Linking Israel to New Zealand
On a warm evening last October, Ochre Recruitment New Zealand hosted a conference for Israeli doctors in Tel Aviv. It was extremely well-received, with over 200 health professionals attending the evening to learn about living and working in New Zealand (Aotearoa).
Flying over from New Zealand to present at the seminar evening were two Israeli doctors: GP Dr. Uri Steinfeld and psychiatrist Dr. Dan Schlosberg. Both doctors had been guided through the transition to a new land and placed into their current roles by Ochre Recruitment. Along with Drs. Steinfeld and Schlosberg was Mr Roy Oz, CEO of Brain Mobility and a specialist immigration advisor. However, the main organiser and speaker at the conference was our very own New Zealand Ochre Recruitment consultant Leah Mor.
Leah joined the Ochre Recruitment NZ team in August 2017, bringing with her a wealth of career experience within the fields of recruitment, human resources and social work. Hailing from Tel Aviv herself, Leah and her family immigrated to New Zealand in 2013. Their experience of relocation, assimilation and adapting to life in Aotearoa afforded Leah unique insights and understanding of the processes involved in moving to New Zealand to work.
Relocating to New Zealand
Dr. Steinfeld and Dr. Schlosberg spoke to their experience of relocating from life in a Middle Eastern city to rural New Zealand with the help of Ochre Recruitment. To a rapt audience they described the process of transferring their careers and families overseas, including daily aspects of their new life, differences in culture, the favourable work/life balance and the ways in which Ochre Recruitment partnered with them to make the whole move as smooth as possible. Mr Oz talked about the New Zealand immigration process and the detail around gaining work and residency visas.
Leah offered Israeli doctors who came to the seminar an alternative to the intensity of living in a hectic, often chaotic country. With slides of New Zealand scenery to accompany her presentation, she described Aotearoa as a serene country, with mountains, coasts and wilderness to explore and discover. Moving at a calm pace and embracing a relaxed way of life, New Zealand is also a wonderful place to raise children.
Children's education in NZ
The NZ education system aims to ensure each child is valued, and that individual learning needs are accommodated within small classroom sizes. Leah’s children were integrated gently into schools which were accustomed to welcoming immigrant students. Teachers here understand that children often need time to adjust to different learning environments. The New Zealand school year starts in February and runs through to December, but students can begin class at anytime during the year. Traditionally, there is no bulk new entrant intake; children begin school on, or around, their fifth birthday.
Locum and travel opportunities
Leah also explained to seminar attendees that a move to New Zealand need not be a permanent one. Taking a year or two out to travel and work in a new country is an option that Ochre Recruitment offers overseas doctors, especially given that Israel and New Zealand have comparable health care systems. For Israeli doctors this means a relatively straightforward route to gaining Medical Council of New Zealand registration, which enables them to work as health professionals in New Zealand. Salaries here are competitive, and workloads are designed to ensure quality time off.
Ochre Recruitment New Zealand regularly have vacancies in both rural and urban areas as well as city hospitals, so doctors can choose which placement will best suit their needs.
Working as a locum or medical professional in Aotearoa provides plenty of opportunities to explore this wonderful country and the diversity of the people who live here, so there’s never been a better time to call us!
