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Kenyan electricians and welders: is New Zealand's trades shortage a real opening?

Visa guide · 2026-08-18 · 5 min read

Short answer: yes, New Zealand has a real shortage of trades-qualified workers, and its immigration settings have been redesigned around it. Industry estimates put the gap in building and construction at roughly 60,000 people, and about half of that gap is made up of people with trade qualifications. If you work as an electrician, plumber, welder or carpenter in Nairobi, Mombasa or anywhere else in Kenya, this guide explains what sits behind that number, how the residence routes work and what to check before you commit.

Why the demand is not a short-lived spike

The shortage has money behind it. The government has earmarked close to $60 billion for infrastructure over the next four years, covering highways, hospitals, schools and water systems. At the same time housing is picking up again: new home consents rose 16% in the year to April 2026, and the country still has to consent around 25,000 new homes a year just to keep pace with population growth. Public works and private housing are pulling on the same limited pool of trades people, so this looks structural rather than temporary.

Where the building work is happening

• Major highway upgrades, running from Cambridge to Whangarei.
• Hospital wards and redevelopments in Whangarei, Tauranga, Hawke's Bay, Palmerston North and Dunedin, plus a new hospital planned south of Auckland.
• Ten school redevelopments, new courthouses and new police stations.
• Regional New Zealand (Northland, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and the South Island), where there can be less competition for jobs than in the big cities.

Browse the current jobs on this site to see which trades employers are asking for right now.

How the Green List routes to residence work

New Zealand's Green List names the occupations it struggles to fill locally. The table shows the routes that matter most to tradespeople.

In 2025 ten more trades joined the list, among them welders, fitters, panel beaters, vehicle painters and paving plant operators. Most people arriving for work start on the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV).

A sensible order of steps from Kenya

1. Match your trade to the Green List and note whether it sits on the Straight to Residence or the Work to Residence side.
2. Gather your evidence: KCSE results, KNEC or NITA trade test certificates, and letters from past employers describing the work you actually did.
3. Find out which New Zealand body regulates your trade (see below) and what it asks of overseas applicants.
4. Look for an accredited employer; the work visa and the later residence route both depend on one.
5. Get a licensed immigration adviser, or someone lawfully exempt from licensing, to check your plan before you pay for anything.

A Kenyan trade certificate does not automatically equal a New Zealand licence or registration, so treat each body's assessment as its own step.

Which body checks your trade

A common worry is whether your qualifications will count at all. New Zealand has set bodies for exactly this: the EWRB covers electricians and electrical engineers; the PGDB covers plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers; MBIE's Licensed Building Practitioners scheme covers carpenters and residential builders; Engineering New Zealand covers engineering professions; and NZQA compares overseas qualifications with local standards for trades that have no dedicated body. Registration is not only a legal requirement to work. It can also add points to a Skilled Migrant Category application.

Common mistakes Kenyan applicants make with trade moves

• Assuming a NITA trade test certificate is accepted as it stands, without asking the relevant New Zealand body.
• Paying an agent before checking that the person is a licensed immigration adviser or lawfully exempt.
• Leaving the police certificate until the last moment; the DCI Certificate of Good Conduct, applied for through eCitizen, is the document usually asked for from Kenya.
• Treating the shortage as a promise of a job rather than a reason to start applying with a strong CV.

Your CV matters as much as your certificates. List tickets, projects and tools by name, and use a tool like Build AI CV to lay it out cleanly.

Frequently asked questions

Is New Zealand only hiring in the cities?

No. Regional areas including Northland, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and the South Island are building just as hard, often with less competition.

Do I need an accredited employer?

For the AEWV and for the Green List residence routes, yes. That is why employer accreditation features in so many job adverts.

Will my KCSE or KNEC results be enough on their own?

No. They support your application, but trades are checked again by the New Zealand body that covers them.

Can registration help my visa application?

It can. Registration is a legal requirement for many trades, and under the Skilled Migrant Category it can also boost your points.

Is this a route only for Kenyans?

No. Jobs are open to everyone; this guide simply speaks to readers in Kenya.

Key takeaways

• New Zealand is short of roughly 60,000 construction workers, half of them trades-qualified.
• The Green List offers Straight to Residence and Work to Residence routes, and a new trades pathway opens from late August 2026.
• Your trade's regulator, not your home certificate alone, decides what you may do on site.
• Read what the New Zealand project pipeline means for skilled migrants and why Australia's own construction skills gap is pushing for reform to compare the two markets.

#trades #new zealand #electrician #green list #aewv #kenya