A FREE workshop for Filipinos planning to live and work in New Zealand is scheduled in two separate venues in Cebu City this month.
The Start Right in New Zealand workshop will be on Jan. 11 and 16 at the University of San Jose Recoletos and University of San Carlos, respectively.
The event is organized by Migrants Action Trust (MAT), an Auckland-based non-profit charitable organization whose main goal is for migrants to become assets of New Zealand.
Agnes Granada, coordinator and one of the founders of MAT, said the workshop will provide answers to the migrant issues MAT deals with.
“Migrants come to the country believing that jobs will be waiting for them, but, in reality, this is not (happening). By providing information on how to go about looking for a job, we intend to minimize the problem and God- willing, we can get the Filipino migrants to employment within a month,” she said.
The objectives of the workshop are to provide participants the realities of working and living in New Zealand to minimize the issues faced by Filipino migrants, to enhance successful employment and settlement and to advised them of the responsibilities of migrants.
Speakers will give insights on the New Zealand job market, curriculum vitae writing, job interview tips and the challenges migrants face in their job search.
Petition
In January 2007, more than a thousand Filipino migrants through MAT, petitioned that work-to-residence be re-instated to two years from six months. As a result, the New Zealand immigration minister changed the work-to-residence policy for Filipinos from six to nine months.
The petition was written by Mel Libre who is a volunteer of MAT.
The workshop is supported through a donation from lawyer Kate Go. It will be from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. For workshop details, one may email a.granada@xtra.co.nz
