THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade conducted a Pre-Departure Briefing for 37 workers who will be travelling to work in New Zealand under the Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) Program.
The one-day briefing was conducted on Friday (15th March 2024) for the Solomon Islanders who will be doing horticulture works with Kiwi fruits for Seeka Pty in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
Out of the 37 selected Solomon Islanders, 19 are new workers while 18 are returning ones. There are 18 male and 19 female who will be deployed for periods of three to seven months.
Speaking to the workers during the briefing, Supervising Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Cornelius Walegerea acknowledged the New Zealand Government for the opportunity provided for Solomon Islands to participate in the Labour Mobility Program through the Recognised Seasonal Employment (RSE) scheme It’s a win –win programme for the economies of Solomon Islands and New Zealand as well as for the workers and their families.
Mr Walegerea emphasized to workers the importance of setting goals on what they and their families would like to achieve from the RSE scheme so that they can benefit from the opportunity provided.
He said the benefits from the New Zealand RSE Labour Mobility Programs is undeniable due to the tangible developments that are evident though the workers and their families building new houses, start their own businesses and meeting other needs such as paying school fees, etc.
He therefore reminded workers to be good Ambassadors and reiterate the risk of alcohol consumption and related issues where the Solomon Islands Government has a zero-tolerance policy on. He further calls on the workers to respect the laws of the host country, New Zealand and work well so that employers can continue to recruit more workers from Solomon Islands.
Workers were also told to think of their families and encourage them to communicate frequently to resolve differences.
New Zealand High Commission’s First Secretary, Simon Donald also spoke to the workers before they were taken through the briefing by Labour Mobility Unit’s Harrison Kabolo.
The Pre-Departure Briefing is a compulsory information sharing exercise undertaken by the LMU to prepare workers before they leave the country and experience a new environment and culture in Australia and New Zealand.
