Dialogue: Too talented for local work

By BARRY DREYER*

New Zealand's need to overcome its shortage of highly qualified people is something of a familiar call.

Yet at the same time, most New Zealanders will be surprised to learn that we also seem to be good at turning top people away.

In particular, highly skilled expatriate New Zealanders have an alarmingly tough time trying to bring their talents home.

The company I am part of, ITP Worldwide (New Zealand), is part of a group of firms specialising in high-tech executive recruitment around the globe.

We routinely place people at top levels of high-tech management. We also have plenty of success stories with expatriates as well.

But intriguingly, I find that when candidates come from overseas, even if they are New Zealanders by birth, they suddenly seem to encounter a new set of hurdles.

I am working with candidates whose skill and experience simply cannot be acquired without going overseas.

Yet remarkably, when they apply for positions here, management have given a convincing impression of preferring not to know.

For the candidates, it is a surprising and disheartening experience.

For New Zealand, it means there is a reservoir of talent and energy we are choosing not to use.

Recent examples include:

* An expatriate New Zealander, who worked for many years at the highest level of one of America's top three IT companies, having trouble getting a local job interview.

* A chief financial officer for a $US4 billion ($9.6 billion) company, who is married to a New Zealander and has his heart set on settling here, is also having real trouble finding anyone interested in harnessing his experience.

* An engineer with one of the world's largest software companies, based in Britain, married to a New Zealander, who has also run into a baffling lack of interest.

In all cases I believe local firms would be very hard-pressed to find people who could match the skills these candidates offer.

Some very highly skilled people do face language barriers or difficulties in culture adjustment.

But this hardly applies to expatriates.

I have also been taken aback at the experience of a young British mechanical engineer with a first-class honours degree and terrific senior design expertise.

He wanted to work here for two years - doing his OE - but has not been able to generate much interest in his skills.

So what is going on?

You might think managers worry about hiring someone who, taking a cut in pay and a move to a smaller stage, might not stay long,

But I don't believe this cuts much ice.

Most candidates are already financially secure. Pay is not high on their agenda. All expect to earn less.

But in return they want to live in New Zealand and get a chance to contribute.

Equally, cynics might think local managers are frightened of being upstaged.

But that is not my impression either.

Rather, I believe the problem is familiar. We have become too used to thinking in an isolationist and insular way.

A candidate from overseas, no matter how well-qualified, is a less well-known quantity. It takes more effort to find out about them.

"What am I supposed to do with someone who has been running a $4 billion business?" some managers seem to ask.

The answer, for many, is to do nothing.

Managers get gun-shy. Ignoring the opportunity becomes an easy option.

About 21,000 skilled or graduate New Zealanders work overseas. This, incidentally, is equivalent to a whole year's crop of graduates from our universities.

Additionally, an unknown large number of people are married to New Zealanders or attracted to our lifestyle.

New Zealand needs to look at every opportunity to grow. We cannot afford to cold-shoulder people, already trained and sharpened by superb experience, who could help us do this best.

* Barry Dreyer is a director of ITP Worldwide (New Zealand), a wholly NZ-owned member of the ITP Worldwide group of companies.