New Zealand

This is an uncommon but not completely unknown phenomenon in England. I have been working with a former RAF Base now largely an industrial centre but with very little integration between its residents and its businesses. If you would like to know more drop me an email. In the meantime this article tells us:

A tiny New Zealand town has a unique problem – too many jobs, too many affordable houses and not enough people to fill them.

So the 800 residents of picturesque Kaitangata, on the South Island, have launched a recruitment drive to lure new residents to the town.

The scheme involves offering house and land packages in the rural community for an attractive NZ$230,000 (£122,000) in the hope that Kiwis struggling with life in big cities will be tempted to relocate.

Bryan Cadogan, mayor of the Clutha district, which includes Kaitangata, estimates there are upwards of 1,000 jobs vacant in his district and local residents are unable to meet demand.

He said: “When I was unemployed and had a family to feed, the Clutha gave me a chance, and now we want to offer that opportunity to other Kiwi families who might be struggling.

“We have got youth unemployment down to two. Not 2% – just two unemployed young people.”

The major employers in the Clutha distract are linked to primary industries – including a dairy processing plant and freezing works – and for many years they have been forced to bus in workers from the provincial hub of Dunedin, which is over an hour away.