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The Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA) has launched Move to Manawatu, a national campaign designed to raise awareness of the lifestyle and career opportunities in Palmerston North and Manawatū, to support industries and businesses working to attract talent to the city and region.

Move to Manawatu features authentic stories – both video and written – from the perspectives of new and long-term residents on what life is like here. The digital campaign is being targeted to major centres including Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga and Hamilton, where families, couples and individuals are already moving from. New and engaging content will continually be added, moving forward.

Palmerston North and Manawatū are experiencing levels of growth and investment that have not been seen in decades and this is attracting new residents to the region, with population estimates increasing by 2,000 people or 1.6 per cent over the year to June 2018. School rolls have also experienced strong growth, with an extra 440 students enrolling in schools across the region in the year to June 2017 (latest data available.)

But more people are needed.

To better understand challenges faced by employers and to support them, Move to Manawatu has been created with the input and insights of almost 20 partners including local business owners, recruitment specialists, human resource teams, and residents.

“We undertook this planning and research to ensure Move to Manawatū isn’t a one-off campaign, but a well-thought out suite of tools and resources that can support business owners and employers who are wanting to attract talent. We know labour and skills shortages are businesses’ biggest barriers to growth, and this is just one way in which we can support them,” says Janet Reynolds, CEDA’s Marketing and Communications Manager.

The stories form part of a new content hub on ManawatuNZ.co.nz called Move to Manawatu, which also includes key facts and figures on the region like our population, house prices, and the number of cafes and parks. This content is available for anyone to use, share and promote the lifestyle here, as is an Image Library available on ceda.nz.

“We wanted to use real-life stories of residents because when you’re considering a move or a big life decision, you often want to talk to or hear from people who have done it themselves. It’s no longer the case that regions can rely on saying, ‘escape high house prices and traffic and move to our region,’ because that narrative is becoming old. We wanted to wrap a more authentic approach around the campaign.”

The people featured in these pieces say moving to Palmerston North and Manawatū has allowed them to live the life they always dreamed they would have.

“They have been able to start their own businesses, further their careers, buy houses twice the size and for half the price of other areas they have previously lived in. A key theme we are hearing is that one of the best aspects of living here is the people and the community – the friendly and down to earth nature of our residents here offers newcomers a genuine sense of belonging.”

CEDA, along with our shareholder councils, Palmerston North City Council and Manawatū District Council, have ambitious long-term plans for the region. These include the creation of 12,000 and 2,000 new jobs in the city and district, respectively. One of CEDA’s objectives is to attract, retain and develop skills and talent in the region so businesses have the skills to grow, and this campaign is just one example of how we are working to achieve this.

For more information:
[email protected]
06 350 1830

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