Summary of Comments on Attracting and retaining the skills New Zealand needs to prosper

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Increasingly people are moving around the globe, perhaps for a better future, a safe environment or for a new adventure. What is certain is that populations, including that of New Zealand are becoming increasingly diverse. And newcomers (and their families) may need assistance with settling into work and life in NZ communities.

Today, I’d like to focus of two things. The first is the importance of considering migrant expectations, and the important role that good information plays in helping migrants (and their familiies) settle into New Zealand communities. The second is the major role that public libraries are playing in building socially cohesive, informed and inclusive communities .

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Just to provide with a global context, you can see that New Zealand is far from alone in attracting migrants to its shores.

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In recent years New Zealand has experienced record migration. So where do our migrants come from? As you can see, a large part of our migrant population now come from non-traditional source countries such as India and China.

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Ken Liu is part of the face of the new Auckland, where around one in four people are of Asian ethnicity. Ken Liu came to New Zealand on what we call the study-work pathway. A number of studies have shown that migrants who study in their host countries have better prospects than those who do not.

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I think we would all agree that migrating to a new country can be a very challenging experience, and that all migrants go through a number of ups and downs as they get used to multiple new aspects of their new country. Realistic expectations (or a strong match between what a migrant expects and what they experience) can better equip the migrant with ability to cope with potentially stressful life changes and build confidence during the settlement process. Accurate and realistic expectations can act as a kind of buffer by reducing some of the stresses associated with the settlement process.

Libraries are a key institution in speeding transitions.

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So how does the work I do fit with this? I work in the Settlement Unit of Immigration New Zealand where I head the development of our national Strategy and Product Development. Let me introduce you to a few of the things that we do.

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New Zealand Now is a website that provides potential migrants and newcomers to New Zealand with what they need to know about living and working in New Zealand. Definitely source of info about moving to NZ - Job market, finding a job, housing, regions of NZ, insurance, events etc etc.

The website uses geo-targeting to ensure the messages and information presented to the skilled migrant are relevant to them, based on where in the world they are viewing the site.

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We also support newcomers through our new Facebook page ‘New to New Zealand’ We provide useful information, tips, and advertise community events to migrants, and it also provides them with a place to network with migrants going through similar settlement experiences.

We already have over 14,000 Likes, and encourage all newcomers to join!

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A network of 30 CABs around New Zealand are contracted to Immigration New Zealand to provide information and advice to new migrants. Workshops focus on employment, education, health etc.

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Three chambers of commerce also work with Immigration New Zealand.

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To support the work of our offshore information tools and to enable the best people to settle and stay in New Zealand, we have a suite of onshore information tools. These include guides for migrants and their employers in the key sectors of dairy, construction and aged-care (and we are currently working on guides for the hospitality sector), a toolkit for employers of migrant workers and a guide for settling into work and life in New Zealand.

We also support our offshore Facebook page, with an onshore page (new to New Zealand), and provide new migrants to New Zealand with a quarterly magazine – LINKZ.

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I am sure that a lot of what I have said – and am about to say – is not going to be new to you. Libraries have always been socially progressive institutions.

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What approach should you be taking? A US report has broken it into five strategies.

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Libraries understand local immigration dynamics. Although people always talk about Auckland and Canterbury, migration is affecting New Zealand nationwide. Every city, town, district and suburb has its own migration profile. For example, Southland has a strong Filipino community, in Nelson you will find Bhutanese and Nepalese, and in Kilbirnie in Wellington there are Assyrian Christians.

Do you know where the newer migrants in your community are from? Do you know what languages they speak, where they live, or how many school-age children they

have? What barriers do they face?

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Libraries bring culture and language sensitivity to service delivery. It is time for us to think about New Zealanders whose first language isn’t English. At the time of the 2013 census there were 87,000 people living in New Zealand who did not speak English, and even among those New Zealanders who do speak English, there are now considerable numbers use the non-English media for news and entertainment. A Niche Media/Office of Ethnic Communities survey found that 56-78 per cent of respondents from Chinese, Indian and Korean communities preferred to consume media in their own languages, even where those migrants have lived in NZ for a long time.

What can your library do to better serve the migrant community? How many of your staff speak second languages? Do you need to think about signage in different

languages or about whether your web presence works well for migrants?

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Libraries build English capacity. A recent American study found that English proficiency was highly correlated with every measure of migrant success - and the role of libraries here at every age and at every level is key.

Libraries create connections to local institutions. Many, if not most, libraries maintain partnerships with the sorts of community organisations who are of assistance to new migrants, and you understand the way things work.

So again, some questions for you: How are you marketing your services? What outreach programmes do you have? Does your website address migrant audiences? Who

are your partner organisations?

Libraries encourage civic engagement. Often libraries are a first point of contact for migrants. Joining the library is often one of the first steps in becoming part of the community. As commentators such as Mai Chen have noted, the voting turnout for many migrants is worryingly low. By inviting newcomers into the lives of your communities, you are establishing social capital that will stand New Zealand in good stead.

Questions: Does your library use migrant volunteers? (Hamilton City Library does I know.) Do you have migrants in your governance structures? How else are you

encouraging engagement?

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If there are ways in which we can help you meet the needs of new migrants, please talk to us. We are all in this together. I hope I will see you again at next year’s

conference. If you would like to stay in touch with what is happening in the settlement sector, we can help. We have a quarterly magazine for new migrants, that we would love to see on display in your magazine racks, and we have a quarterly e-mail newsletter that you would be welcome to sign up for – just leave your details with me before you go.