Stay up to date with relevant education and career news from New Zealand and the world.
Our warmest wishes for a happy holiday season! Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!
Our office will be closed from 23rd Dec 2019- 5th Jan 2020, and will reopen on 6th Jan 2020.
It was great to be part of the New Zealand International Education Conference and big thanks to Education New Zealand for organising such a fantastic event. So much learning and inspiration. We are so proud of that New Zealand is and will continually be a thriving and globally connected nation through world-class international education. Find out more about the conference here.
In the past a few months our representatives have visited and had meetings with many institutions. David and Frank attended the Study in Wellington seminar in Wellington. They had some great meetings with many outstanding institutions. We are very confident that our students would have awesome experience in our “world's coolest capital city”.
David also visited institutions in Nelson-Marlborough region with Education Nelson-Marlborough. We are very happy to welcome Nayland College, Marlborough Boys' College, and Marlborough Girl' College signing up Choose New Zealand membership and choosing to be represented in the following overseas marketing trips.
The new announcement (on 11th October 2016) will make it a little more difficult for students to get Residence, but should not make a huge difference.
1. The ‘points” requirement for automatic selection has gone from 140 to 160 points (temporarily).
The basic requirement is still to get an offer of a Skilled Job, and for most students that will still be
20 to 30 (age) + 50 (job offer) + 50 (L7 or L8 qualification) = 120 to 130 points
To get the additional points required, students may need some of the following
Study in ‘bonus’ subjects where we have a real shortage (possibly 10 + 10 + 10)
Study at Post Graduate level (1 or 2 years) (10 + 10 or possibly 15)
Work for most of the 3 years permitted after study (possibly 10 + 10 +10)
Get a job out of Auckland (+30)
Have a partner (10 or 20 + possibly 20)
Have close family already resident in NZ (+10)
So, a very good reason to get advice from the experts, and use our Licensed Immigration Adviser services.
2. The English requirement is still IELTS 6.5, but is no longer met by
Studying one year at level 7 in NZ OR
Work in a skilled job for 1 year
So, unless gaining a qualification at L8 (minimum) you will need an IELTS test result less than 2 years old at the time of applying for Residence.
Read more here: http://www.choosenewzealand.com/news-events/how-will-changes-announced-by-immigration-new-zealand-affect-the-study-path/ and more details on Immigration New Zealand website: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/media-centre/news-notifications/new-zealand-residence-programme-changes/nzrp-smc
Our Regional Manager Holly was traveling in Vietnam with our member schools and Education New Zealand. Holly is promoting Choose New Zealand and our schools to more agents and students in workshops and fairs. She has reported back lots of good news and we believe we will achieve more in the future. Looking forward to welcoming more Vietnamese students.
Novo’s delegates have attended the 2016 New Zealand International Education Conference (NZIEC) held in Auckland, New Zealand on 18, 19 August. This is the 25th NZIEC and the biggest ever. We are very happy to hear the strong growth in the past year and what Education New Zealand, together with many other parties, has achieved internationally. We also have learnt a lot from a wide range of industry experts talking about trends and developments in international education. We all look forward to a strong future. (see Education New Zealand news here)
Grant McPherson, the chief executive of Education New Zealand, has written an article recently, talking about education industry and international students impacted New Zealand positively. It breaks down to four topics which are educating kiwis for a global world, economic impact, skilled talent pool, and education exports. You can read the full article here.
On 10 March Minister Joyce launched the new Code of Practice which is able to better reflect the desired outcomes for students. We are glad to have been involved during the discussion process. We believe this new Code will help and guide our industry to remain the high standards of student support. With the new International Student Contract Dispute Resolution Scheme (DRS) we also hope any international student who comes to New Zealand will have peace -of- mind and confident that they will get a great experience. NZQA is seeking feedback and contributions from the industry on Guidelines for the new Code.
We have been organising tour group visits in the past a few years, and have seen the growing of demand. Often during the holiday season of some our key markets such as China, Vietnam, and Thailand, it is a big pressure to find a suitable school, and enough homestay families. Recently Education New Zealand (ENZ) and the Schools International Business Association (SIEBA) have been working together to establish a ‘clearing house’ for school student group visits. It is a very good news for the industry and for organisers like us. We are looking for working closely with ENZ and SIEBA to better accommodate our groups and building the reputation for New Zealand of being the best destination for group visits. Read more
Everyone in this industry can see and sense we have had a very good year in 2015. A 13% increase of student visas takes the total number to 91,062. It is another big step towards the goal of doubling the number from 2013 to 2025. This article here can give you a good overall understanding of what we have achieved in the past year. Let’s work together to achieve an even bigger 2016!
In a recent article Darryn Melrose, chief executive of Media Design School, talks about the value Indian students are adding to New Zealand. Read more.
Getting a qualification isn't restricted to someone's local university anymore - and international students are travelling from as far as Colombia and Nepal to study in New Zealand. The number of international students coming to New Zealand shores has increased from 86,596 in 2010 to 104,418 this year. Read more here
Education New Zealand completed its Alumni Voices project in July, which included 40 written and 10 filmed interviews with high-profile New Zealand alumni from across South East Asia, and since their awe-inspiring stories have been shared across the region.
Air New Zealand and Education New Zealand organised a familiarisation tour with 10 teachers from private high schools across Japan. Japanese teachers were the focus for this familiarisation visit in recognition of the fact that they are among the key influencers, along with alumni and agents, for Japanese students and their families when considering international study locations. The word-of-mouth promotion of New Zealand as an education destination that comes from these visits is highly effective. See the full article here.
The next round of the fund is now open. Applications must be in by midnight on 12 October 2015. The fund is open to all New Zealand schools that are Code of Practice signatories. Grants of approximately $2,500 per school will be awarded to successful schools to establish new sister school relationships, or to strengthen existing relationships, with a focus on sister cities/provinces.
Read more about Apply on Behalf effective as of mid-June this year, NZ-based agents and providers can help students fill out and upload immigration forms, the law still stands that unlicensed advice is not permitted to be given. Read more in detail here.
A recent article in the ICEF revealed data from Education New Zealand showing a strong 2014 for the country’s international education sector. International student numbers were up 13%. India and China accounted for the bulk of 2014’s enrolment growth but there has been significant growth in emerging markets such as Colombia, France, Chile and the Philippines. Growth for the year was focused in Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITP) (up 15%) and Private Training Establishments (PTE) sectors (up 37%). All other sectors grew 3-5%. Student visas issued and the total number of new student visas issued increased by 10%.
Workhere published an informative article about people wanting to become a New Zealand resident under the Skilled Migrant Category. They need 100 points to even be considered. Everything from age to work experience to qualifications to having close family already here counts. From November, the number of points given to skilled migrants with a job offer outside Auckland will increase from 10 to 30. They would need to commit to that region for at least 12 months. But that's still no guarantee, Immigration New Zealand has the final say, based on an assessment which includes such things as your ability to settle in New Zealand. The offer is currently extended to about 10,000 people.
Recently in the NZ Herald, an article was publish releasing that New Zealand has the third highest material living standard in the world for households with a teenager. The new measure of wellbeing developed in New Zealand uses data from almost 800,000 households over 40 countries. The index is based on ownership of possessions - ranging from books, dishwashers, cars, computers and cellphones - to internet access and housing configuration, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a home. New Zealand ranked ahead of Australia and all Scandinavian countries.
A 10-year strategy for international education growth in the Canterbury region has launched a Leadership Accord, signed by nine Foundation Partners. The Accord represents a commitment to grow the social, cultural and economic value of international education in the region over the next 10 years. The strategy development process was funded by Education New Zealand and facilitated by Canterbury Development Corporation, the Christchurch City Council economic development agency.
The June Student Visa Dashboard has been released by Education New Zealand, we have pulled some figures and you can see the full breakdown here. The year-to-date total student visas (TSV) are up 10% and first time student visas (FSV) up 10%. Returning student visas were also up 7%. The main countries were China, India, the Philippines, USA and Brazil. ITP up 50%, universities up 9%, and PTE up 4% sectors have experienced the strongest growth.
Last year Education New Zealand took a new global approach towards social media activity. One year down the track, they’re seeing some great results! The size of their social community has grown by 480 percent from 120,000 to 576,000 across; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Weibo and WeChat. They currently have the largest national Facebook community, with 509,460 followers, outdoing other popular international education destinations such as Canada (405,000), USA (126,000), UK (417,000) and Australia (200,000). Their audience engagement on Facebook has risen to 21 percent – surpassing the industry standard of best practice for engagement of 7 percent. These results now place ENZ as the market leader in international education within the social media space.
ICEF published an informative article about the enrolment funnel, and we wanted to summarise and share it. The “stealth applicant” was a term we enjoyed reading. This is a student that, due to technology, remains anonymous until the application. So, have you checked your funnel? (We can help you, it’s what we do). As the term suggests, the funnel is a way of imagining and managing the process of advancing students from a (relatively large) pool of prospects through several key “conversions,” such as enquiry, application, admission, and, if all goes to plan, enrolment. Here are the key suggestions:·
Immigration New Zealand has produced a set of information flyers to explain how the new Apply on Behalf service will work. The service will allow third parties to lodge visa applications on behalf of students. Later this year, eVisas – passport-free and label-less visas – will be available to students from visa-waiver countries. Find out more here.
Thirty-two students from regional Chile are currently in New Zealand to learn more about New Zealand’s world-leading dairy and horticultural sector. “The students enjoy visiting local farms, learning to ride motorbikes and quad bikes, and learning new fencing skills. The biggest difference between farms in Chile and here is the scale of farming. In spite of New Zealand being a much smaller country, our farms are much bigger in terms of land area, the number of cows milked and the use of technology to improve production.” Read more here.
Imagine things from the point of view of a consumer. We have trained ourselves to ignore advertising and marketing messages, to tune them out, or at least to distrust them. At its core, anti-marketing is built around a couple of simple ideas:
Follow the four:
Read the full article here.
New Zealand's key business sectors ranging from dairy, food and tourism to the aviation industry are keen on further expansion into the Asean region, including Thailand. During a meeting in Auckland last week, Prime Minister John Key described Asean markets as fast-growing economies that offered huge opportunities. Tony Nowell, chairman of the Asean New Zealand Business Council, said “we are in discussion with senior officials about a special travel card to apply in Asean countries, similar to the Apec Business Travel Card, which [provides] businesspeople with streamlined access to participate and engage in trade and investment activities in Asean countries.” In January, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand began an alliance. Through this partnership, Singapore will be the aviation hub for Southeast Asian travellers coming to New Zealand. With this alliance, both airlines aim to increase their capacity between New Zealand and Singapore by up to 30 per cent year-around. Read the full article here.
The NZ Society of Thailand is a diverse bunch of fun-loving Kiwis who like to provide social, sporting and cultural events and information that give you the opportunity to enjoy everything special about New Zealand in Thailand. You can contact them through their email their website or their Facebook.
The 40th anniversary has just gone between New Zealand and the Asean community. With the implementation of regional economic integration, the New Zealand government and private sector have set their sights on building a deeper engagement with partners in the region including Thailand. Read the full article here.
In this year's PwC annual global CEO survey 84% of New Zealand CEOs were concerned at the shortage of key skills. The shortage linked to the whole building industry, the Christchurch reconstruction and the Auckland housing challenge. There were shortages all-round the technology and digital area. Three of the fastest growing areas are cybersecurity, digital consultancy and data analytics. So, what do schools do? We have to get this right from secondary education by encouraging students to focus on the sciences and maths. We need students to understand the connection between the subjects they choose and what it could mean for their future career options Full article here.
New Zealand is currently ranked 1 out of 20 for cinematic destination, 10Best Readers' Choice Chosen by readers of USA TODAY. See here.
On the topic of Australia, ICEF has a great summary of the draft strategy for international education here. They highlight what Australia aims to do, and we wanted to note their effort to improve student accommodation, including the “construction of purpose-built accommodation for students.” This links to a recent article in the Herald, which shows that hostels are one way forward to help in providing accommodation for international students. Some Auckland colleges are already planning their on-site hostels.
Hostels are one way forward to help in providing accommodation for international students. Some Auckland colleges are planning their on-site hostels, for more information read here.
Chile's LAN Airlines has launched the Dreamliner, from September 2015 the larger airplane will have nearly a third more capacity. It will be the first to fly daily across the Tasman and competition on flights to South America promises to bring down fares. Original article and related article.
The Air New Zealand flights to Buenos Aires, from December 2015, will add 95,000 extra seats per year. Recent figures show that visitor arrivals from Chile, Brazil and Argentina have increased 11% (Statistics New Zealand). Air New Zealand will share with Aerolineas on connecting services from Buenos Aires to Brazil. The airline is looking at flight paths in the future between Auckland and either Las Vegas, Houston or Chicago. Article here.
The International Student Barometer (ISB) survey takes a look at decision-making, expectations, perceptions and experiences from international students in New Zealand. Students are saying they’re having a great time, rating us “above the global benchmark”. For New Zealand to keep rocking it there are few issues that students raised, and Choose New Zealand will work with member schools on those, so look out for what we have planned for the future. Students concerns related to isolation, community involvement, cultural groups/clubs, pre-arrival information and pathways advice for employment or further study. ISB Education New Zealand Report.
The changes introduced by NZQA a few years ago (Rule 18) have not been successful. INZ reports that too many providers are accepting students with English levels that are too low, requiring them to undertake English study after they arrive in New Zealand. This breaches their visa conditions, and lengthening their study period also requires further funding, and a visa extension. The proposed changes are on NZQA website, and If you have comments contact: QADconsultation@nzqa.govt.nz by Friday 15 May 2015.
For more information go here.
An article in the New Zealand Herald highlighted that international students are staying on in New Zealand and like us enough to even raise their families here, students “are now a major source of our permanent migrants as they complete their qualifications and get jobs here, they become part of the population and are having children. It's quite a positive sign”. Full article here.
A thorough and informative breakdown of secondary schooling which “is rated one of the best in the world (Legatum Prosperity Index 2013)”. Learn what to look for and what it all really means. Our education system is based on encouraging the enjoyment and discovery of learning, and not forcing memorisation of facts. Full Report here
New Zealand’s international position as a study destination continues to strengthen. Last year saw international enrolment expand by 12%, and the beginning of 2015 New Zealand has experienced a 9% increase in international student visas issued. This hints at the promise that if we are able to retain these students, they will be “part of the country’s international enrolment base for some time [and] may progress to higher levels of study”. Original report and a related article of interest here.
We have updated the marketing activities of Choose New Zealand in 2015. Check out what we will do to promote your institution overseas:
http://www.novoeducation.co.nz/solutions/marketing-solutions/choose-nz
International students who want to study in New Zealand can now apply for their visa, pay fees and upload documents online.
On July 30th Bruce and David attended the annual Study Auckland Conference at the Hilton Hotel.
Study Auckland is a division of the Tourism and Economic Development section of the Auckland Council, and is tasked with promoting Auckland as a Study destination. The first speaker was the Mayor of Auckland, Len Brown, who articulated his vision of making Auckland “the worlds’ most liveable city.” He talked about the need to make the whole student experience memorable, encouraging students to stay after studying, and potentially migrating.
