Kiwis seeking career change in 2019 search 'police officer' above all other jobs

Police officer topped the most searched jobs on the Government's CareersNZ website nationally and in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Kiwis considering a change of career in 2019 are most curious about becoming a police officer, according to the Government's online job database.

However, on commercial job listings website Yudu, the top searched jobs this year were quite different for those quickly seeking new employment.

The Government's CareersNZ website provides a detailed, up to date, rundown of the pay, employment prospects, and training requirements for more than 400 specific jobs.

A top-10 list of the most searched jobs between January 1 and March 31 this year had "police officer" top across the nation, as well as top in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

While police officer remained in the top search spot from the last quarter of 2018, there were several new inclusions to the CareersNZ national Top-10 including: flight attendant (6th) paramedic (8th), electrician (9th) and air traffic controller (10th).

The data coincides with Police Minister Stuart Nash's announcement in February, that the number of frontline NZ Police officers has increased by 595 since the 2017/18 financial year.

Tertiary Education Commission chief executive Tim Fowler said a new study found that on average a given job has valuable skills transferable to 12 other occupations.

"You might not think you have the skills required to switch careers but our research tells a different story," Fowler said.

"Going forward, a specific qualification or experience in a single job or industry should not limit your potential to transfer skills to other jobs and other industries."

A Top-10 list of the most searched terms on NZME job listing website Yudu, had little cross-over with the CareersNZ information website.

Yudu searches for "sales" jobs topped all others in 2019, with "retail" second, and "marketing" third.

Within the CareersNZ top-10 searches, there were no jobs within these broad fields.

Yudu editor Helen van Berkel said some job-seekers had commented that they saw retail as a stepping stone to a different career, but many ended up staying on in the sector because of the variety of roles on offer and the opportunities for advancement.

"What is popular at any given time seems to vary with the season and events in the labour market," she said

However sales was consistently a top performer on the site, alongside the fields of health and construction.

The sites' data overlapped in some areas with "accountant" the eighth most searched job on Yudu, and the fifth on CareersNZ and "teacher" the ninth most searched on Yudu, lining up with the fourth on CareersNZ of "secondary-school teacher'.

Top jobs at a glance on careers.govt.nz

January 1–March 31, 2019

1. Police officer
2. Registered nurse
3. Psychologist
4. Secondary-school teacher
5. Accountant
6. Flight attendant
7. Aeroplane pilot
8. Paramedic
9. Electrician
10. Air traffic controller