# Social and Cultural Changes

## Overview

During the last 60 years, there have been many social and cultural changes in New Zealand. One major change has been with the employment of women. In the mid-1940s, women who had worked in traditionally male jobs during World War Two were forced to leave. They had to return to their 'rightful' place in the home. This type of attitude is no longer acceptable in today's society.

The same might be said for skill needs. Not so long ago, it was easy to get a job when you left school, even if you didn't have any qualifications. Nowadays, it is far better if you have some evidence that you did even a little bit of work at school.

Perhaps you might like to read more about social and cultural changes?

### Ethnic changes

> Not only are jobs and skill requirements changing, so are the people who do the work. Furthermore, through higher fertility and a significantly younger age mix, Maori and Pacific births are a growing share of all births. When the regional effect (population distribution, change and share) is included it suggests that about 40 per cent of new entrants to the labour force in Auckland in 20 years time will be non-European. This highlights the national economic advantage that would result if success in reducing long-standing ethnic disparities in educational standards were achieved.

Cook, Len (12 December 2000). www.stats.govt.nz

You might like to check out more information on this website. You will find lots of interesting stuff about New Zealand society.

Employment for the Maori and Pacific population in New Zealand has traditionally been concentrated in the manufacturing sector. Manual labour was the main requirement. There is now an urgent need to retrain a large proportion of this group, along with many others, in the new knowledge-based industries.

### Immigration

As New Zealand's immigrant population grows, there is an awareness that those who have arrived from a primarily agricultural society will need to be re-skilled. This will be a big change - they will leapfrog industrialisation and move straight into the knowledge age.

Those that do come with the requisite skills are finding that their skills are at a premium and much sought after. They are fast becoming the 'new rich' in our society. Clearly, the New Zealand workforce in the future will be much more diverse than it has been in the past.

### Ageing

Another area of interest is the ageing of the New Zealand workforce. The number of workers in older age groups is growing, and employers cannot afford to let the skills of these older workers be wasted. With no mandatory retirement age, New Zealand is ideally placed to benefit from the skills of all workers, including those who are more mature.

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