Workforce and Labour Market

Southland has a workforce of around 50,500 people. While the mean age of the Southland workforce is increasing, there has been a significant trend in recent years of increasing numbers of migrant families to the region to fill skilled employment industries. This coupled with an increasing student population has providing a quality workforce for existing and new business in the region.

To meet the needs of Southland business over the next 6 years, 12,000 new workers are required by 2016. Current migrant attraction and settlment projects are geared towards meeting these targets. These plans are also aimed to meet the needs of large projects, such as oil and gas exploration in the Great South Basin, further Wind Farms and silicon/lignites projects.

In 2007, Venture Southland commissioned a Workforce Demand Assessment and Labour Market Strategy in conjunction with the Department of Labour and the Southern Institute of Technology. This work is now completed and a copy can be downloaded below. Also below are statistics for the Southland region from the last quarter.