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Explainer | New Zealand Wants Skilled Migrants – So Why Are We Wasting Their Talent?

  • 2 days ago
  • 5 min read

Written by Aaminah Ali


In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), the points-based immigration system encourages people with high-demand skills to consider migrating (Apatov & Sundaram, 2020). Despite skilled migration, there are still concerns about labour shortages and brain drain. A more useful focus for NZ would be on brain waste, which occurs when migrants cannot obtain jobs in line with their knowledge and capabilities (Apatov & Sundaram, 2020; Thomas-Maude, 2023). Here, this occurs through barriers to accreditation, which limit entry into skilled jobs, and labour-market barriers that restrict migrants’ access to skilled roles. 


Entry Barriers

Firstly, brain waste occurs because of difficulties recognising overseas credentials and meeting licensing requirements (including accreditation and recertification). Most migrants to NZ are highly skilled and educated. According to Apatov and Sundaram’s (2020) study of immigrants from and outside countries within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), 77% of migrants held a Bachelor’s degree or higher. In regulated professions, overseas qualifications often still require further assessment and licensing to enter the workforce. This is a significant barrier for migrants, compounded by balancing expenses, family responsibilities, language barriers, and a lack of a network (Reid, 2012). 


In 2020, Immigration NZ listed twenty-seven professional bodies that provide accreditation for approximately fifty occupations. All but two of these occupations required registration to enter the workforce (Apatov & Sundaram, 2020). Almost all bodies also required NZ qualifications, with a limited possibility of converting overseas qualifications. Requalification is often unrealistic for migrants prioritising financial stability. 


The Medical Council of New Zealand demonstrates how regulatory standards can create unequal pathways for some migrants.  The Medical Council correctly emphasises the importance of medical regulation for public safety (Thomas-Maude, 2023). However, the system is inefficient, especially considering the shortage of workers in the medical field. For non-specialist international medical graduates (IMGs), there are four pathways to registration. The first two favour graduates from Australia, the UK, and Ireland. A third pathway focuses on graduates from comparable health systems (Thomas-Maude, 2023). Professionals from the Global South usually use the fourth more expensive and time-consuming NZ examination pathway, which requires two years of supervision. Local graduates are prioritised for supervision, creating a bottleneck (Thomas-Maude, 2023). While medical regulation is vital, this system fails to ensure supervision, thereby funnelling skilled migrants into low-skilled work. 


Labour Market Barriers

Secondly, brain waste occurs due to labour-market barriers. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2018), despite educational qualifications outside the host country, foreign-born adults are twice as likely than native-born adults to be employed in low-skill jobs. The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE, 2022) also finds that skills mismatch was most common in low-skill industries (relative to qualifications) such as food services, retail, forestry, and agriculture. 


The NZ work experience paradox partially drives this mismatch. Migrants often need NZ work experience to enter skilled environments, but they cannot gain this experience without being hired. Many skilled migrants believe they were accepted for their qualifications and skills and therefore should be able to find work in NZ (Iqbal, 2017). However, 15% of the MBIE (2022) survey participants reported that NZ employers did not recognise their prior work experience, forcing them out of their profession. 


Implications

Brain waste has significant implications for individuals and society. Not being able to use qualifications and skills often leads to dissatisfaction and a lower quality of life. Migrants often take low-skilled jobs or volunteer to gain experience, hoping to climb the professional ladder. However, Sobrun-Maharaj et al. (2011) give an example of a qualified lecturer who, despite working low-skilled jobs and progressing over time, did not become a lecturer in NZ. Many families often feel cheated by the system when their qualifications do not get them into similar professions (Sobrun-Maharaj et al., 2011). Low-skill work can create financial stress and force migrants into multiple jobs to cope with the costs of living (Iqbal, 2017). Mental health may deteriorate due to increased stress (Reid, 2012), permanently affecting career trajectories and well-being. 


Structurally, brain waste significantly impacts the economy. Migrant dissatisfaction can lead to poor physical and mental health. This can put pressure on hospitals and welfare systems. This is costly for taxpayers and also removes people from the workforce, decreasing productivity (OECD, 2018). Failing to use high-skilled workers in industries with labour shortages also impacts society. For example, IMGs make up around 43% of the physician workforce in NZ, yet migrants in this profession still find it difficult to get licensed and employed (Fenton & Chillag, 2023). This means the public is affected by the lack of medical support. 


Enabling migrants to use their skills in the workforce would be incredibly beneficial. Nathan (2014) argues that workplace diversity can create positive externalities because these teams are better problem-solvers. Diverse teams are also less prone to groupthink, where poor decisions are made because of a lack of debate. When these migrants are underutilised, the workforce loses their perspectives. 


Pathways Forward

For NZ to value its migrants, some shifts are necessary. Migrants themselves recommend short-cycle qualification programmes that demonstrate their skills to employers (OECD, 2018). Any policy must recognise that migrants are not a homogeneous group, so assistance should be tailored to the individual (OECD, 2018). NZ could take inspiration from Canada. Canada uses bridging programmes that help professionals receive accreditation and the education they need to work in regulated industries (CanadaVisa, n.d.). They also provide Foreign Credential Recognition loans to help with the costs of licensing, exams, and training (Moosapeta, 2026). These programmes also provide support services, such as mentoring and career counselling (Moosapeta, 2026). 


NZ could implement something very similar. While regulation is important, especially for safety reasons in medicine, there could be programmes similar to apprenticeships and placements that allow migrants to present their practical skills. This form of assessment is fair, and through this, migrants should be able to work towards licensing. Having bridging programmes also ensures migrants are placed in the workforce, allowing them to gain local experience. Career counselling and mentoring could also ensure efficient labour market integration. Investment in this field would ensure that high-skilled workers contribute their best to the economy, improving their satisfaction and well-being. 


Conclusion

NZ actively seeks skilled migrants, but they remain underutilised because of licensing, recognition, and overseas experience barriers. Brain waste is a loss for migrants, but also a loss of skills, productivity, and diversity in the NZ workforce. Bridging programmes could be a pathway forward to ensure migrants can fully contribute to the workforce and reduce labour shortages. Ultimately, NZ must learn to work with the talent we have. For many migrants, the promise of opportunity motivates them to move. Therefore, policies should focus on giving them meaningful opportunities to succeed. Doing so would strengthen trust in the system, while also delivering economic benefits. 



References

Apatov, E., & Sundaram, A. (2020). Immigration and ‘Brain Waste’: An analysis of APEC immigrants in New Zealand. Policy Quarterly, 16(4), 50–58. https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v16i4.6630 


CanadaVisa. (n.d.). Bridging Programs: Work in Your Chosen Field. https://www.canadavisa.com/bridging.html 


Fenton, E., & Chillag, K. (2023). We want to help: Ethical challenges of medical migration and brain waste during a pandemic. Journal of Medical Ethics, 49(9), 607–610. https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2022-108311 


Iqbal, A. (2017). Experiences of Highly Skilled Migrants in New Zealand: Challenges for Professional Integration. Global Social Welfare, 4, 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-017-0082-8 



Moosapeta, A. (2026, April 6). Canada affirms foreign credential recognition target for 2026-27. CIC News. https://www.cicnews.com/2026/04/canada-sets-new-foreign-credential-recognition-target-for-2026-27-0473769.html 


Nathan, M. (2014). The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: a survey of the literature for receiving countries. IZA Journal of Migration, 3(4), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-9039-3-4 


Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2018, October). Skills on the Move: Migrants in the Survey of Adult Skills. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/skills-on-the-move_9789264307353-en/full-report.html 


Reid, A. (2012). Under-use of migrants’ employment skills linked to poorer mental health. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 36(2), 120–125. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-6405.2012.00842.x 


Sobrun-Maharaj, A., Rossen, F., & Kim, S-W. (2011). Work experiences of Asian immigrants: Impact on family wellbeing (Families Commission Research Fund Report No. 5/11). Families Commission. https://thehub.sia.govt.nz/assets/documents/RF-work-experiences.pdf 


Thomas-Maude, J. (2023). Mobility justice, capabilities, and medical migration: medical licensing pathways for overseas-trained doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand. Australian Geographer, 54(4), 479–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2023.2245620 




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