A Tauranga manufacturing company fears it could be forced to close its doors if the Government does not relax English language requirements for skilled workers.
The warning comes after the Government announced a new business investor visa, which requires a much lower level of English than the skilled migrant category.
GammInCo People and Culture Manager Melanie Hartwell told 1News the business relied heavily on migrant workers including Brazilian CNC machinist Ivan Inthurn — whose job is considered critical to operations.
“I go every week for school and study. I go for church, for jiu-jitsu — good for me to practice my English. But score 6.5 is very high level for me,” Inthurn said.
Despite working in New Zealand and paying visa fees, he now faces being forced to leave because he had not achieved the required English test score for residency.
Employers say his case was far from isolated. “Without being dramatic, we’d be closing the doors — because a third of our machinists are migrant workers,: Hartwell told 1News.
Under current rules, skilled migrants must score at least 6.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A score of 5 is considered “modest”, while 7 indicated a “good” level of English, similar to the requirement for entry into a university degree.
By contrast, applicants for the new business investor visa only needed an overall score of 5.
“I suspect many New Zealanders would fail to get to IELTS 6.5,” immigration adviser Steve Norrie told 1News.
“It is the level that is required for admission into a bachelor’s degree at university.”
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the lower standard was sufficient to operate a business and engage with staff and customers.
“That’s really bizarre. The business investor is going to have to interact at a very sophisticated level with suppliers and employees,” Norrie said.
Frustration was also growing among migrant workers in other sectors too. Aged-care worker Sthefany Paixao Silva said the test was not a true reflection of her ability.
“I work with seniors, so I know how to speak English. This test is only testing us about how to do the test,” she said.
The Brazilian national said she had spent hundreds of dollars on tutoring and purchasing mock tests ahead of the English exam.
“So, it’s only me. I’m paying for everything.”
The Association for Migration and Investment told 1News the imbalance needed to be corrected immediately if the Government wants its new resident visa to succeed.
“We have this strange situation where somebody who has been raised in Quebec and has been educated in French is not required to provide an English language test, whereas somebody who’s been raised speaking English in Johannesburg does,” said Norrie.
