Mike Bain/cvnznews.com
Warnings from New Zealand’s infrastructure sector are growing louder as hundreds of engineers and specialist workers leave the country, with industry leaders questioning whether successive governments have done enough to provide certainty around future projects.
New data from the Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand shows almost 600 consulting engineers moved overseas in the two years to March. During the same period, more than 1,350 workers were made redundant, while hundreds more moved into other opportunities or left the sector altogether.
Industry leaders say the problem extends beyond the economy and reflects a long-standing failure by governments to establish a reliable, bipartisan pipeline of infrastructure work.
Helen Davidson, chief executive of the industry body, said New Zealand faces major infrastructure challenges, including transport, water and resilience projects, yet continues to lose many of the highly skilled people needed to deliver them.
“We have roads of national significance to build. We have a second harbour crossing to build. We know we need to address our water infrastructure,” she said.
Nick Leggett, chief executive of Infrastructure New Zealand, warned the true number of workers leaving for overseas opportunities is likely in the thousands. He said the cost of replacing those workers will ultimately fall on taxpayers.
“The cost of getting those back will be baked into the next project,” he said.
While governments of all political stripes have acknowledged the need for better infrastructure planning for years, industry groups argue that rhetoric has too rarely translated into certainty. Large projects are often announced, delayed, redesigned, reprioritised or cancelled as political priorities shift between election cycles.
The result, critics say, is a boom-and-bust environment where companies cannot confidently invest in staff, training or equipment, and skilled workers seek more predictable opportunities abroad.
The concern extends beyond today’s workforce. Richard Templer, chief executive of Engineering New Zealand, warned the loss of experienced professionals could undermine the mentoring and development of future engineers.
Industry leaders are now looking to politicians not simply for new promises, but for accountability. They argue that regardless of which party forms the next government, New Zealand needs a guaranteed long-term infrastructure pipeline backed by committed funding and cross-party support.
Without that certainty, the sector warns the country risks paying more for future projects while watching the expertise needed to build them board flights overseas.
