[lockstock]

Just returned after a very expensive day out - rail tickets, £15 each to get in, £9.40 for a couple of manky sandwiches and two cups of (ok, quite nice) coffee. But how disappointing? There were very few stands - certainly not worth booking the G-Mex for. They could have used our village hall for a fraction of the price. TeachNZ told me I needed to wait until I got to NZ and then contact individual schools in person (I'd sussed that one out myself). No teaching agencies - even though one (who shall remain nameless had led me to believe they would be there). No ASB bank (although there were a few carrrier bags draped on the edge of another stall) - so my taking the filled out application form and required documentation was a waste of time. Tough ASB - another bank now has my millions!

The best bit was meeting up with daughter from Lincoln - student midwife who got a job offer which now complicates our visa application because she has to come off our PR to go on her own. Another bit of useful info for those in a similar position (even if it was from a rather jaded NZIS rep who clearly would have rather been elsewhere) because Rachel's medicals and police checks are already in the system with our application they are valid for two years not the standard 6 months.

Disappointed because it could have been so much better.

[NZ Hopeful]

I couldn't agree more! I was so dissappointed.

I think we must have spoke to the same NZIS person that you did, she could not have been less interested in speaking to us, she kept looking over our shoulders! There wasn't even anyone there! :wah

Only consolation was the kids had a great time and got lots of teddies but got completely high on all the sweets from the stands :laugh

[Myrkk]

Bummer guys. Shame you didn't get more out of the expo.

The London one was ok, though it did seem to have less people there than last October. Perhaps I've just been to too many now?!

Do you think the skills shortages in NZ are lessening hence the reduced attendance by companies? Although that isn't what we were told at the London expo. by a recruitment company.......but then they have a vested interest I suppose.

[cathgates]

We went to the Manchester expo, we've never been to one before and thought there were not many stands compared to what we were expecting. We did, however, get some usefull info. We are planning to go to NZ once our house is sold and look for jobs on a tourist visa - oh is a HGV driver, we got some good responses and asked to let a couple og recruiters know our exact dates so they could line up interviews. We will, of course, organise interviews of our own as well. But it is nice to know that the people in the know don't think you are crazy to do what you're thinking of doing!!!:yes

[Andy&Carol]

Lockstock, I agree entirely. I don't really know what I was expecting though. We arrived at 1.30 on Sunday after being stuck in traffic, but we wanderd around (and around) and still finished for 3.30. Still, I got a bar of Whittakers chocolate and a cuddly kiwi so it wasn't a completley wasted day!

C

[lockstock]

I didn't get any chocolate or a cuddly Kiwi. I did get a mini tape measure on a keyring though. Always useful. And a squidgy black and white mini rugby ball.

[Myrkk]

LOL, I got one of those squishy rugby balls too..........it made a great pillow in the car on the way home........slept like a babe.:D

[vixxann]

Well I thought it was better than last year - better location, more space, seats provided, interview rooms etc. However last year was our first and I remember expecting there to be more stalls etc.

Took kids with us today and they did well for us :D Pens galore, 2 cuddly kiwis, 2 squishy rugby balls, 2 rugby balls with macs inside (!), 3 lip salves, 3 tape measures, a calendar and a lovely hardback NZ photographic book (very kind man at Westpac), photos taken on BNZ stand and LOADS of lollies !!

Hubbie had video interview and it was generally nice to get to talk to lots of friendly kiwis :)

[Lara Croft]

I thought the location was good (the last one I went to was in the Piccadilly Hotel - pants!!), but I had expected there to be more stands - and more IT agents! I didn't get my hands on a furry kiwi either - were they just giving those to the kids?

The book of landscape photos has some awesome pictures though. I gave out loads of copies of my CV and just hope something comes out of this....

Jane

[Andy&Carol]

Ok I'll 'fess up. I was walking past the Alcatel stand with my 17yr old scary looking emo son, at the same time 3 cute little girls passed in the opposite direction. The lady on the stall was being friendly to the girls and asked them if they'd like a kiwi, to which I answered "Ooh yes please!" I got a kiwi, but son was ashamed of me for the rest of the day (small price to pay).

C x

[Woolfie]

It was my first Expo and I must admit i was quite excited, having never been to one before. I got the feeling that most people i spoke to were friendly and very cheerful. I got there at 12 and couldn't believe it when i left at 3 ish. I must have enjoyed it and felt quite relaxed on the drive home.

Woolfie

[Andy-Dee]

We felt a little let down after last years expo - but then the phone started ringing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were back this year - got the cuddly kiwi - waiting for the phone to ring again now.

[hoffenberg]

:exit i am here in south africa and by what i have read i would suggest that people that want to immigrate to nz should do it on their own. i am immigrating to nz next year and from the info i got from this site i have confidence that i can do it alone with the help of some people and less cost with finance.

[Jakespa]

Just returned after a very expensive day out - rail tickets, £15 each to get in, £9.40 for a couple of manky sandwiches and two cups of (ok, quite nice) coffee. But how disappointing? There were very few stands - certainly not worth booking the G-Mex for. They could have used our village hall for a fraction of the price. TeachNZ told me I needed to wait until I got to NZ and then contact individual schools in person (I'd sussed that one out myself). No teaching agencies - even though one (who shall remain nameless had led me to believe they would be there). No ASB bank (although there were a few carrrier bags draped on the edge of another stall) - so my taking the filled out application form and required documentation was a waste of time. Tough ASB - another bank now has my millions!

The best bit was meeting up with daughter from Lincoln - student midwife who got a job offer which now complicates our visa application because she has to come off our PR to go on her own. Another bit of useful info for those in a similar position (even if it was from a rather jaded NZIS rep who clearly would have rather been elsewhere) because Rachel's medicals and police checks are already in the system with our application they are valid for two years not the standard 6 months.

Disappointed because it could have been so much better.

We did it the other way around. We went to Manchester Uni where Oasis teacher recruitment had a room and were optimistic that they could place Kathy before leaving UK, but we plan to go out on a tourist visa before that.
We then went to G-Mex, had a look through the door and decided it was`nt worth the money. So we had a bacon butty and a cup of coffee at a local cafe which was cheap and great and got the train home

[Cardy]

We went to the epo in york probably abot 3 or 4 years ago and werew very dissapointed . the immigration advisor basically told us we had no chance. But we CARRIED ON WITH OUR:yes APPLICATION ANYWAY AND GOT PR WITHOUT A JOB SO DONT GIVE IN IF ITS WHAT YOU REALLY WANT!!!

[Hippywench]

The expo wasn't as big as we were expecting but we came away with the information we wanted, plus a squishy rugby ball and lip balm. I was rather disappointed in myself when I got home and realised I hadn't managed to nab any pens. That's not like me! I didn't get a cuddly kiwi or chocolate either :wah

We already had a lot of information from the York expo last month. The Manchester one was less overwhelming for us: less people, less noise and more space to move. Also, we aren't looking to move yet so no major rush for jobs or bank accounts. There's also the information available in this forum that you wouldn't get from any expo :cheers

[Jakespa]

Damn ! No one told us about the squishy rugby balls and key rings AND tape measures.............Missed out there and the cuddly Kiwi
Fred & Kathy

[Lara Croft]

Did anyone buy the boxed Learn-About-NZ pack - the "Show Price" was an astounding £120!!! I figured you could get all the relevant information -and more - from the forum!

Jane

[lockstock]

We sae the 'box' and thought it was hilarious the price they were charging. i did point out that you could find out all the info on the net - and even more on our forum! Still smarting about missing out on the cuddly kiwi though.

[lockstock]

We saw the 'box' and thought it was hilarious the price they were charging. i did point out that you could find out all the info on the net - and even more on our forum! Still smarting about missing out on the cuddly kiwi though.

[Familyofmonkeys]

Shame that the Manchester Expo wasn't up to much. Don't be discouraged...the October one at Earls Court is 'supposed' to be the best one. We went for the day, but once we started chatting to people, we could easily have spent more time there. It was great how everyone had little bits of helpful info. Half the people on the various stands had migrated to NZ themselves....ask them and they'll tell you...great icebreaker and can them move onto discussing more serious work stuff.