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Imigrate to NZ without a University Degree ?

Last activity 11 September 2010 by gamihai

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gamihai

Hello,

If I am an IT Admin and have highschool + Cisco Certifications and COMPTIA certifications but no University or College degree , can I still get a working visa in NZ? I have 4 years of experience but I don't know if they accept you without a university. I looked on there website and googled it but I couldn't find an answer.

Thank you.

Julien

Hi,

have you read the NZ guide? The visa section may help.

All my wishes of success,

Julien

gamihai

Thanks for the reply Julien. It's nice to see you have a visa section with information. Unfortunately  I already know all that stuff and I am looking for a straight answer. Until now all the people that responded to my question on any forum said the same thing...redirected me to the official page or showed me a transcript of that.
I'm interested if in reality people can get a visa without having higher education but with trade certifications (cisco , adobe ,etc.). Also what chance you have to get a job there in this conditions and how much time it usually gets to land a job ?
Also another question is : anyone knows where can I find job adds with relocation packages for NZ ?

I would have thought that a nation that states it needs a lot of skilled workers , would have had a better open market for emigrants. All the job adds in NZ  I found where only for residence visa or work visa..but usually you need a job offer to get the visa in the first time :)

thekeltycat

Not sure if I can answer your question either but I will give it a try.

Hubby and I were on the skilled shortage list (healthworkers) and applied for permanent residence.  It took over a year and cost a fortune. Hubby is now unemployed (so much for the skill shortage) and our life savings are dwindling fast.  The health board paid for his airfare and two weeks in a motel. 

My foster son is aged between 18 and 31 -  so was able to come here on a young person's working holiday visa.  He paid for it online and got it immediately by email. He has no real experience in anything other than drinking and clubbing. He currently works in a supermarket.  Immigration put him through hell when he applied for an extension after his first year - but he eventually got it.  When it runs out in December, he will not be re-applying.  He is off to Australia instead having recently spent a week there.

My own son in his mid 30's had loads of experience in health work but no qualifications.  He got on a plane and just arrived here, stayed in a backpackers, went for job interviews, and applied for a work permit as soon as he was offered a job. It took about three months between arriving and getting the work permit and he was not allowed (officially) to work before then.  But he has to re-apply every year and it has cost him so much money and hassle with medicals that after almost four years he is going home to get a qualification - and then emigrate to australia as he only earns enough here to live week by week. His employers are gutted he is leaving as they value him highly. Sadly the nz government does not.

So if you can afford it, why not come over for a long holiday, see if you can find an employer whilst you are here and take it from there.

Keep asking questions but also look further down the forum topics to see what other people say about living here. I did tonight and was amazed at some of the posts. People posted what I and other fellow immigrants I work with are thinking but are too afraid to say. I work in a multi national team of 14 people, and six of them are planning to return home - I am not one of them - yet.

Finally, tonight on Trade Me there are 849 IT related jobs throughout NZ.  And you could always sign on with one of the job agencies here who would help you find work. Why not email them instead and ask if your qualifications are sufficient?

Good luck with whatever you decide.

BeSerKa

If you have CISCO certifications, you will be in a great position in New Zealand.

CISCO networking engineers on all levels are snapped up very quickly, as there is a shortage.

IT in general is still booming in NZ.

Some companies I know of you could apply for a job for:

Jade Software (Chch, wellington, Auckland) www.jadeworld.com
Genii
Snap
Telecom
The CHDB

As long as you keep up to date with certifications, you will always be on good coin, and a secure job.

BeSerKa

In New Zealand, most of the senior Networking Seniors don't have University Degrees, because the universities are out of date on the latest networking technology.

CISCO is the de-facto standard to indicate wether your Resume is worth a look.

KlausM

Hi
The short answer is yes :)
I have now been living and working in NZ for nearly 3 years without any University or College degree!

As "thekeltycat" wrote: come over for a long holiday, see if you can find an employer whilst you are here and take it from there.
That was exactly what I did. I was lucky and got the the first job I applied for, got a work permit for one year, and now Im one my 3third workpermit.
I was also put through hell by Immigration when I applied for the third workpermit but now I got it (only 14 days ago) :)
Im working as a Graphic Designer and Photographer but are self thougt so I have no papers on my qualifications. So again YES it can be done.

Hope this answered your question?

Klaus

gamihai

Many thanks for the reply. I am currently in the process of putting money aside for a long trip in NZ and I will try to find something there while in vacation. In the mean time I got a job in IT that involves the whole EMEA  region so I can have top experience in multinational companies. Hope this will make my integration easier in NZ.

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