Fletcher to hold job fair for rebuilding Christchurch

File photo / Geoff Sloan

Fletcher Building is gearing up for the the long-awaited rebuilding of Christchurch with a job fair this weekend to interview hundreds of potential new employees.

Kate Daley, group general manager human resources, said 200 people would be needed in the next year but about 70 vacancies now existed in the Canterbury region across various businesses.

Daley said the pace of construction work was increasing in and around Christchurch.

Jobs were being advertised throughout Fletcher's construction, cement and aggregates, roofing, insulation, tile, wallboard and infrastructure businesses, she said.

The company, which already employs almost 20,000 people internationally, is holding a careers fair at the Westpac Business and Community Hub in Christchurch on Saturday when it will have people from 11 businesses looking to hire staff.

A wide range of skills is being sought for the divisions which manufacture, distribute, design and install products used in buildings and services.

Fletcher EQR already employs 525 people and it has inducted more than 13,000 contractors to assist with the Canterbury rebuilding.

These are private businesses specialising in a wide range of areas, including electrical, plumbing, construction and other sectors.

After September 2010, Fletcher employed about 720 people but by April this year it had 1400 working in Christchurch, the spokesman said.

David Peterson, Fletcher EQR general manager, said people with many different skill categories were sought.

"We will continue to need qualified tradesmen but [we] also have a number of technical and administration roles which we need to fill," Peterson said.

Those attending the fair will be invited to register for future jobs with the business.

Fletcher Construction alone has a forward work order book of about $1 billion for work around New Zealand, but that includes the country's largest infrastructure job, the Transport Agency's $2 billion Waterview Connection.

Fletcher is part of the alliance for that work.

The company's latest investor update showed a $20 billion earthquake damage repair estimate, including $13 billion for houses, $4 billion for commercial property and $3 billion in infrastructure.