A REPORT has been issued saying many of our caregivers for the elderly are migrants on temporary work visas, because there simply aren't enough suitable New Zealanders to do the job.
It does not surprise me in the slightest. I've already written an editorial about the energetic and motivated migrant tackling the jobs New Zealanders are less inclined to do. But it's not just the disinclination alone. It's the undesirability of doing care work, combined with the problem that, among the unemployed and Work and Income referrals, talent for caregiving on our home turf is thin on the ground.
I'm sure Work and Income and the immigration authorities would greatly prefer the ranks of unemployment - that's 134,000 people at the moment - to be snapped up before a willing migrant on a temporary one-year work visa. I have first-hand experience with dealing with aggressive immigration officials after I employed a French journalist for my papers in Wellington. I pointed out that a Work and Income referral was not likely to produce someone with a journalism post-graduate diploma, shorthand skills and a driver's licence.
As with all jobs, attitude as well as aptitude is a major deal. It is entirely possible to have a bad work record, issues with the law and a sullen expression and still do a halfway decent day's work in a menial job where you are not going to hurt anyone. But when it comes to elderly care, you can't simply be a drone, or a less-than-average employee. When you are handling people in a vulnerable state, you need to be empathetic and caring, and you need to be trained.
I have absolutely no objection to migrants filling work positions New Zealand can't seem to fill. It is obviously better for a country if it is able to employ within its own ranks but, in the end, all employers want outstanding people who function properly and that, too, is also good for a country. You can't deny that a beaming, courteous and respectful person would be wonderful in a rest home.