MAF careers in biosecurity: skills keenly sought
From incursion investigators and laboratory technicians to policy analysts and administrative support staff, everyone at BNZ has a part to play in excluding or eradicating pests and diseases, and effectively managing the risks they pose.
When Biosecurity New Zealand (BNZ) was established in 2004, the 211 full-time equivalent members of staff came from the former MAF Biosecurity Authority, MAF Policy and the Ministry of Fisheries. Today, BNZ has about 360 full-time equivalent staff.
Not all of the specialised science skills required by BNZ are available within New Zealand, and BNZ staff are recruited from all over the world. For example, about 25 percent of the staff in the Post-clearance Directorate come from abroad, while at the Wallaceville Investigation and Diagnostic Centre that number is closer to 40 percent.
"We're recruiting from overseas more and more," Post-clearance Director Peter Thomson says. "I don't know that there's one specific area where we have more shortages. We're recruiting people with experience in animal surveillance, animal response, plant surveillance – across the board really."
One area where there is difficulty recruiting locally is people with good industry experience coupled with strong technical backgrounds. If the right person can't be found here, overseas contacts will be used to recruit.
"We'll often use personal contacts. We have good relationships with counterparts in the United States, Canada and Australia, so we'll send information on vacancies to them and ask them to send it around for us. We've also been able to second people from parallel organisations in those countries. We tend to focus on what a beautiful country New Zealand is and the lifestyle it offers, to attract them here!"
New Zealand universities are helping to ease the skills shortage, with Canterbury, Lincoln and Waikato all offering papers in biosecurity (see separate articles in this issue). BNZ has strong links with universities and, as well collaborating on research, staff are often involved in the content and structure of biosecurity papers.
"It's important to have a mix of experienced people and fresh graduates," Peter says. "Whether they're right for the job really depends on the individual. The technical skills they learn while studying are only part of the equation; they also need to be able to communicate well and plan ahead."
For the latest vacancies see the BNZ website:
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Page last updated: 30 April 2008