Link: New Zealand Herald.
Yet another fantastic effort from the govt. in wasting money on a project that really shouldn't be spent on. Have a look and see for yourself at NetworkZonline.govt.nz. Hmm. $1.15 million. Notice the very first line where they misspell their own name "NeworkZ Online". This is followed by two type-o's in the second line (there are only 2 lines of text.) Aside from the fact that there are only 5 current job vacancies listed (3 up since the Herald article!), it really isn't very attractive to jobseekers who are browsing. No job descriptions or any details provided, unless you register. Nor would it be attractive to employers to post their openings - if no one else is on there - there most likely aren't any jobseekers utilising it. And come to think of it, why aren't all government jobs listed in the job board?
Now I'm not putting in a plug for Seek or Trademe or Search4jobs, but hey - these are real online job boards that work. Why "compete" against them - NZ enterprises that employee hundreds or thousands of Kiwis? If the ultimate goal is to attract and recruit skilled migrants - I'm sure the fastest way to put them off NZ is with an interactive jobsite that has 3 jobs and doesn't work. Makes NZ look even smaller!
Recruiting and marketing is all business - and should be run like a business - not like a government expenditure. Business problems should be addressed with business solutions - not just technology solutions, like an online jobsite. Positive and effective policy and procedure changes in Immigration for working visas and family visas as well as changes in taxation or any kind of perks would probably do a lot more to attract skilled migrants than a rate-payer funded job board.
