised to learn that I had been successful as I felt that I had struggled with more than 1 of the questions put to me.

Kerry Lee is also still in touch with me now I'm actually here and is still giving me support and advice in settling in etc. Its actually really comforting to feel like you've got someone to keep an eye on you while you settle in. Also if I see another job I want to apply for soon, I can use NZSWR again which will avoid the hassle of getting new references etc etc.

Sorry - am babbling now - too much wine me thinks!! - think i answered all the points - let me know if theres anything else and if i can help i will do my best to answer if i can.

killercat

Thank you so much for your info, tis nice to here it is going well for you. couple of quick but possibly nosey questions.

did you have to get your qualification assessed by the NZQA because it was the diploma or does that have to be done regardless?

do you know if Kerry and her team attend any of the expos in the uk? or did you just find them through the web?

How long have you been over there, and have you found it ok to settle.

Did you only look at the north island? if so do you know if the demand was similar in the south. (got a thing for mountains)

how have the Maori families accepted you?

your comment about immigration not wanting to accept you has worried me, i am due to submit my papers at the end of october, do you think it makes a difference if i have the degree instead of the DIPSWA?

lastly were you the main applicant, or did you have a partner whos points were used also.

sorry about the barrage of questions but iv not found many SW on here,


Jacki

hokeypokey

No worries bout the questions - i know how difficult it is to get in touch with other SW's. As for the answers here goes:

I got a PAR from the NZQA initially because NZSWR requested this as part of the candidate profile thingy they present to employers - it means employers know you dont just have a mickey mouse qualification & that it is comparable to an NZ SW qualification. The same for the NZSWRB - NZSWR want to prove to employers that you are eligible to register as a SW here in NZ. Main points to note here are that these processes take time and involve having to send over a hell of alot of paperwork, proof of ID, qualifications, employment history etc etc. Oh and they cost money - couple of hundred quid I think. NZQA website is good as it lets you track the progress of your application.

The problem I had with immigration was that they awarded me enough points from my EOI to go ahead with my residence application. It wasnt till I had submitted my application (me as principal applicant) that they got in touch and said they'd made a mistake in the EOI process. Your qualification needs to be assessed by NZQA as a level 7 in order for you to get the points for qual in skills shortage area. Diplomas tend to be viewed as level 6 qualifications by NZQA. Immigration hadnt picked this up during the EOI, so I was given 3 options: get a full ass of my quals from NZQA, geta job offer (wich would easily give me enough points) or withdraw my application. Obviously wasnt going to give up without a fight, So I then had to apply to NZQA again for a full assessment of my SW qualification along with my other degree (which is in arts & social sciences). I knew that the likely outcome of this assessment would be level 6 coz my PAR (preliminary assessment result) from them had been a level 6. So i knew I had to get a job offer very quickly or my application could be declined. This delayed the whole process of getting here by about 4 months.

As far as I know, immigration are within their rights to ask any applicant for an assessment from NZQA as part of the application process. But also they have now changed the rules for SW's because of the many different types of SW qualifications out there any SW now needs to get a full assessment from the NZQA in order to qualify for the points. I would double check this with immigration but thats what it looks like to me. My diploma is from open university and was assessed as level 6. Obviously everyone different but with me as prinicpal aplicant & no job offer a level 6 qualification wasnt sufficient to get the points i needed. If you have a SW degree you shouldnt have anything to worry about. Even post grad diplomas i think are a level 7 also. Think its just basic diplomas like mine and the old SW quals which are level 6's.

In hindsight my romantic notion of arriving here and travelling about till the right job came along was possibly a bit silly. Its actually really good to arrive knowing you have the security of a job already sorted. My husband is still looking for a job and has applied for loads with no luck so far. We've been here about 6 weeks and i've been working for about three. As I said in previous post, not my ideal job, but at least we are here and its a good start!

As far as I know Kerry Lee doesnt attend expos abroad - I just found NZSWR on the net. She and the other two folk in the office are all ex social workers themselves, Kerry Lee also has worked in the UK, so have a good understanding of issues faced by us more so than a normal recruitment agency. They also know the SW system here and have good relationship with the main SW employers.

We've found it really easy to settle so far. My brother and his family live in Whakatane bout an hour away & we have friends in Hamilton. We are renting a fully furnished place right on the lake for the first 6 months till we decide what to do next. Having family here is excellent - we got picked up from the airport and were able tostay with them for a couple of weeks till we got cars, found somewhere to live etc. Also having someone with local knowledge is great.

So far I've found most people to be really nice, helpful and friendly. People in the office were even going to have a whip round to collect household bits & pieces to help us get started (until I politely told them we had rented a furnished place). There seems to be a kind of negative perception of Rotorua for some reason. I think its a great place - loads to see & do - only negative I can see or rather smell, is the odour of farts - but to be honest its not that noticable and is only in certain areas.

As far as working with maori families - i've only been in the job a few weeks. My pronounciation is shocking and I need to ask people to spell things for me quite often. I have found no issues with the maori families I have met so far in terms of acceptance. Apart from the ususal dislike for SW's that you find anywhere I havent noticed any problems. I am just aware of being respectful towards people and questioning things I dont understand. Stuff you would do anywhere really. I've actually found that the people are very patient with me and my accent is quite a novelty especially with younger kids who ask if I've seen the loch ness monster etc etc. I'm going to do a short course in maori culture & language because there are alot of concepts I dont understand yet particulalry to do with how the maori culture views the family. They have a much broader sense of family than in the UK and there is alot of emphasis on families resolving their own issues where possible as part of the legislation in NZ.

I think thats covered everything - give us a shout if theres anything else. Happy to help - good luck with your application.

Am Loolah

hokeypokey - can I just say and helpful and knowledgeable these posts are coming across. Might be an idea, if you have some spare time at some point, if you were to copy and paste and re-jig in to an article on social work in NZ in the Wiki? Sue in admin can always create a new sub heading for you if you want?! There's a working in NZ section? Ok, I'll stop pushing my luck now and send some well deserved karma!

killercat

Thanx Hockeypokey,
have just sent my cv to Kerry so will keep my fingers crossed.
hopefully my degree wont get questioned in the same was as your diploma did will be gutted this takes forever as it is. it sounds like you have settled well despite the smell lol we came out for a month last xmas and remember the pong, still a fasinating place thou.
again many thanx for the info, im sure as time goes on i will be bending your ear again lol
Jacki

BEVS

I agree. Two absolutely brilliant , helpful posts . Have karma on me.

wigmore.

Hey Guys,

Thankyou so much for all the info, have been in contact with Kerry and Nan and they are going to assist with me job search.

The information has been invaluable and I am so pleased that I found this site. Some of the other sites are no where near as informative as this one.

Caroline

bolton1

Really good info - I am a S/wkr in Tauranga & working for an NGO ( Non Government Org ) aka voluntary sector equivalent in UK -working in care & protection.

www.seek.nz has s/wk jobs advertised and www.zest4life has jobs for all district health boards in Tauranga & surrounding areas - aslo includes health jobs.

The work & legislation is similar to UK .

For those of you considering do some homework on legislation just google & you will get loads of info. Family Group Conferencing is also key here - so get researching.

You will need to note that the wages here are low in comparison to UK average.

There are a few NGO's Barnardo's are in NZ check out Barnardos NZ on ggogle they advertise jobs there and Family Works is another org.



Anyway hope this helps -

killercat

Thanx Bolton, hope your first month has been good and you have settle in ok? i have been looking in the voluntary sector and found a couple of interesting posts as an education SW, which i guess is simular to our education welfare service? Am about to submit my papers soon and getting a bit nervous as its all happened a lot quicker than i anticipated. I had my heart set on the south Island initially as i loved the fact you had sea, mountains and the city all close by, however my OH worked in the marine industry and only has contacts in the north so im now looking anywhere i guess. Have a teenager to consider also, who is becoming extreamly picky as time goes on lol
Anyways im rambling now thanks again for the info.
Jacki

katiemay

Hey, this thread has been so usefull!
I am a newly qualified social worker, meaning I have no post qualifing experiance. I am currently looking for my first role here in the UK, however I have my heart set on moving the NZ as soon as possible. The real barrier I have come up against in finding a job is my age, i'm 22 which is seen as pretty young in this proffession. Would these two factors (my age and lack of post qualified experiance) prevent me from getting a job out there?

Any help would be much appreciated.
Katie x

jogin jo

Hi Phonejunky,
Im new to the website and was looking at some of your previous threads. Im a social worker in Hull and my OH is a HGV CLASS 2 driver (how spooky is that) Id love to hear from you. Have you sold your house yet? pm me

dannigirl

Also, hopefully hokeypokey comes on and gives an update on how her job is going....think she started in September.

bolton1 - how are you finding your job in Tauranga?

killercat

Thanx for the links JoginJo, am about to start applying for jobs now i'v submited my ITA.
Jacki