RUNNING HER OWN BUSINESS AT 23. HOW MONIQUE IS BEATING THE TRADE SHORTAGE ONE BRICK AT A TIME

When Monique Juratovac swapped her make up brushes and hairdryer for a brickie’s trowel three and a half years ago, she had no idea she would find herself in the middle of a tradie drought.

This week, the Housing Industry Association reported that Australia is in the midst of a building bonanza, with more than 100,000 homes under construction. But the high demand and COVID related issues have meant that the worker shortage is at its worst since records began.

The biggest demand is for bricklayers, carpenters and roof tilers.

For 23-year-old Ms Juratovac, who started her own business MJ Bricklaying last week, it’s meant there’s plenty of work on the ground.

“I have had quite a few people message me to do private jobs,” she said. “I have always done more housing (than commercial sites) and that’s what I prefer. But I’ll always help out people close to me.”

Perth-based Ms Juratovac became a bricklayer after qualifying as a hairdresser and then a make up artist before making the switch to the building site.

“I left school quite young after being bullied and hairdressing was the avenue most girls went down – my older sister was a hairdresser,” she said. “I did three years of study but I wasn’t happy so I did a Certificate III in make-up. But that didn’t help. I needed a change.”

After investigating a number of trades, and a day’s trial on a building site, she was hooked.

“I was talking to mum about it and she said to give it a go. I did a day’s free trial on site and I fell in love with it.

“I love the whole atmosphere. I don’t have to do my make up to go to work, I can just roll out of bed. I get along with the boys so well – we have banter and it doesn’t even feel like work some days.”

Ms Juratovac (pictured below) also tested her skills against the best in her region.

“I won the WorldSkills Regional Bricklaying Competition in 2019,” she said. “I didn’t expect to win it. I was prepared for the worst but they said I’d won. Then they said I was the first woman to win and I started to cry.”

She has also won Apprentice of the Year – twice.

General manager international marketing for Brickworks, Brett Ward, said Western Australia, where Ms Juratovac works, is suffering the longest waits for bricklayers, with delays of up to 12 weeks, but all states are under the pump. Brickworks is working with the Australian Brick and Blocklaying Training Foundation to attract more apprentices into the industry.

“There are apprenticeships available – we have 30 available in WA right now,” he said. “It’s a major campaign to align the apprenticeship scheme with the major builders. It’s something we are working on all the time but we are competing against tech based jobs. Bricklaying is not seen to be as cool but you can run your own jobs and be your own boss.”

As long as you enjoy physical work, Ms Juratovac says bricklaying is a satisfying – and in demand – career. And these days, she’s calling the shots on site.

“It feels good. It’s scary and stressful but once you get your head around it, it’s good,” she said. “People are listening to me a lot more. Before they’d ask one of the boys but now that I am paying the wages, they’re listening to me.”

New Zealand has created a new, easier path to residency for wealthy people, and it’s attracting attention from Americans looking for an alternative to living in the U.S.

According to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise—the government’s international business development agency—70% of incoming inquiries into a revised program leading to permanent residency in the country are from the U.S.

A spokesperson with the agency said it remains to be seen whether those inquiries turn into the same level of visa applications. Still, the inquiries are evidence that Americans are interested.

“There’s a huge increase in demand from the U.S.,” said Dominic Jones, managing director of Greener Pastures New Zealand, which helps those applying for the country’s so-called Golden Visa to find investment opportunities.

Many U.S. citizens are seeking residency in New Zealand—as well as other countries —as a “plan B” during President Donald Trump’s administration, according to immigration attorney David Lesperance. Many of these are applicants who worry Trump could exact retribution on them or their families for perceived slights, in addition to those who have family members that could face discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Some are concerned about the future of the U.S. economy.

For those with the money, reallocating $2.88 million in assets from the U.S. to New Zealand for three years—as the new requirements allow—isn’t a heavy lift, Lesperance said. “Depending on foreign exchange and returns on investment over this time, the cost could easily be zero or positive,” he wrote in an April 2 blog post.

Investment visa

The island country is also only requiring applicants to be physically present for 21 days over three years, depending on which category of investment visa they pursue.

“These applicants are people who are in a financial position to look at this as an asset reallocation and one or two vacations in the next three years in exchange for a permanent insurance policy in a first-world country,” Lesperance told Barron’s.

U.S. citizens have long been interested in living in New Zealand. About 38% of applicants to a previous program with stricter requirements that was in effect from September 2022 through April 1 this year were from the U.S., according to the trade and enterprise agency.

That program required a four-year investment of between NZ$5 million and NZ$15 million ($2.88 million and $8.4 million) in the country, with the amount varying depending on the type of investment. It also required being in the country at least 117 days over four years and passing an English language test—which was more an annoyance than an impediment for U.S. citizens.

Wealthy investors consider New Zealand as a residency option because of the country’s lifestyle, climate, and dramatic, beautiful landscapes, according to Jones. It’s also a stable, English-speaking democracy with a free economy, and it’s safe, he said.

“We’re on the other side of the world,” Jones said. “We don’t tend to get involved in global conflicts. The drive to safety isn’t why all people all choose Golden Visas, but it’s why people choose the New Zealand option.”

The revised New Zealand Active Active Investor Plus Visa program that went into effect on April 1 eases up on the previous requirements through the introduction of two categories for obtaining permanent residency.

Growth category

Under a “growth” category, applicants need to invest $2.88 million for three years directly into privately owned New Zealand-based companies that have been approved by the trade and enterprise agency, or in New Zealand managed funds that are invested in the local economy, Jones said.

Applicants are only required to be in New Zealand for 21 days during the three-year investment period, and they don’t have to pass an English test.

A second “balanced” category requires a minimum $5.6 million over five years, but allows it to be invested more passively in listed stocks, government bonds, and New Zealand-based corporate bonds, Jones said. It also requires applicants to be present in the country for at least 105 days over five years.

Once the requirements are met during the three- or five-year period, applicants achieve permanent residency in New Zealand, even if they no longer spend time in the country, according to Lesperance.

The growth category was structured to be quicker and more attractive, to encourage applicants to make meaningful, active investments in the country with the potential to spur economic growth and create jobs.

“What our government is trying to do is attract capital, but also put it into forms of enterprise where the impact on the economy is material,” Jones said.

RUNNING HER OWN BUSINESS AT 23. HOW MONIQUE IS BEATING THE TRADE SHORTAGE ONE BRICK AT A TIME

A new Golden Visa is luring wealthy Americans to New Zealand with minimal stay requirements and a fast track to permanent residency—just as uncertainty grows back home.

Investment visa

Growth category