Korea graduates see work scheme benefit

Immigration New Zealand's Korea working holiday scheme could open the door to thousands of unemployed South Korean graduates seeking jobs overseas under a South Korean Government job plan.

Under the New Zealand scheme, 1800 places will be made available from today for young Koreans to stay and work in New Zealand for up to 12 months for the 2010-11 financial year.

But despite a requirement stating "You must be coming to New Zealand to holiday, with work or study being secondary intentions for your visit", some would-be applicants and immigration agents said education and employment would be foremost in their minds when they applied under the scheme.

Last month, in an effort to export some of its growing number of unemployed youth, Seoul's Ministry of Labour started a programme that will pay for overseas language and job training, accommodation and airfares for jobless graduates.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said he did not think the South Korean programme would have any effect on the working holiday scheme.

Benson Seo, a Songang University graduate applying for a working holiday work permit, said he could get about US$13,000 ($18,300) from his government if he found the right training course that could land him a job in New Zealand.

Education agent Jack Park, who plans to bring a dozen unemployed graduates from South Korea under the scheme this year, said getting a working holiday work permit will be an "excellent way to test the waters".

"Permit holders will have a year to look at what is the employment situation in New Zealand, and find the right education or training course that will help them get the job they want," he said.

Another agent, who also planned to bring in unemployed Koreans, said he would focus on getting them into training programmes and jobs in trades that required little use of English, such as panelbeating and tiling.

Under the working holiday scheme, permit holders cannot take up permanent employment or work for the same employer for more than three months.

They can also enrol only in training or study courses that run for no more than three months for the duration of their stay.

Migrant Action Trust spokeswoman Agnes Granada said "letting more Koreans out on the job hunt" would create a bigger headache for migrant support groups, which had to come to the aid of the migrant workers when they could not find employment.

"Asian migrant workers who come here, on whatever permit, simply fail to understand that the economy is so much smaller than where they came from, and there are few jobs for them," she said.

New Zealand's employment rate is around 7 per cent but Asian unemployment here was 9.2 per cent.

Ms Granada said South Koreans were also often found to be less employable because of language barriers.