Students to emigrate from New Zealand over job fears

As reported by The New Zealand Herald, landing a job is one of the greatest fears for today's scholars in New Zealand, motivating many to flee the country after completing their studies. These are the results from an online survey of over 1000 students, a project conducted by the Colmar Brunton group for Student Job Search.

When asked about their biggest worries once they leave their studies, 21% of students said they most feared whether or not they could find employment in their field of study. A further 17% feared not being able to secure a job at all, while 9% worried about accepting a job they disliked.

When asked about what stressed them, 47% said the idea of landing a job after graduating, while 45% said surviving the semester with decent enough marks. By contrast, only about 12% felt stressed about paying their rent on time while just 5% worried about securing their next decent meal.

While nearly one-third planned on moving directly into career mode after finishing their studies, 19% said they lacked a plan and felt "pretty nervous", while 18% were going overseas - either to work or relax.

Brunton Spencer Willis, who is a Colmar Brunton qualitative research director and youth specialist said that fears about job security stood out in the results. Concerns over getting a job featured overwhelmingly high, much stronger than the typical student worries of debt and next steps, he explained. He added that it was no surprise that heading abroad was the plan for many.