Nearly half of survey respondents admit to looking for jobs outside of New Zealand: survey
Job confidence among university students in New Zealand has dropped to its lowest level in seven years, according to a survey conducted by Talent Solutions.
The findings revealed that only 19% of students feel "very confident" about securing a job after completing their studies, a significant decline from 28% in 2023 and 40% in 2017.
The annual survey, which polled 1,001 respondents, also showed that the percentage of those who reported feeling "not confident" has climbed to 15%, up from 10% last year and six per cent in 2017.
Students cited the current economic conditions as a key factor influencing their concerns. Nearly two-thirds of respondents expressed greater anxiety about finding a job, with more than half also worried about increased competition for early career roles. Additionally, 40% of students believe there are fewer available positions in the job market.
In terms of broader concerns for 2024, respondents said their top concerns are:
- Unemployment
- Economy/inflation
- Cost of living
- Government/policies
Employment plans
Amid these concerns, many students in the survey said they plan to extend their study plans and delay their internship or graduate search roles to avoid the job market.
Nearly half of the respondents also admitted to looking for jobs overseas, with 22% of the students planning to go overseas within two years of completing their studies.
These findings come amid "brain drain" concerns in New Zealand due to tempting job offers from overseas and growing reports of restructuring and redundancies across the country.
Seren Wilson, Talent Solutions director, warned employers against reducing investment in early talent programmes at the risk of creating long-term talent challenges.
"Investing in early talent programmes is essential to the success of NZ Inc – it helps us to build capability, ensure young people have the training and support to realise their potential as future leaders, and builds resilience in our economy," Wilson said in a statement.
"The decision to reduce investment in graduate and internship programmes needs to be considered very carefully against securing long-term capability for an organisation."