New Zealand railway vacancies
 

Help, looking to up root to New Zealand hubby is a freight train driver and I'm a rail manager. Looking for contacts in NZ to apply for sponsorship. Any ideas on how to do this welcome. Also anyone in NZ having done this any advice please?

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

Kiwirail advertise jobs on their website

Thanks checked earlier no train driving jobs at the moment

Would you recommend Nz to relocate too? Trying to find out wages n cost of living

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

Welcome to BE - I'll move your thread to the New Zealand forum :)

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

Kiwi Rail is an accredited company atm so at least you can get a work visa for 30 months then apply for residency.

Talent (Accredited Employers)

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

Thanks is the cost of wages/living in NZ better than uk?

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

depends on what you are used to, what you are prepared to compromise on and what life style you have come from.

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

we are quite comfortable couple holidays a year. Looking for better prospects for the children and bigger house with a bit of land.

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

As others have said in the past, a bigger house with a bit of land is usually available somewhere in the UK without moving to NZ.

Also, better prospects for the kids? Education is sometimes not as good as the UK, NZ is a small country so fewer opportunities for further education. A lot of kids leave NZ for broader horizons.

So have you thought about *exactly* what you want?

Most people live in Auckland which is expensive and unless you are living in London you may struggle for a bigger house and a bit of land. Bigger houses and lots of land are available, but generally not within easy commuting of most of the well paid jobs.

Small communities are nice, but you may struggle to find a job.

NZ doesn't really do railways. Very few passenger trains except around Auckland and Wellington and you can go for days without seeing trains outside of these two cities. A lot of the railways have closed (at least, according to the guy at the Kawakawa railway). Not like the UK which still has a fairly comprehensive railway system despite all the cuts. Just look at the Wikipedia entries for NZ Rail and UK Rail to get a feel for the difference.

Overall, you may find NZ more expensive with less consumer choice.
So you need to have a really good reason (like better climate, more access to your favourite non-work activities) to justify uprooting yourselves.

As I said, you need to have a clear view of *exactly* why you want to move to NZ. Be sure that the benefits you are dreaming of are really there. Then go fo it!:thumbsup:

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

Hi there and welcome.

We emigrated 12 years ago.

No-one can really answer your question to be honest. It is a 'how long is a piece of string' type of thing as each of us have very different experiences.

It depends what you come from and where you end up.

All you can do really is your own sums. Write out a full income and expenditure list. Do not leave anything out . Not the smallest thing.

Then start a second list with exactly the same items and try to plug those in for NZ. Leave some space to add extra items as some things that are free in the UK are not free in NZ.

With income, make that net income of tax. Same with possible earnings for NZ.

Re: New Zealand railway vacancies
 

My ex worked for Kiwirail as a passenger and freight driver trainer - there is a lot of competition for the rarely available roles. Even when accepted, the drivers have to go on an extensive training programme and many do not pass or complete the course. The rules and regs, health and safety, signalling etc... are very different in NZ and even though you may be experienced in the UK, it probably won't count for anything and you will have to start at the bottom of the ladder and fight for a role along with every other train driver wannabe/foamer (anorak).

Good luck!