I S S U E

MOVING TO NEW ZEALAND?

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Christchurch

State of the nation

Throughout the country the feeling within engineering and construction has been very much business as usual with most companies getting on with the work in hand whilst keeping an eye on work coming up. The bullish attitude about the year ahead has been slightly tempered a little but the expectation still remains that the second half of 2014 will see a lift in activity. There is still a degree of frustration in Christchurch as the huge rebuild really fails to show itself as many had hoped. Christchurch is a real political hot potato and with a general election coming up at the end of the year we’re anticipating a hurry up from the powers that be to get some of the major projects moving; all good for the industry when it happens!

Civil Sector

In the civil sector the story remains the same with clients calling for interest from candidates but not necessarily in a position to hire until projects are confirmed and signed off. Many of the managers I’ve spoken to are anticipating a very bright future, particularly from September onwards when the new civil season starts (spring). With so many projects in the pipeline there isn’t a focus on one civil discipline over another and clients are anticipating a need for candidates with a wide range of skills in the civil sector including road, water, structures, earthworks etc. Most of the activity at the moment is focussed on the North Island with Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington showing encouraging signs of future activity. Although things may not be happening immediately I’m speaking with candidates every day, preparing them for the move when it comes. If that’s a conversation you want to have then send me an email and we’ll schedule a time that works for you.

Building Construction

It feels a little boring to say the same thing as last month, but in reality not a lot has changed. We are seeing a number of the big players get frustrated by the number of recruiters in the market. Since the Christchurch Earthquakes, the number of recruiters has moved from 4 or 5 to 25. Imagine being the hiring manager receiving all of those calls.

The great thing is that the clients are now pushing towards preferred supplier status and as usual we are lucky enough to be invited to put proposals together. Although I hate the spiel that goes into these documents, I believe that we have a pretty compelling argument for an outstanding competitive advantage in terms of international sourcing.

I urge those of you who are considering a move to start upping the communication. From Project Director to Site Managers and all other professional construction staff, if you want to move to NZ in the next few years, start talking to me now.

Engineering Consultants

While the Consultant sector continues to forge ahead with an overall cautious approach to resourcing for Christchurch rebuild projects, the opportunities are there for those technically strong specialists who are ready to make the move a reality.

Demand continues to increase for experienced (5+ years postgraduate) civil qualified geotechnical (design) engineers, fire engineers (with CFD modelling expertise) and seismic capable structural engineers. If your sector of expertise falls outside of these, but you are an experienced technical specialist (with 8+ years experience) in your chosen discipline and you have been contemplating a move to New Zealand, then please get in contact with Mireille to explore opportunities relevant to you.

Keep your eyes on your email as we’ll be sending alerts of vacancies as they come up as well as our usual posts on Linked In, the blog and the catalyst Job Board. As always if you’re planning a trip or a move to New Zealand we need to know now so that we can help. Get in touch with us to discuss your plans and we’ll do everything we can to assist in the process.

this issueState of the nation P.1

SCIRT: Christchurch Rebuild P.2Preliminary designs released for Anchor Project P.3

Factory built homes on the way P.3Thumbs up for Wellington Expressway P.4

The Fraser Institute: NZ ranked number one... P.4Banks commit to Christchurch CBD P.6

Stephen Milner: case study on moving to NZ P.7

56M A R C H2 0 1 4

Welcome to the Catalyst Recruitment State of the Nation for March. The year is flying by at an alarming rate with the Easter weekend closing in fast. As in the UK New Zealand has Good Friday and Easter Monday as national holidays so most Kiwi’s will be hoping that the good weather lasts before we head into winter. So far the signs for an Easter bbq are good with most parts of the country enjoying the sunshine and temperatures in the early 20’s. Of course the Friday following Easter Monday is ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day, where the nation commemorates those fallen in combat. The date, 25th April, commemorates the first landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli in 1915 during the First World War. ANZAC Day was first marked in 1916 and many young Kiwis’ make visiting the site an important part of their overseas experience.

SCIRT – Christchurch Rebuild - How it’s gone and the work ahead!

“We’re delivering infrastructure which can withstand another 6 or 6.5 earthquake on the Richter scale,” says Gibb.

SCIRT is 43 per cent through its total infrastructure rebuild in Christchurch and well into the recovery phase of the operation.

“We’re focused on getting out of here by December 2016,” says Gibb. “But, when we leave, making sure that we have delivered the work and provided our clients the feel that they’ve got value from what we’ve done.”

Gibb says value is a difficult thing to wrap your head around. “For a treasurer, value is getting lowest possible cost; for the community value is making sure they’re engaged and consulted with; for an asset owner value is getting your infrastructure rebuilt with the same or lower ongoing costs of operation.”

Progress on rebuilding Christchurch’s vital infrastructure is progressing well compared to similar efforts after Hurricane Katrina and the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Japan. Gibb attributes this to the Christchurch rebuild being the most highly insured and underwritten recovery in the world.

Work in the CBD is set to ramp up once again, with 45 crews set to be operating by April, with a goal to finish in the central city by mid-2015 to clear the way for the major anchor projects.

Gibb acknowledges decision-making slowed down due to changes in the membership of the Christchurch City Council following the recent local body elections. He predicts the September general election will also have an impact. “My experience in Australia was that if there were any key decisions that needed to be made at a governance level - and they weren’t made before an election - they shut down for months, especially if there’s a change of government.”

One of SCIRT’s focuses is ensuring its work doesn’t overly disrupt traffic within the central city so access can be maintained to businesses. It works closely with CTOC - the Combined Traffic Operations Centre put together by Christchurch City Council, NZTA and Environment Canterbury to manage city traffic.

Using Australian guidelines, SCIRT has also produced value reports enabling the project to be compared with a range of other comparable overseas initiatives to track progress.

Says Gibb: “What it does is it gives us a benchmark.

In Australia there are a number of $2 billion-$3 billion projects or programmes, which have been delivered under this value method. If we’re reporting under the same framework they use, we can look at what we’re achieving compared with what they are and see how we’re performing.”

SCIRT’s work has been recognised by the United Kingdom Institution of Civil Engineers, which awarded it the Brunel Medal for Engineering Excellence last year. The award recognizes outstanding civil engineering achievements and contribution to the profession. Previously the medal has been awarded to just one other Southern Hemisphere civil engineering group, from Seoul. SCIRT was subsequently asked to provide a series of lectures on its achievements. Gibb is part-way through producing a paper and will give the first lecture in London this June.

“This collaborative arrangement which involves the public and the private sectors and focuses strongly on the community is a great framework and model,” he says. “At the moment we’re exploring what they might look like and if there is an opportunity to craft or prepare a framework with the learning’s we’ve had from this experience.”

“The 30 years that I’ve been in the construction industry, this is the absolute highlight and is going to be very difficult to follow up. This is a city that was on its knees and we’ve been able to do our bit to help them get back on their feet.”

Getting Stronger

The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) is an alliance of five major contractors set up to repair and rebuild the city’s earthquake-damaged roads, fresh water, waste water and stormwater networks.

There are three phases to the infrastructure recovery;

• Emergencyresponseandhumanitarianrelief-makingbuildings safe and ensuring essential services are restored.

• Earlyrecovery-whereseverelydamagedpartsofthenetwork are fixed so that they can at least function.

• Recovery-wherethenetworkisoperationalandthereis a planned prioritisation for projects required to fix the remaining damage.

Source: Alexander Speirs, NZ Herald

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SCIRT (Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team) boss Duncan Gibb believes Christchurch people are really connected with the move to create resilient infrastructure that gives people security and confidence in their city’s future.

Preliminary Designs Released for Anchor Project

The ‘‘user-friendly’’ Crown-led anchor project would offer self-servicing ticketing, bicycle storage, an open-plan passenger lounge and enclosures to protect waiting bus patrons from the elements, Brownlee said.

Its modern layout would accommodate the manoeuvring of buses. It would also provide spaces for the public to ‘‘feel safe and comfortable while using the services,’’ he said.

The interchange would replace Christchurch’s earthquake damaged facility and provide direct links to new ‘‘super-stops’’ in the central city and suburban hubs ‘‘for ease of travel’’.

Detailed designs are yet to be finalised, but construction was expected to begin by the middle of the year to ensure the facility was up and running by April 2015.

Source: The Press

Christchurch’s $53 million state-of-the-art Bus Interchange is only a year away. Preliminary designs for the new public transport hub were released yesterday by Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee.

Mike Greer Homes and Spanbild announced yesterday their $14 million venture and said the factory in Christchurch will be complete and operating from December. They said the venture would be New Zealand’s first big panelised building factory and able to build 1000 homes a year.

Mike Greer and Spanbild chief executive Peter Jensen said the public would not be able to pick between one of their factory built homes and a home traditionally built on site.

Jensen said there was a misunderstanding in the construction market between modular, transportable homes and a panelised building system.

Greer said the German technology with Spanbild’s proven capability with manufacturing and Greer’s design creativity and experience would be “a game changer for the New Zealand housing market”.

Building in the factory will reduce build time from 20 weeks to 12 weeks, he said.

Walls, floors and roof panels are wholly constructed in the factory with insulation, cabling, plumbing and plastering included. A truck delivers to site and a crane puts the house together.

Greer said the idea had been in the pipeline for a few years but the post-earthquake housing demand had motivated him to fast track the project. “We believe the time is right to help rebuild our city a lot faster.”

They intend to invest in another factory in Auckland.

The two have set up NZ Panelised Buildings, 50:50 owned by each, for the business venture. It was launched yesterday by Prime Minister John Key at Spanbild’s Waterloo Rd premises.

The factory would be fitted with specialised plant and equipment imported from German company Weinmann.

The planned 5000 metre squared factory, on an as yet undisclosed location, will have the capacity to churn out 1000 prefabricated homes a year to be marketed by Mike Greer and Versatile Home and Buildings.

Greer declined to say how much homeowners would save through the factory-built house but said quality would not be compromised.

“This machinery is far more accurate. We will be able to deliver homes so much faster. Because it will be in a factory environment there is less waste and more attainable for people,” he said.

Greer said the factory can produce any type of house from simple two-bedrooms, classrooms right up to architecturally designed commercial buildings.

“The public won’t be able to tell the difference between one produced by the factory and one produced on site,” he said.

“The only thing they will see is their house is going up a lot faster than the guy next door.”

Key said it would bring affordable housing not only to Christchurch but the rest of New Zealand.

“This is not just about affordable housing but about speed - there are going to be a lot more homes in New Zealand due to this technology,” he said

Source: Sally Robinson, The Press

Two of Christchurch’s large building companies have joined forces to produce factory-built homes in big numbers, branding it “a game changer for New Zealand housing market”.

Factory-built homes on the way

Images: ccdu.govt.nz

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A 16 km expressway north of Wellington has had resource consent granted by a Board of Inquiry. New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) had proposed the expressway be built from McKays Crossing (Raumati South) to Peka Peka, north of Waikanae.

Thumbs up for Wellington Expressway

The road was part of the Wellington Northern Corridor, a development considered to be of national significance, so was referred to the board by Environment Minister Amy Adams last April. The decision followed the Board’s consideration of the application, submissions, evidence and a two week hearing. Its decision could be appealed to the High Court on points of law only, and it could not be overturned by ministers.

NZTA’s state highway manager Rod James earlier said the road was expected to be open by mid to late2017. The expressway would not only provide an improved highway route through the Kapiti district but would also increase safety, reduce travel times and improve journey time reliability between the Kapiti Coast and Wellington, he said.

The Fraser Institute: New Zealand Ranked No. 1 in New Comprehensive Index of Human Freedom; U.S. and Denmark Tied for SeventhTORONTO, ONTARIO - (Marketwire - Jan 8, 2013) - New Zealand leads the world in human freedom, followed by the Netherlands then Hong Kong with the United States and Denmark tied for seventh, according to the most complete index of human freedom yet available, released today by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank, and Germany’s Liberales Institute.

The index is contained in a new book, Towards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom, which examines the characteristics of “freedom” and how it can best be measured and compared between different nations. “Our intention is to measure the degree to which people are free to enjoy classic civil liberties-freedom of speech, religion, individual economic choice, and association and assembly-in each country surveyed. We also look at indicators of crime and

violence, freedom of movement, legal discrimination against homosexuals, and women’s freedoms,” said Fred McMahon, Dr. Michael A. Walker Research Chair in Economic Freedom (Fraser Institute) and editor of Towards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom.

“The classical ideas of freedom from the time of the Enlightenment included economic freedom as essential to other freedoms, yet all the indexes available up to now

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either measure civil and political freedoms, often confusing what freedom actually is, or economic freedom alone. This is the first index that brings together these classic ideas of freedom in an intellectually consistent index.”

The book is the first publication of the Human Freedom project sponsored by the Cato Institute (United States), as well as the Fraser Institute and the Liberales Institut. The initial freedom index ranks New Zealand as offering the highest level of human freedom worldwide, followed by the Netherlands then Hong Kong. Australia, Canada and Ireland tied for fourth spot, with the United States and Denmark tied for seventh, Japan and Estonia tied for ninth overall. The lowest-ranked countries are Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Syria.

The index was created by Ian Vásquez of the Cato Institute and Tanja Štumberger of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. They developed the initial draft of an objective measurement of overall human freedom, combining for the first time economic freedom with other forms of freedom. Such a measure will enable researchers to answer important questions on the impact (good and bad) of negative freedom and what supports freedom or undermines it.

Towards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom also highlights the evolution of economic, political, and social freedoms from the ancient world to the present day over the course of 10 chapters by 13 academics and economists from Canada (Fraser Institute), the United States (Cato Institute, Emory University), Germany (Liberales Institut, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main), and Russia (Institute of Economic Analysis). Chapters of note include:

“From Pericles to Measurement” by Fred McMahon (Fraser Institute)

This article traces the concept of freedom back to the classical world and examines modern discussions of freedom from the Enlightenment through to modern analytical scholarship. McMahon concludes that modern indexes are incomplete and often inconsistent. He argues for a complete measure of freedom that is consistent with the most common sense idea of freedom-Isaiah Berlin’s concept of “negative” freedom, meaning the absence of restraints on individual actions.

“From Fighting the Drug War to Protecting the Right to Use Drugs” by Doug Bandow (Cato Institute)

Bandow argues that to “have meaning, liberty must protect the freedom to act in ways which may offend individuals and even majorities. So it is with ‘’drugs’’ currently banned by the U.S. and other governments.” This should apply whether or not legalization produces bad results, but the author argues that a well-structured legalization will reduce harms, not increase them. More importantly, the author suggests the War on Drugs has sideswiped and reduced a range of other freedoms. For these and other reasons, the paper argues that drug use should be treated as “a protected liberty.”

“A Compact Statement of a Cost-based Theory of Rights and Freedoms” by Michael A. Walker (Fraser Institute)

The author draws a distinction between two types of freedoms: those that are costless or low cost for a society to provide and those which require the expenditure of resources to provide. The first set simply requires government to refrain from acting. Costly rights include security of property and persons and some aspects of freedom of speech, the latter because government needs to actively protect those who say unpopular things. “The idea of freedom is one of the most contested in political and philosophical discourse and one of the most vital,” McMahon said. “Our book lays the foundation for a rigorous analytical framework and measurement to improve the objective measurement of human freedom worldwide.”

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter - Like us on Facebook

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of 86 think-tanks. Its mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research.

Visit www.fraserinstitute.org.

The Fraser Institute: New Zealand Ranked No. 1 in New Comprehensive Index of Human Freedom; U.S. and Denmark Tied for Seventh –

article continued from page 4

Banks Commit to Christchurch CBD

ANZ reopened a new Colombo St branch in October, with Fred Ohlsson, ANZ’s Managing Director retail and business banking, saying the bank was ahead of the pack with a permanent site in the rebuild zone. ANZ, which merged the National bank brand into its own in 2012, has 19 other branches across the city. This week Rodney King, ANZ’s Southern General Manager, retail and business banking, said it had been great to bring a team back into the city heart. There were plans afoot to bring a bigger corporate team back into the central city, though no timing could be put on this. ‘‘We’re now working on a new branch in Northlands Mall, due to open this autumn, and continuing to look at other locations as opportunities arise,’’ King said. ANZ had also boosted its business and migrant banking teams, helping specific sectors.

Last year Westpac signed up as the first new office tenant in a $100 million nine-building project being built by investor Antony Gough as part of a project labelled The Terrace, just around the corner from Re:Start and looking out onto the Avon River. Building is already under way. Westpac plans to shift 450 or more staff into Gough’s complex, on Oxford Terrace, which has a mid 2016 completion date. The bank will occupy all five floors, with customer facilities on the ground and first floors. The building will be surrounded by offices, shops, restaurants and bars, to be built under the Gough plan. Many of Westpac’s staff have been working out of buildings in Show Place, Addington. ‘‘I know the intention is to move pretty much everything back into the CBD,’’ Westpac’s external relations manager, Chris Mirams, said.

ASB Bank has said a new high profile Cathedral Square site is part of the bank’s attempts to further increase market share in Christchurch and the wider region. ASB was planning to move into the leased property around early to mid 2016, a spokesman for the bank said. Located on the high-profile corner of Colombo and Hereford Sts and Cathedral Square, ‘‘ASB House’’ will be on a site that ANZ Bank occupied before the earthquakes. ASB would end the lease on a property in Colombo Street to move staff up the road to the Square when the project was completed, ASB external relations manager Christian May said. ASB House will be complemented by other retail sites including the City Mall Re-Start and eight others, including two in Lincoln and Rangiora. It will bring together about 100 ASB people from the bank’s retail, commercial and rural banking teams along with wealth and insurance specialists.

BNZ has significant Christchurch operations both in Riccarton Road and at Sir William Pickering Drive, where it has a long-term lease with a landlord. The National Australia Bank owned BNZ also has plans to move back into the central city with a business banking and retail presence ‘‘at the earliest opportunity,’’ a spokeswoman said. ‘‘We’re committed and looking forward to being involved in an exciting central business community, and the likely timeframe for BNZ returning to the CBD is 2015. We’re actually discussing possible options with a developer.’’

Kiwibank has a site in the ‘‘Container City’’ Postshop in the CBD, and continues to be strongly associated with Postshop locations throughout the country. Kiwibank communications manager Bruce Thompson said Kiwibank would continue to run operations in parallel with Postshop, and would tie in with any new New Zealand Post shops in the city.

Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend said other Government and private-sector office tenants would continue to move into the central city, with the upcoming justice and emergency services precinct a pointer to that growth. The precinct will house about 1100 staff. The legal fraternity would look to position itself around the precinct, Townsend said. ‘‘The accountants are making some clear messages about moving back into the central city, and I expect to see the insurance companies doing the same,’’ he said. ‘‘So those big service industries will definitely be making moves . . . obviously you’re going to see about 3000 government employees coming back into the central city including those in the justice precinct, IRD and government departments moving back in.’’ What the chamber now wanted to see from those in charge of the rebuild was a detailed master plan to reinforce the rebuild timeline that would give clarity to other potential investors.

Source: Alan Wood, The Press

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With the spaces growing ever larger in central Christchurch as quake-torn buildings continue to fold, the banks remain committed to a CBD return. ASB and Westpac have chosen new sites, with ANZ already in a new branch on Colombo St near Ballantynes and BNZ looking at potential locations. Also Kiwibank has a presence in the Re:Start mall, with a small container-based outlet as do other banks including ASB, Westpac and BNZ.

The Catalyst Team

Andy Hopkinsahopkins@catalystjobs.co.nz

Phil Ponderpponder@catalystjobs.co.nz

Mireille Verdonkschotmverdon@catalystjobs.co.nz

Address:PO Box 17405Green LaneAuckland 1546

Level 2642 Great South RoadEllerslieAuckland 1051

Phone:+64 9 307 6111

UK freephone:0808 234 3587

Fax:+64 9 307 6110

Website:www.catalystjobs.co.nz

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Stephen MilnerCase study of moving to NZ

What inspired you to consider moving with your family to New Zealand?

The life style, work opportunities, the large selection of outdoor activities, the weather, not as overcrowded as the UK.

Has New Zealand lived up to your expectations?

I have been in the country for 6 months and I have travelled to many places in the north island and I have been to Christchurch and I can say I have loved every minute of it and I can definite see the potential for my future. It has been challenging coming from a different country that has different methodologies and terminologies but that is only a temporary status.

How has your life changed since moving to New Zealand?

To be fair my life hasn’t changed so much, I still go to work, I still have my hobbies for the weekend and I still have the same goals.

What one thing would you have done differently?

Nothing, I was well advised on the move to NZ and I had everything in place to ensure it went as smooth as possible.

What one thing do you wish you had known about before moving?

Nothing, I was well advised on the move to NZ and I had everything in place to ensure it went as smooth as possible.

What advice would you pass to someone commencing the process?

Do your research, get your visa so that you can work when you arrive, network and communicate with people in NZ for jobs and social interests as soon as possible, explore where you might want to live, and when you get here if you know you want to stay apply for residency ASAP. Once you are settled without any restrictions then you can start to enjoy NZ to its full potential.

Looking back with hindsight, do think you have made the right move for you and your family?

For me it is more about the lifestyle and opportunities that are available in NZ. However, having family here has helped the whole process and family support is important. I am closer to part of my family now but I have left most of them in the UK.

Current Employer: Greenstone Group Ltd.

Stephen registered with Catalyst in Feb 2013. In July he contacted Catalyst to let us know he had planned a trip and was arriving in August. After Stephen’s arrival we worked closely with him and uncovered a couple of exciting options with Project Management companies. It took a little while for Stephen to secure an offer, but he was very clear about the type of role he wanted.

Useful Facts:

1st contact to interview: 8.5 months

1st interview to offer: 26 days

Offer to arrival: Was already here

Time since arrival: 8 months