SM7.10 Skilled employment (17/12/2003)

1. Skilled employment is employment that requires significant specialist, technical or management expertise:
   1. obtained through the completion of recognised qualifications; or
   2. obtained through work experience that has enabled a person to gain a comparable level of skill to that which would have been gained through the completion of a relevant recognised qualification; or
   3. developed through work experience in which that expertise was a key component.
2. An offer of employment or current employment in New Zealand will therefore be assessed as skilled employment if:
   1. it is relevant to the principal applicant’s recognised qualification; or
   2. the employer considers, and the NZIS is satisfied, that the employment requires significant technical, specialist or managerial expertise that the principal applicant has obtained through relevant previous work experience in which that expertise was a key component.
3. Generally, despite (a) and (b) above, employment in occupations described in the following Major Groups of the New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations is not assessed as skilled employment unless the NZIS is satisfied that:
   1. there is a special case for recognising the contribution of that employment to New Zealand’ s economic growth and capacity; or
   2. the principal applicant's employment will enhance the quality of New Zealand's accomplishments and participation in that occupational area because the principal applicant has an international reputation and record of excellence in that occupational field:
   • Major Group 3 (Technicians and Associate Professionals) except those Group 3 occupations listed in (d) below
   • Major Group 4 (Clerks)
   • Major Group 5 (Service and Sales workers)
   • Major Group 6 (Agriculture and Fishery workers)
   • Major Group 8 (Plant and machine operators and assemblers)
   • Major Group 9 (Elementary occupations).
4. Employment in occupations described in the following Major Groups of the New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations is assessed as skilled employment if it meets the requirements for skilled employment set out in (a) and (b) above:
   • Major Group 1 (Legislators, administrators and managers)
   • Major Group 2 (Professionals)
   • Major Group 7 (Trades workers)
   • Major Group 3 (Technicians and Associate Professionals) in the following occupations:

SM7.10.1 Relevance of qualification(s) to employment

Qualifications are relevant to employment if the employer considers, and a visa or immigration officer is satisfied that:

1. The major subject area of the principal applicant’s recognised qualification is directly applicable to the employment, or
2. The employment is in an occupation for which a core requirement is a qualification at the academic, trade or technical level of the principal applicant’s recognised qualification.

   Note: For the purposes of this provision, ‘qualifications’ must meet the requirements for recognition set out in SM14. 5 but are not required to be the same qualification(s) that qualifies for points under the Qualifications part of this policy (see SM14).

SM7.10.5 Relevance of work experience to employment

Work experience is relevant to employment if the employer considers, and a visa or immigration officer is satisfied that:

1. the work experience is directly applicable to the employment; and
2. the offer of employment could not reasonably have been made or the employment could not reasonably have been undertaken if the applicant did not have that work experience.

Effective 17/12/2003