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UK plumbers and gasfitters: why New Zealand must fill about 1,450 trade roles in the coming year

News · 2026-08-31 · 4 min read

Think of every tap, drain and gas line in a country and someone has to install and fix them. In New Zealand, there are not enough people to do it. Forecasters estimate the country will need to fill about 1,450 plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying roles over the coming year alone. If you work in one of those trades in the UK, that is a number worth a closer look.

Three pressures at once

The shortage has three main causes:

• An ageing workforce, with many experienced people close to retiring.
• Qualified tradespeople leaving for Australia.
• A construction sector that is starting to pick up again.

On top of that, New Zealand is simply not training enough new people to replace those who go.

Too few firms taking on apprentices

The industry body for master plumbers says fewer than one in five plumbing businesses currently take on apprentices, and across construction as a whole the figure can be as low as 10–15 percent. New apprentice numbers have dropped sharply again this year, after a steep fall the year before. During the recession, tighter margins made it hard for smaller firms to carry trainees through their early, less productive months.

Experienced tradespeople describe an apprentice as a slow investment, often five years before a business sees a proper return. That makes training one of the first things to go when work dries up and one of the last to come back.

The trip across the Tasman

The more striking part is where qualified people are going: not out of the trade, but out of the country. Newly qualified plumbers are increasingly heading to Australia, where pay can be close to double. A jump from around NZ$30 an hour to AU$55 is not unusual, and estimates from recent cohorts suggest close to half of a graduating class may move to Australia soon after qualifying.

For someone in the UK, that cuts two ways. It shows why New Zealand employers are under pressure to look beyond their own workers, and it also shows how strongly Australia pulls in trades workers from abroad. Both countries are worth comparing before you choose.

An older crew on the tools

The average certifying plumber, gasfitter or drainlayer in New Zealand is now 49, and around 1,000 people still working on the tools are past 65 and nearing retirement. Because these trades underpin safe drinking water, sanitation and gas supply, the shortage matters well beyond building timelines.

Two fixes the industry suggests

Training more apprentices is only part of the answer. The trade also needs to widen who gets a chance in the first place: women make up under one percent of the licensed plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying workforce, even though female candidates keep showing interest and say they struggle to get an interview.

The other fix is looking abroad. With apprenticeship numbers falling and training providers dealing with patchy course availability, tutor shortages and ageing equipment, skilled migration is becoming a necessity rather than a back-up for keeping essential projects staffed.

Before you pack your tools

Plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying are licensed trades in New Zealand, and some trades there need occupational registration, so check what applies to your work before you count on starting straight away. A few other steps help:

• Gather your NVQ, SVQ or City & Guilds certificates, apprenticeship records and references.
• Keep certified copies; your UK documents are already in English, so translation is rarely needed.
• Put the systems, appliances and jobs you have worked on in a clear CV; Build AI CV can help you set out a plumbing CV.

Visa routes are listed on the Immigration New Zealand visa pages. For more on trades across the Tasman, read about the Trades and Technician Pathway and New Zealand as a career reset for tradespeople, then see the trade jobs open now.

#plumbing #gasfitting #new zealand #trades #work in new zealand #apprenticeships