The Employment Action Plan sets out a program of actions for government agencies to support more New Zealanders into work and give them greater opportunities to realise their potential. It lays out the Government’s vision to support people to gain and retain employment, and the steps needed to achieve this. 

The document communicates the Government’s approach and the collaboration that will support success across the labour market. The Plan is a starting point for how the Government will lift labour market outcomes, key to achieving the Government’s targets for the economy and ultimately delivering better results for New Zealanders.

The vision for the Employment Action Plan is: “We will support people – across different population groups, different regions and facing different challenges – to use their skills so that people can lead happier, healthier and more productive lives, contribute to the economy, support communities, businesses, industries and sectors and share in New Zealand’s prosperity”.

It has three goals to support this vision and 12 key actions for Ministers to drive progress. 

1. Help people get into work quickly and stay in work, reducing negative impact of job-loss and time on benefit for people and the economy, and changing longer-term trajectories for people with a view to improving employment outcomes, limiting increases in benefit numbers and reducing them over time.
2. Support people to have the skills they need to succeed in work, increasing earning potential and reducing benefit in-flows and encouraging continued upskilling in-work for improved productivity and resilience.
3. Improve employers’ access to skills, employees’ access to jobs that make best use of their skills and enable students and employees to make informed decisions about investing in their skills.