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Tourism Minister Louise Upston says the "economic recovery is going well" in the Waitaki district.
Ms Upston, who is also the Minister for Social Development (MSD) and Employment, was in the district last week to talk to local employers about various schemes to get people off the Jobseeker benefit into work, and about tourism.
"Because the economic recovery is going well here, the southern region for MSD is actually doing well against the Jobseeker target, so it’s leading the country," she said.
But that still presented "different challenges", such as thinking ahead to what the "future workforce needs" were and not just focusing on current job vacancies.
Ms Upston met local businesses and organisations at the Whitestone Cheese Diner and Deli while in Oamaru last week.
The Oamaru Mail spoke with Ms Upston who said a "big focus" of her visit was to inform employers of the government’s initiative, Chamberworks, a partnership between New Zealand Chambers of Commerce and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) offering a way to connect businesses with potential employees.
"For small businesses, recruitment is one of the scariest things they do, so if they list their vacancy with ChamberWorks, then MSD can provide pre-screened and suitable candidates, so it takes a real load off.
"Growing tourism and hospitality grows job opportunities, and we want to make sure that Kiwis are the first in line for those opportunities because the economic recovery is going well in the Waitaki," she said.
Local businesses owners and employment services present included Workbridge, Tourism Waitaki, the Oamaru Pacific Island Trust, Oamaru Penguins and boutique accommodation providers Poshtel and Tirohanga Nui Lodge.
As of March 2026, there were 2196 people aged from 18 to 24 on Jobseeker support in the southern region.
"MSD can also help with ongoing training, onboarding and support for existing staff and team, not just the new person, so there are quite a wide range of services," Ms Upston said.
The "far more proactive and planned" approach would work well in small communities and rural areas like Waitaki.
"It’s thinking about working together as a region," she said.
"One of the things I love about small communities and rural areas is that you’re far more connected and you have the ability to think about things differently and be more flexible.
"By joining with MSD and planning ahead, it means there’s time to get people ready and to invest in training and support."
The Mayor’s Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) was a local initiative through the Waitaki District Council, while ChamberWorks was a more widespread and an "end-to-end" economic entry, she said.
"You might have a vacancy in Dunedin and a candidate here in Oamaru that’s perfect for it, and it might be that there are opportunities outside of MTFJ on the network that are then available through ChamberWorks."
A district council spokesperson said Tourism Waitaki would now have a role in the district after the Oamaru and Waitaki Visitor Information Centre and Whitestone City were recently closed in the Historic Precinct, despite support for the visitor centre’s continuation from over 147 local businesses, including Whitestone Cheese and Mariner Suites.
EXCLUSION ‘DISAPPOINTING’
Restaurateurs from Waitaki, and other regions, were recently "disappointed" they were not eligible for Michelin Guide consideration after Tourism New Zealand last year committed $6.3 million to a three-year-partnership which only covers Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown/Wānaka.
Ms Upston did not comment directly on the regional exclusion, when asked by the Oamaru Mail.
She said part of the Michelin promotion was what Tourism NZ had done with its integrated campaign "inviting international guests to experience New Zealand’s food and beverage story first hand".
"That is promoting hospitality across New Zealand and encouraging people to promote themselves via that mechanism.
"While Michelin in New Zealand is all about focusing on what we do incredibly well already — we grow, we produce, we serve incredibly amazing food throughout the country — so by getting Michelin here that was about saying we are at that calibre," she said.
She had met "a number of people from the tourism industry" and "looked at ways to also capitalise on international visitors that might be arriving into Queenstown or Dunedin, or Timaru port’, and making sure that they travel through [the] area".
‘TOURISM GATEWAY’
Timaru welcomed a record 14 cruise ships last year that brought thousands of visitors to the city’s cafes, shops and attractions.
There was a "significant opportunity" to position Oamaru Airport as a "tourism gateway", boosting regional tourism by leveraging the North Otago town’s proximity to its South Canterbury neighbour, airport manager Matt Sisson wrote in a recent strategy report.
Charter and scenic flights, collaboration with cruise operators and aviation-linked tourism packages tailored to cruise passengers were options.
Timaru’s economic and tourism agency Venture Timaru had a goal to attract 30 cruise ship visits per year by 2030, the report said.
‘SERVICE TOWN’
Waitaki MP Miles Anderson, who attended the meeting, said Oamaru was "a service town" and claimed unemployment was lower compared to other areas.
"Tourism and agriculture is going well, the agriculture industry is going well and Macraes Mine is too — that’s a big part of the Waitaki district and 26% of the GDP."
While he did not "have a silver bullet" for the retail industry, post Covid-19, when people’s buying habits increasingly shifted online, the jobseeker picture was "pretty good", he said.
"We’ve got Alliance Group Pukeuri plant and the industrial area out there ... Godfrey Hirst are struggling to get people, as is the dairy industry, with a big Filipino community coming here for that but businesses have found it difficult to get staff so there is a lot of demand out there," Mr Anderson said.
"I saw a father and son recently who both graduated through an IT programme and these programmes also create opportunities where people don’t have to be pigeon-holed into a particular type of employment," he said.