Travellers in a New Zealand airport after lockdown. Photo / File
Travellers in a New Zealand airport after lockdown. Photo / File
Hundreds of Kiwis are returning to Tauranga from overseas this year, bringing skills and money.
Stats NZ data based on intention forms filled out at the border shows 170 people - intending to stay for at least a year - moved to Tauranga in the five months from April toAugust.
An additional 500 people said they were moving to Tauranga after being away from New Zealand for fewer than 12 months, and another 474 moved to the district, with intentions to stay in New Zealand for fewer than 12 months.
Title Here
National figures suggest two-thirds to three-quarters of these arrivals were New Zealand citizens.
However, overall, New Zealand's net migration has plummeted since lockdown in March, with a net gain of just 1700 between April and August.
That was down from 21,500 in the same period in 2019, when tens-of-thousands of non-New Zealand citizens were arriving, pre-pandemic.
Brett Looker, director of Human Resource Group in Tauranga, told the Bay of Plenty Times the pandemic meant "we are getting some pretty clever, skilled people returning into New Zealand".
He said this was "to the benefit of the recruitment scene and the employment scene here in the Bay of Plenty".
"They are very keen to take opportunities to arise ... I've certainly seen it in the financial sector, accounting and finance."
In the last month, he had placed "well-qualified" candidates - who had just come of isolation - in roles.
He first started hearing from returnees in May.
"The motivation for a lot of people was obviously the concerns and worries about the whole pandemic and the effects they've seen in some of the countries they've come from."
Looker said New Zealand's 100 days of no new cases and Kiwis "basically living with minimal effect to our lifestyles compared to overseas", had been drawcards.
"It appears to be one of the safest places to be on the planet."
Human Resource Group director Brett Looker. Photo / File
He said people applying for jobs had come from a broad range of countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and the United States.
However, Looker said it wasn't guaranteed the returning Kiwis would stay for years.
In his opinion, "that will depend on what happens in the rest of the world".
Construction firm Beca has 21 offices around the world, including in Tauranga, and this month it put out a call to New Zealanders to return home to meet demand from major government infrastructure projects.
Darryl-Lee Wendelborn, the managing director of Beca New Zealand, said New Zealand needed engineers, architects, urban planners, consultants and other infrastructure experts.
"If we don't have those skilled Kiwis coming back, we have to find that talent from around the country."
"While there are some incredibly talented people here, it can be difficult to find enough to go around – it's a small pot when you look at the scale of upcoming projects," she said.
Eves Bay of Plenty general manager Karen Worley. Photo / File
Eves Bay of Plenty general manager Karen Worley said a stream of people returning home to Tauranga became apparent around July.
"We've seen plenty of first home buyers coming back into the market, people who have come back from overseas."
"Often parents are helping their children arriving here, into property," she said.
Nigel Tutt, the chief executive of the Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga economic development unit Priority One said it was important to note that overall migration was "much lower than normal".
He said this could cause "economic trouble" but that hadn't been the case locally so far.
Nigel Tutt, the chief executive of the Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga economic development unit Priority One. Photo / File
"I would expect that to have more of an effect next year than this year but it's a very turbulent environment, it's very tough to predict."
Kiwis returning to New Zealand are eligible for government supports including superannuation, KiwiSaver, ACC, student loans and allowances and Working for Families.
