[denisesykes]

Hi there
The daughter of friends back in the UK has just arrived from the UK for a year to stay.
She has a working holiday visa which means she can work temporarily .

Back home she worked part time in a playgroup and also in the restaurant of a private sports club.

She has been here for a few weeks and has not really been very pro active on the ' searching for jobs' front so I think she will need a gentle push to get going!

She has considered looking for a type of teachers aide or nannying job and then get a couple of hours in a bar at night but I worry that this is far too much like what she was doing back home.

Additionally we live in Raumati on the Kapiti Coast which although beautiful is not exactly the hub of the universe as far as teenagers are concerned!

She has a driving licence but has only just passed her test and did not have her own car in the UK so I don't know how happy I would be if she perfected her driving skills on NZ roads!

I did suggest that she flew and joined a friend who is travelling round Oz but she said that she did not want to stay in hostels.Equally she does not want to work in Video Ezy, Subway, KFC or Pak n Save!!!all of whom are advertising here.
Don't get me wrong , she is lovely girl and maybe it is early days but I worry about how her year will turn out.
Any ideas and advice? M y 3 kids and I all go back to school in just over a week and don't want to leave her everyday in the house alone as surely this is not what being in NZ is all about.
However , teenagers being teenagers I think she would be quite happy to do this if given a chance!
Thanks ,

Denise

[Ana&Steve]

Maybe she could try a few hours of volunteer work a week? Say in conservation or a community center...Teenhood is sometimes a weird mix of knowing everything and feeling too small to affect change; maybe unsolicited helpfulness will get her to know her own mind.... Or maybe not! It's been too long since I was a teen :D
Ana

[sarahw]

Yep I agree with Ana - what about getting involved with some conservation work? - there's some great, exciting projects out there & she may get offered a job after volunteering a bit (plus have some pretty awesome experiences with nature that may influence her life greatly). Loads of things going on - even along Kapiti coast - there's always island projects - she could volunteer for DoC (Dept of Conservation) on Kapiti Island or there's a great project Nga Uruora along the Kapiti Coast with some fab people who are always looking for volunteers:

http://www.kapitibush.org.nz/

http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/summary.aspx?id=38741

http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=35101

[sizzlingbadger]

If she wants to travel around NZ the Stray bus is apparently brilliant. A friend of mine is currently on a 1 year working visa. He worked a few months then travelled around on the Stray bus staying in hostels. He said it was the best way to get to meet people his own age.

Unsure how to go about the work issue, maybe leave the job the section open :-)

I'm sure she'll soon start to move once you've all gone back to work and school and she's sat at home on her own.

[gil]

Back home she worked part time in a playgroup and also in the restaurant of a private sports club....She has considered looking for a type of teachers aide or nannying job and then get a couple of hours in a bar at night but I worry that this is far too much like what she was doing back home.


She has a driving licence but has only just passed her test and did not have her own car in the UK so I don't know how happy I would be if she perfected her driving skills on NZ roads!
Denise

Hi Denise,
I almost didn't reply to this as I don't want to come across as pessimistic, (bear with me here :D) as we went through something very similar with our 18 year old who has since returned to the UK on her own (:wah) BUT, what I was going to say was, I wouldn't worry if the work she finds is similar to what she did in UK. It could be something "familiar" that will help her confidence and make her feel more comfortable and settled here. It can be hard to imagine the sense of fear or anxiety that young people feel, and just because she's come over, doesn't mean she will feel hugely confident in everything. I would encourage her to look for something with children and/or bar work, as it will be soemthing she feels she knows how to do. And whilst it is similar, it will also be different 'cos it's here and it's different people.

We found that our eldest seemed much happier once she had bought a car, even though she was nervous driving around Auckland, that also built her confidence and at least she could get out! She has , as I said, returned to the UK now but has left her car here. It's a 1992 Nissan Pulsar, cost her $1,000 and is sitting in the driveway. I suspect we are too far for your young friend to want to buy it off us, but as I said, it made quite a difference to Lauren. (BTW, her insurance for the year was $290. )

I hope this has made sense Denise, feel free to PM us!
Take care,
Love
Gilx

[CjChris]

Global Volunteer Network is based in Welly/lower hutt area but they do work all over the north island.

My oldest daughter (22) stayed there three months last year and loved it! She worked with conservation program (plants and animals) and met so many people from all over the world! Normally the program costs a fee if you stay in their volunteer house fulltime, but I wonder if they would have work she could do and come and go as she pleases?

If you google their name you'lll find the site.

Good luck!

Christine

[Caroline and Dave]

Hi there


She has a driving licence but has only just passed her test and did not have her own car in the UK so I don't know how happy I would be if she perfected her driving skills on NZ roads!



Denise

You need to check this out but I am was told that you have to have held a full UK driving licence for two years before you can drive in NZ. Our two were going to take their tests in UK but then we found out that they would have to do it all again in NZ So they will wait until they are over. I will try and find the info again as I might be wrong.Correction.I have just checked it out and As far as I am aware she can drive but must take both practical and theory exams in NZ.Thats only if she is going to be in NZ for more than a year without leaving.Sorry for worrying you

Dave and Caroline

[gil]

You need to check this out but I am pretty certain that you have to have held a full UK driving licence for two years before you can drive in NZ. Our two were going to take their tests in UK but then we found out that they would have to do it all again in NZ So they will wait until they are over. I will try and find the info againas I might be wrong

Dave and Caroline

You can dirve over here on a full UK licence for one year from arriving, regardless of how long/short you've held it. After the year, you must get an NZ licence. If you've held your UK licence for 2+ years, you do the theory test. If you it's less than 2 years, you do the theory AND the practical tests.
HTH,

Gil

[veronica]

At the backpackers we get lots of guests of this age who are travelling by themselves in a gap year before uni. To get the best of being here she needs to branch out on her own and meet people her own age, getting a job doing backpacker type things. fruit picking, waitressing etc. theres lots of agencies to help. Whether she travels by intercity, stray or atomic buses is just choice. She can always return up to you if she needs too.

[Nelsonian]

As per previous posts, there's loads of work for youngsters on working holiday visas via agencies - whether it's office work in a city, fruit picking, working at a backpackers or in tourism. What interests does she have?
There's a great network called Willing Workers On Organic Farms - although it's wider than farm work now. Every kiwi seems to know about woofers and woofing - you can often just phone places up and ask even if they're not in the book. I met 2 lovely teenagers (aged 17) last year who'd been working on a farm in Havelock.
There's also an online network called Help Exchange - which puts helpers and hosts in touch. Used it last year myself on and off and it was free to join
http://www.helpx.net
There's also a backpacker online board with job details http://www.backpackerboard.co.nz/index.php
From all the people I met travelling, I'd also recommend Stray above Kiwi Experience or Magic Bus.

[KerryS]

Is she planning to stay with you for the entire year? My nephew is coming to NZ later this year on a WHV, and although he's going to stay with me initially I've told him to make sure he sees all of NZ and not just Auckland.
If your friend's daughter doesn't know anyone else in NZ then the traveller buses such as Stray, Magic and even the Kiwi Experience are great places to meet others who are in the same situation. Is there any particular reason why she won't stay in hostels?

[baboonworld]

if she wants to meet some peers i suggest she gets a job at PaknSave or similar - or she is going to get very lonely

[denisesykes]

Thanks to everyone for their fine (and varied!) advice!
Although I would prefer Jennie to go travelling I think that she needs to feel secure here first so i am not going to nag her about that yet!
Today she has been offered 2 jobs , both in Raumati so she can walk there, one in a day care centre and one at a local bar .She has accepted both, and starts work at the day care centre tomorrow and starts training at the bar on Saturday!!
So good for her, I probably paniced too soon, she is very happy about how things have gone so that is what matters!
Thanks to everyone once again
Cheers
Denise

[gil]

That's great news Denise, I'm so pleassed for her (and you!) And who knows, once she feels comfortable and confident, she might well get itchy feet.... and if she doesn't, so what. It can be all too easy to feel that people should do what we think is the "right" thing or a "good" thing, but this is a great illustration that "there's nothing wrong with me, I'm just not you" Do let us know how she gets on, and if she ever wants to visit Auckland, she's very welcome here...

Gil

[Ana&Steve]

Nice to hear! Hope she settles in well :)
Ana

[katandbob]

You can dirve over here on a full UK licence for one year from arriving, regardless of how long/short you've held it. After the year, you must get an NZ licence. If you've held your UK licence for 2+ years, you do the theory test. If you it's less than 2 years, you do the theory AND the practical tests.
HTH,
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caroline and Dave
You need to check this out but I am pretty certain that you have to have held a full UK driving licence for two years before you can drive in NZ. Our two were going to take their tests in UK but then we found out that they would have to do it all again in NZ So they will wait until they are over. I will try and find the info againas I might be wrong

Dave and Caroline

Gil

Gil is correct, you can drive for up to 1 yr on a UK full Licence, but the 2 years DOSEN'T start when you PASS THE FULL LICENCE as we found out that our son was able to jump the 6mth on the learner licence because he had held his Learner licence for 2 years (he is 18+ - ie he got it on his 16th birthday, so the 2years that you have to hold the UK licence started when he got it!

we stopped him getting his full licence in the uk, but in retrospect if he had got it he would have been driving his own car and not stuck waiting for a parent to sit in the front seat for mths, which is when we started looking into it.

we went to VTNZ and he did the theory test, and passed then they sent his learner licence off with a form to convert it, and a month later we got the letter to say that all he needed to do was pass the restricted Learner practical test - But by then he had had enough of no friends, low wages and backwards technology and he left (just as Gils daughter did)on Monday :( but he is already booking a lesson to assess his proficiency and plans on passing his UK test ASAP, and has set up an interview/and is in the process of getting his old apprenticeship back - his friends took him out for the last 2 nights (I think he is partying through his jet-lag! :laugh ) and my MIL says he is much happier than when he first stepped through her door - So I will be a good mum and let him make his own life!


Kat

:nice1

[veronica]

anyone who thinks that giving birth is hard just wait til you have to let them go. thats the hardest thing about having kids.