Carmen Hall: Where are all the unemployed Kiwis at?

Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois says if the skill shortages get worse, some businesses may need to close. Photo / File

Where are all the Kiwis who need jobs in the Bay of Plenty?

I find it alarming that there are so many vacancies across the region which employers are struggling to fill.

I have had to do work myself that I didn't originally want to do and it was hard yakka.

I spent about 10 years in the shearing industry getting up at the crack of dawn and driving to farms in the dead of winter to sort wool from poos with my bare hands.

In the summer it was more of the same. I'd spend eight hours drenched in sweat as a rousie helping prepare fleeces for the export market.

I ended up loving that industry and worked my way up the ladder. But sadly that industry - along with others - is battling a skilled workers shortage.

As reported in this paper, the Bay of Plenty hospitality industry is desperate for workers and estimates show another 2800 staff will be needed within four years.

Sector leaders say not enough Kiwis are putting their hands up and view the jobs as a stop-gap, save-some-cash-and-run measure.

The shortages have a significant effect on businesses, Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois says and if the skill shortages get worse, some businesses may need to close.

And that sector is not alone. Research suggests the kiwifruit industry will need another 7000 seasonal employees by 2027.

Leaders from that industry say Kiwis don't want the jobs because they were seasonal, involved shift work and tasks such as picking were physically demanding.

Meanwhile, Aged Care is in dire straights and will need an extra 1000 caregivers every year for the next 10 years.

In September, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway was in Rotorua to announce changes to temporary work visas as a stop-gap.

I have little sympathy for people who prefer to sit on the dole because they think some jobs are beneath them and don't want to earn their own crust.

They need to roll up their sleeves and get a job. There are plenty of them on offer.