Marcin and Jackie Kulak have been struggling to hire chefs and staff for their Mekong Baby restaurant since the start of the pandemic. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Marcin and Jackie Kulak have been struggling to hire chefs and staff for their Mekong Baby restaurant since the start of the pandemic. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
The qualification requirement needed by migrant chefs to be hired by employers under an immigration accreditation scheme has been removed as a way to support hospitality, Immigration Minister Michael Wood has announced.
Wood also confirmed that exemption to the median wage threshold has also been extended for another year to support the wider tourism and hospitality sector.
The minister said labour shortages continue to be a "persistent ongoing symptom" as the world recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We are listening closely to the concerns of the hospitality and tourism sectors, and working with them to take practical steps to support them with these challenges where we can, as businesses work towards more productive and resilient ways of operating," Wood said.
Immigration Minister Michael Wood. Photo / Mark Mitchell
"We agree with the hospitality industry that removing the qualification requirement for chefs to be hired through an Accredited Employer Work Visa will allow those top-rated chefs who have trained at the coalface to come to NZ."
The changes will take effect from Tuesday, October 18.
Wood said the requirement for chefs to hold a New Zealand Level Four Certificate of Cookery or equivalent was initially introduced to reduce risks of wage and job inflation.
"We have heard the industry's concerns that this requirement was limiting their options to recruit chefs who do not hold formal qualifications, including some highly skilled or experienced chefs, at a time when labour market conditions are tight," he said.
"Employers hiring chefs will now only be required to meet the median wage and market rate requirement, enabling employers to recruit from a larger pool of migrant chefs."
Marisa Bidois, CEO of the Restaurant Association. Photo / Supplied
Officials will be working closely with the industry to develop a system within the next 18 months for identifying and assessing chefs who do not hold formal qualifications.
The Government is extending its temporary median wage exception to allow many tourism and hospitality businesses to continue hiring migrants on a lower wage threshold.
"We recognise these sectors have been hit hard by the pandemic and are still recovering from the impacts of ongoing disruption to global travel. To help the industry as it continues to rebuild, Cabinet has decided to extend the transition towards the full median wage for an additional year from 2023 to 2024", Wood said.
"This will help these sectors manage the short-term impacts they are facing, and ensure a clear path to continue taking the important steps towards paying the median wage in the medium-term."
The current wage threshold will be in place until the new median wage is incorporated in February 2023.
The Minister confirmed that the new median wage of $29.66 per hour will be adopted into the immigration system on February 27 next year.
All wage thresholds indexed to the median wage, such as sector agreements, will also be updated, Wood said.
Employers will be able to pay migrant workers 95 per cent of the median wage or $28.18 per hour in April 2023, then will move to 100 per cent of the median wage in April 2024.
Marcin and Jackie Kulak, owners of Mekong Baby in Ponsonby, are among hundreds of restaurants struggling to hire chefs since the start of the pandemic.
In August, Restaurant Association CEO Marisa Bidois told the Herald members were frustrated with the accreditation scheme, and a major issue that had been raised was about the qualification being a requirement for chefs - with experience not being considered as a marker of skill.
"We see chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants being turned down if they do not have a qualification," Bidois said at the time.
Hospitality New Zealand welcomed the relaxation in immigration settings.
Chief executive Julie White said removing the qualification requirement for chefs under the Accredited Employer Work Visa is an excellent move.
"This will allow hospitality businesses to bring in chefs who have trained in some of the best kitchens across the world," White said.
"This is a significant move for the industry, which has been starved of the highest-quality chefs.
"Till now only chefs with the equivalent of New Zealand's level four cookery qualifications have been allowed in, but very few were applying because that qualification is not relevant for overseas skilled chefs.
"Under the existing system, someone like Jamie Oliver, who has a qualification in home economics, would not have met the criteria to enter New Zealand to work as a chef, but now he could - as could others who have worked under Michelin Star chefs.
"This will hopefully save businesses that might otherwise have been forced to shut."
White said the extension of the exception of the transition towards the full median wage for hospitality and tourism businesses will also help them further manage their way out of the damaging effects of Covid and the border closures.
"However, increasing the median wage into the immigration system from February will counter some of that as it will feed inflation and put further costs on food, wages and rent," she said.
