NZ Corrections update
Nov 7th 2005, 7:47 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 11
NZ Corrections update
Well as promised I am writing to update all those wood be UK Prison Officers with the inside info on the NZ Department of Corrections...
We arrived here in NZ on the 3rd of September and its been a whirl-wind ever since,immediately we arrived i was instructed to phone the prisons HR which i did dutifully.. Hr apparently have been instructed to meet and greet the new UK officers and aid in every way possible. This for me was in the form of a Buddy , somebody to help with the finding of accommodation and buying a car etc etc basically my personal assistant for as long as i needed. If you need it the department will provide and pay for a motel.. I didnt need it but can imagine it being a massive help. So if you lot are coming over this will be a weight off your minds I'm sure.
Had a few days in the prison titled "induction" and if that was induction well in a monkeys uncle.. culture shock or wot? the best way i can describe it is " small boys playing big boys games" basically its the same as it used to be in 1990 or so. Very laid back very off the cuff and very poor! Mickey mouse.
Off to collage i go full of dred..total and utter waist of time and effort. We honestly sat on our backsides of 5 weeks solid until the C&r week (week 6) and the so called exams were a laugh. Thy tell you the answers and questions before you have the exam and if you forget one or two they go over them again ask you to correct it and everyone gets 100% simple. Apparently no-one has ever failed an exam.
weeks separated from my wife and kids who have also just arrived in the country and served up with a load of pointless corporate rubbish that we've heard before. All this and $540 per week and rent of £320.
II'mseriously aaskingmyself is the lifestyle worth being poor for and bbelieveme that wage is poor.
I can recall Scott Gwynne at the LLeedsseminar answering the question " whats the aaverage wagein NZ " with " I bbelieveits around $16000 pa... well that is a total lie.
On the good side it looks like you only have to have an arse that points in the right direction to get promoted and iI'msure if i last the other 6 weeks that my visa demands ill get promoted in that time.
On the positive side my wife found work in around 3 days of arriving and the kids are llovingschool, its sport sport sport for them and they love it. WWeathersbeen real good and iIvebeen to a million BBQs and met loads of really nice folk ever eeagerto help in ANY way and i mmeanthat one bloke lent me hi sofa fridge washing machine and car till i got mine sorted.
So please think before you lleapI know its a massive attraction and i know its all guns bblazingand things like that but bring money that your wwillingto sspendon living for a bit till it all evens its self out and lLovea little coz the wages and conditions ssopoor to say the lleastand be ppreparedto be sshockedthat in a modern forward thinking prison service that nothing is spent on training and no cconceptof security exists as we know it.
I hope this is uusefulto someone
We arrived here in NZ on the 3rd of September and its been a whirl-wind ever since,immediately we arrived i was instructed to phone the prisons HR which i did dutifully.. Hr apparently have been instructed to meet and greet the new UK officers and aid in every way possible. This for me was in the form of a Buddy , somebody to help with the finding of accommodation and buying a car etc etc basically my personal assistant for as long as i needed. If you need it the department will provide and pay for a motel.. I didnt need it but can imagine it being a massive help. So if you lot are coming over this will be a weight off your minds I'm sure.
Had a few days in the prison titled "induction" and if that was induction well in a monkeys uncle.. culture shock or wot? the best way i can describe it is " small boys playing big boys games" basically its the same as it used to be in 1990 or so. Very laid back very off the cuff and very poor! Mickey mouse.
Off to collage i go full of dred..total and utter waist of time and effort. We honestly sat on our backsides of 5 weeks solid until the C&r week (week 6) and the so called exams were a laugh. Thy tell you the answers and questions before you have the exam and if you forget one or two they go over them again ask you to correct it and everyone gets 100% simple. Apparently no-one has ever failed an exam.
weeks separated from my wife and kids who have also just arrived in the country and served up with a load of pointless corporate rubbish that we've heard before. All this and $540 per week and rent of £320.
II'mseriously aaskingmyself is the lifestyle worth being poor for and bbelieveme that wage is poor.
I can recall Scott Gwynne at the LLeedsseminar answering the question " whats the aaverage wagein NZ " with " I bbelieveits around $16000 pa... well that is a total lie.
On the good side it looks like you only have to have an arse that points in the right direction to get promoted and iI'msure if i last the other 6 weeks that my visa demands ill get promoted in that time.
On the positive side my wife found work in around 3 days of arriving and the kids are llovingschool, its sport sport sport for them and they love it. WWeathersbeen real good and iIvebeen to a million BBQs and met loads of really nice folk ever eeagerto help in ANY way and i mmeanthat one bloke lent me hi sofa fridge washing machine and car till i got mine sorted.
So please think before you lleapI know its a massive attraction and i know its all guns bblazingand things like that but bring money that your wwillingto sspendon living for a bit till it all evens its self out and lLovea little coz the wages and conditions ssopoor to say the lleastand be ppreparedto be sshockedthat in a modern forward thinking prison service that nothing is spent on training and no cconceptof security exists as we know it.
I hope this is uusefulto someone
Nov 7th 2005, 8:07 am
#2
Banned
Joined: May 2005
Location: Manchester
Posts: 307
Re: NZ Corrections update
Originally Posted by nudenut
Well as promised I am writing to update all those wood be UK Prison Officers with the inside info on the NZ Department of Corrections...
We arrived here in NZ on the 3rd of September and its been a whirl-wind ever since,immediately we arrived i was instructed to phone the prisons HR which i did dutifully.. Hr apparently have been instructed to meet and greet the new UK officers and aid in every way possible. This for me was in the form of a Buddy , somebody to help with the finding of accommodation and buying a car etc etc basically my personal assistant for as long as i needed. If you need it the department will provide and pay for a motel.. I didnt need it but can imagine it being a massive help. So if you lot are coming over this will be a weight off your minds I'm sure.
Had a few days in the prison titled "induction" and if that was induction well in a monkeys uncle.. culture shock or wot? the best way i can describe it is " small boys playing big boys games" basically its the same as it used to be in 1990 or so. Very laid back very off the cuff and very poor! Mickey mouse.
Off to collage i go full of dred..total and utter waist of time and effort. We honestly sat on our backsides of 5 weeks solid until the C&r week (week 6) and the so called exams were a laugh. Thy tell you the answers and questions before you have the exam and if you forget one or two they go over them again ask you to correct it and everyone gets 100% simple. Apparently no-one has ever failed an exam.
weeks separated from my wife and kids who have also just arrived in the country and served up with a load of pointless corporate rubbish that we've heard before. All this and $540 per week and rent of £320.
II'mseriously aaskingmyself is the lifestyle worth being poor for and bbelieveme that wage is poor.
I can recall Scott Gwynne at the LLeedsseminar answering the question " whats the aaverage wagein NZ " with " I bbelieveits around $16000 pa... well that is a total lie.
On the good side it looks like you only have to have an arse that points in the right direction to get promoted and iI'msure if i last the other 6 weeks that my visa demands ill get promoted in that time.
On the positive side my wife found work in around 3 days of arriving and the kids are llovingschool, its sport sport sport for them and they love it. WWeathersbeen real good and iIvebeen to a million BBQs and met loads of really nice folk ever eeagerto help in ANY way and i mmeanthat one bloke lent me hi sofa fridge washing machine and car till i got mine sorted.
So please think before you lleapI know its a massive attraction and i know its all guns bblazingand things like that but bring money that your wwillingto sspendon living for a bit till it all evens its self out and lLovea little coz the wages and conditions ssopoor to say the lleastand be ppreparedto be sshockedthat in a modern forward thinking prison service that nothing is spent on training and no cconceptof security exists as we know it.
I hope this is uusefulto someone
We arrived here in NZ on the 3rd of September and its been a whirl-wind ever since,immediately we arrived i was instructed to phone the prisons HR which i did dutifully.. Hr apparently have been instructed to meet and greet the new UK officers and aid in every way possible. This for me was in the form of a Buddy , somebody to help with the finding of accommodation and buying a car etc etc basically my personal assistant for as long as i needed. If you need it the department will provide and pay for a motel.. I didnt need it but can imagine it being a massive help. So if you lot are coming over this will be a weight off your minds I'm sure.
Had a few days in the prison titled "induction" and if that was induction well in a monkeys uncle.. culture shock or wot? the best way i can describe it is " small boys playing big boys games" basically its the same as it used to be in 1990 or so. Very laid back very off the cuff and very poor! Mickey mouse.
Off to collage i go full of dred..total and utter waist of time and effort. We honestly sat on our backsides of 5 weeks solid until the C&r week (week 6) and the so called exams were a laugh. Thy tell you the answers and questions before you have the exam and if you forget one or two they go over them again ask you to correct it and everyone gets 100% simple. Apparently no-one has ever failed an exam.
weeks separated from my wife and kids who have also just arrived in the country and served up with a load of pointless corporate rubbish that we've heard before. All this and $540 per week and rent of £320.
II'mseriously aaskingmyself is the lifestyle worth being poor for and bbelieveme that wage is poor.
I can recall Scott Gwynne at the LLeedsseminar answering the question " whats the aaverage wagein NZ " with " I bbelieveits around $16000 pa... well that is a total lie.
On the good side it looks like you only have to have an arse that points in the right direction to get promoted and iI'msure if i last the other 6 weeks that my visa demands ill get promoted in that time.
On the positive side my wife found work in around 3 days of arriving and the kids are llovingschool, its sport sport sport for them and they love it. WWeathersbeen real good and iIvebeen to a million BBQs and met loads of really nice folk ever eeagerto help in ANY way and i mmeanthat one bloke lent me hi sofa fridge washing machine and car till i got mine sorted.
So please think before you lleapI know its a massive attraction and i know its all guns bblazingand things like that but bring money that your wwillingto sspendon living for a bit till it all evens its self out and lLovea little coz the wages and conditions ssopoor to say the lleastand be ppreparedto be sshockedthat in a modern forward thinking prison service that nothing is spent on training and no cconceptof security exists as we know it.
I hope this is uusefulto someone
What are you going to do? will you stick it out for a couple of years or come home now?
Sympathies.
Debsx
Nov 7th 2005, 2:05 pm
#3
Susie..
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,531
Re: NZ Corrections update
Hi. Great info on your training. Was wondering if anyone had started yet.
I am off in January and start my training at the end of that month. We are heading for ChCh so i will be on my lonesome up in Wellington and the wife and kids in rental accommodation in Chc. I believe we get a trip back after 3 weeks at their expense. Keep us all posted, and good luck mate.
I am off in January and start my training at the end of that month. We are heading for ChCh so i will be on my lonesome up in Wellington and the wife and kids in rental accommodation in Chc. I believe we get a trip back after 3 weeks at their expense. Keep us all posted, and good luck mate.
Nov 7th 2005, 2:32 pm
#4
Victorian Evangelist
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: NZ Corrections update
Originally Posted by Debs70
Yes, the wage is a nightmare isn't it? how anyone can say $16K is the average NZ wage!!! he should be shot for misleading folk like that!!! grrr! yes, the schools are great over there aren't they? one good thing about NZ is that the kids are happy, adults are depressed due to poverty but kids are happy.
What are you going to do? will you stick it out for a couple of years or come home now?
Sympathies.
Debsx
What are you going to do? will you stick it out for a couple of years or come home now?
Sympathies.
Debsx
Actually I think he is right. The average NZ wage is $16,000. This includes lots of people working part-time or casual jobs. They are then topped up by benefits.
So that may help to explain how he came by this answer.
Cheers
Buzzy.
Last edited by Buzzy--Bee; Nov 7th 2005 at 2:33 pm. Reason: typo
Nov 7th 2005, 7:06 pm
#5
Nice Tats
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: PARADISE DARN SARRF
Posts: 819
Re: NZ Corrections update
Originally Posted by nudenut
Well as promised I am writing to update all those wood be UK Prison Officers
Nov 7th 2005, 10:33 pm
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 145
Re: NZ Corrections update
Originally Posted by nudenut
Well as promised I am writing to update all those wood be UK Prison Officers with the inside info on the NZ Department of Corrections...
We arrived here in NZ on the 3rd of September and its been a whirl-wind ever since,immediately we arrived i was instructed to phone the prisons HR which i did dutifully.. Hr apparently have been instructed to meet and greet the new UK officers and aid in every way possible. This for me was in the form of a Buddy , somebody to help with the finding of accommodation and buying a car etc etc basically my personal assistant for as long as i needed. If you need it the department will provide and pay for a motel.. I didnt need it but can imagine it being a massive help. So if you lot are coming over this will be a weight off your minds I'm sure.
Had a few days in the prison titled "induction" and if that was induction well in a monkeys uncle.. culture shock or wot? the best way i can describe it is " small boys playing big boys games" basically its the same as it used to be in 1990 or so. Very laid back very off the cuff and very poor! Mickey mouse.
Off to collage i go full of dred..total and utter waist of time and effort. We honestly sat on our backsides of 5 weeks solid until the C&r week (week 6) and the so called exams were a laugh. Thy tell you the answers and questions before you have the exam and if you forget one or two they go over them again ask you to correct it and everyone gets 100% simple. Apparently no-one has ever failed an exam.
weeks separated from my wife and kids who have also just arrived in the country and served up with a load of pointless corporate rubbish that we've heard before. All this and $540 per week and rent of £320.
II'mseriously aaskingmyself is the lifestyle worth being poor for and bbelieveme that wage is poor.
I can recall Scott Gwynne at the LLeedsseminar answering the question " whats the aaverage wagein NZ " with " I bbelieveits around $16000 pa... well that is a total lie.
On the good side it looks like you only have to have an arse that points in the right direction to get promoted and iI'msure if i last the other 6 weeks that my visa demands ill get promoted in that time.
On the positive side my wife found work in around 3 days of arriving and the kids are llovingschool, its sport sport sport for them and they love it. WWeathersbeen real good and iIvebeen to a million BBQs and met loads of really nice folk ever eeagerto help in ANY way and i mmeanthat one bloke lent me hi sofa fridge washing machine and car till i got mine sorted.
So please think before you lleapI know its a massive attraction and i know its all guns bblazingand things like that but bring money that your wwillingto sspendon living for a bit till it all evens its self out and lLovea little coz the wages and conditions ssopoor to say the lleastand be ppreparedto be sshockedthat in a modern forward thinking prison service that nothing is spent on training and no cconceptof security exists as we know it.
I hope this is uusefulto someone
We arrived here in NZ on the 3rd of September and its been a whirl-wind ever since,immediately we arrived i was instructed to phone the prisons HR which i did dutifully.. Hr apparently have been instructed to meet and greet the new UK officers and aid in every way possible. This for me was in the form of a Buddy , somebody to help with the finding of accommodation and buying a car etc etc basically my personal assistant for as long as i needed. If you need it the department will provide and pay for a motel.. I didnt need it but can imagine it being a massive help. So if you lot are coming over this will be a weight off your minds I'm sure.
Had a few days in the prison titled "induction" and if that was induction well in a monkeys uncle.. culture shock or wot? the best way i can describe it is " small boys playing big boys games" basically its the same as it used to be in 1990 or so. Very laid back very off the cuff and very poor! Mickey mouse.
Off to collage i go full of dred..total and utter waist of time and effort. We honestly sat on our backsides of 5 weeks solid until the C&r week (week 6) and the so called exams were a laugh. Thy tell you the answers and questions before you have the exam and if you forget one or two they go over them again ask you to correct it and everyone gets 100% simple. Apparently no-one has ever failed an exam.
weeks separated from my wife and kids who have also just arrived in the country and served up with a load of pointless corporate rubbish that we've heard before. All this and $540 per week and rent of £320.
II'mseriously aaskingmyself is the lifestyle worth being poor for and bbelieveme that wage is poor.
I can recall Scott Gwynne at the LLeedsseminar answering the question " whats the aaverage wagein NZ " with " I bbelieveits around $16000 pa... well that is a total lie.
On the good side it looks like you only have to have an arse that points in the right direction to get promoted and iI'msure if i last the other 6 weeks that my visa demands ill get promoted in that time.
On the positive side my wife found work in around 3 days of arriving and the kids are llovingschool, its sport sport sport for them and they love it. WWeathersbeen real good and iIvebeen to a million BBQs and met loads of really nice folk ever eeagerto help in ANY way and i mmeanthat one bloke lent me hi sofa fridge washing machine and car till i got mine sorted.
So please think before you lleapI know its a massive attraction and i know its all guns bblazingand things like that but bring money that your wwillingto sspendon living for a bit till it all evens its self out and lLovea little coz the wages and conditions ssopoor to say the lleastand be ppreparedto be sshockedthat in a modern forward thinking prison service that nothing is spent on training and no cconceptof security exists as we know it.
I hope this is uusefulto someone
Nice one keep it coming
What was the training like, what kind of subjects did you do?
what are the shifts?
Do you get a week off after nights?
Are you paid weekly?
What are the other staff like?
Keep your chin up, it can only get better!!!!!!!!!
K9
Nov 7th 2005, 11:09 pm
#7
Glasgow Rangers
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 1,548
Re: NZ Corrections update
MAlky me old mate fae the SPS
Hows it gon fannybawz !!!!!!
The guys In E hall don't talk about you one bit and they dont miss your dulcit tones ya big nugget !!!!
Thought you had disappeared off the face of the earth, well you have, you moved to bloomin New Zealand.
Big man keep yer pecker up and keep it going in the right direction.
Big Peter God was in the paper a few weeks ago, apparently he was being slagged by one of the footie pundits in the Daily Record AKA Daily Rebel that his nose was just as big, if not bigger as the guy who holds the guiness world record for having the biggest conker, he had the pish taken out of him the for days and he did spit the dummy out.
They had pictures of him and the world record holder in the sports section, I think his conker was bigger !!!!
Anyway glad to see that you finally arrived all OK, Anne was saying that you had got in touch with her and all was OK !!!
I hope you do stick in there as it will work itself out, you know that !!!!!
Anyway need to dash, backshift in the nuthoose, ye I know bloomin brilliant !!!
Anyway fannybawz you keep in touch, drop us a PM
Take care
Eddie
PS Tommy at the college was right.
Hows it gon fannybawz !!!!!!
The guys In E hall don't talk about you one bit and they dont miss your dulcit tones ya big nugget !!!!
Thought you had disappeared off the face of the earth, well you have, you moved to bloomin New Zealand.
Big man keep yer pecker up and keep it going in the right direction.
Big Peter God was in the paper a few weeks ago, apparently he was being slagged by one of the footie pundits in the Daily Record AKA Daily Rebel that his nose was just as big, if not bigger as the guy who holds the guiness world record for having the biggest conker, he had the pish taken out of him the for days and he did spit the dummy out.
They had pictures of him and the world record holder in the sports section, I think his conker was bigger !!!!
Anyway glad to see that you finally arrived all OK, Anne was saying that you had got in touch with her and all was OK !!!
I hope you do stick in there as it will work itself out, you know that !!!!!
Anyway need to dash, backshift in the nuthoose, ye I know bloomin brilliant !!!
Anyway fannybawz you keep in touch, drop us a PM
Take care
Eddie
PS Tommy at the college was right.
YOU CANNY SPELL TO SAVE YOURSELF !!!!
Last edited by Voyager970; Nov 7th 2005 at 11:16 pm.
Nov 8th 2005, 7:33 am
#8
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: cambrideshire
Posts: 8
Re: NZ Corrections update
Thanks for the info and please keep it coming. I think that I will be doing my 3 months that is required and then move on, you can earn as much working in McDonald's and not have to work 2 weekends in 3. I can't believe they have gone to all this trouble to recruit us and not realised that people can't survive on this wage. I asked if our experience would move us up the pay scale, NVQ maybe. I am sure if you have been in the job a while you will not have the NVQ as it wasn't in place. Apparently SO's exam and everything else count for nothing.
I am going over for the lifestyle that NZ can give me and my family but I think they will be in for a shock if they think they can use all of our experience with nothing in return. I won't last long if I have to work loads of overtime just to survive, lifestyle won't mean much if you have no time or money to enjoy it!!!!!!!!
Seems to make more and more sense why they can't recruit at home!!!!
I am going over for the lifestyle that NZ can give me and my family but I think they will be in for a shock if they think they can use all of our experience with nothing in return. I won't last long if I have to work loads of overtime just to survive, lifestyle won't mean much if you have no time or money to enjoy it!!!!!!!!
Seems to make more and more sense why they can't recruit at home!!!!
Nov 8th 2005, 7:38 pm
#9
Galaxy 1: Cadbury's 0
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,606
Re: NZ Corrections update
Originally Posted by Buzzy--Bee
Actually I think he is right. The average NZ wage is $16,000. This includes lots of people working part-time or casual jobs. They are then topped up by benefits.
So that may help to explain how he came by this answer.
Cheers
Buzzy.
So that may help to explain how he came by this answer.
Cheers
Buzzy.
To put it in perspective, the average UK wage is £23k, so the NZ 36k would be the rough equiv. of something like £18k at a guess (comparing it vs average salaries) without factoring in the cost of living differences. In reality I would think of the NZ $36k being more like £15k in the UK so that doesn't take a genius to figure out that it is completely unrealistic to live on these earnings. How many families are living on £15k/year in the UK. And I don't mean those with benefits adding up to that amount!
Nov 9th 2005, 6:14 am
#10
Member of Mumo-land
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: DownUnder
Posts: 771
Re: NZ Corrections update
Originally Posted by uk+kiwi
I think the average NZ wage is actually $46k, not 16k. Perhaps an error of first digit print??? So that makes the 36k salary below avergae wage which is why everyone says you can't survive on it, certainly not with a family.
To put it in perspective, the average UK wage is £23k, so the NZ 36k would be the rough equiv. of something like £18k at a guess (comparing it vs average salaries) without factoring in the cost of living differences. In reality I would think of the NZ $36k being more like £15k in the UK so that doesn't take a genius to figure out that it is completely unrealistic to live on these earnings. How many families are living on £15k/year in the UK. And I don't mean those with benefits adding up to that amount!
To put it in perspective, the average UK wage is £23k, so the NZ 36k would be the rough equiv. of something like £18k at a guess (comparing it vs average salaries) without factoring in the cost of living differences. In reality I would think of the NZ $36k being more like £15k in the UK so that doesn't take a genius to figure out that it is completely unrealistic to live on these earnings. How many families are living on £15k/year in the UK. And I don't mean those with benefits adding up to that amount!
It's mostly made up by benefits.
Nov 9th 2005, 9:37 am
#11
Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 80
Re: NZ Corrections update
What have people done with their prison pension ??
I have contacted Bootle and the only viable thing I can see doing is freezing it here. I have been told I cannot transfer it to a private pension in NZ or if I can I will loose a lot in transfer values? Is this true? I have been informed the NZ Prison service offer a state sector retirement savings scheme. ( it is voluntary contributions) Details can be found on -
www.superscheme.govt.nz
Also, is anyone paying voluntary NI contributions to the UK ? This is in case they do return or for bereavement benefits / state pension ( if there will be one ??? ) I am aware there is a social security agreement between UK and NZ . I know you will not get annual increases in the state pension once you have ceased to be an ordinary resident in the UK but the agreement may help you to qualify for the NZ Superannuation when you reach pensionable age in NZ by allowing you to treat your residence in the UK as residence in NZ. Anyone know any more ?
Taff
I have contacted Bootle and the only viable thing I can see doing is freezing it here. I have been told I cannot transfer it to a private pension in NZ or if I can I will loose a lot in transfer values? Is this true? I have been informed the NZ Prison service offer a state sector retirement savings scheme. ( it is voluntary contributions) Details can be found on -
www.superscheme.govt.nz
Also, is anyone paying voluntary NI contributions to the UK ? This is in case they do return or for bereavement benefits / state pension ( if there will be one ??? ) I am aware there is a social security agreement between UK and NZ . I know you will not get annual increases in the state pension once you have ceased to be an ordinary resident in the UK but the agreement may help you to qualify for the NZ Superannuation when you reach pensionable age in NZ by allowing you to treat your residence in the UK as residence in NZ. Anyone know any more ?
Taff
