The doors of libraries, pools and parks are being shut across the country as local councils struggle with staff shortages brought on by Covid-19, winter illnesses, and a tight labour market.
From lifeguards, to park maintenance staff and parking wardens, Queenstown Lakes District Council sport and recreation manager, Simon Battrick, says it’s never been harder to fill a role.
“The reality is this is probably the worst I've seen in 30 years.
READ MORE: Covid, winter illnesses leaving businesses short staffed
“On any given day we're anywhere between 35-45% short of staff.
“We’re paying above the norm, to try and attract more Kiwis into the jobs.”
In Hawke's Bay, according to Hastings District Council chief executive Nigel Bickle, the staff shortage has forced them to close three libraries during busy Saturday afternoon hours.
“We're offering one of our employment services to young people to mornings instead of all day. So we've just had to make adjustments on account of our overall staffing situation.
“It's pretty challenging to maintain services to the community.”
But across the country, nowhere are the vacancies as stark, as poolside.
At Wellington’s Tawa Pool, six of the nine full-time roles are vacant, forcing the city council to close it until September.
But chief executive of Recreation Aotearoa, Andrew Leslie, says while the recent winter outbreaks haven’t helped, it’s far from the sole cause of the labour shortage facing local government.
“There's a couple of things going on here and it's quite complex… issues around Covid related or winter illness shortages, but we're also seeing a real difficulty long-term to fill roles."
He says it's been an issue stretching back the past year and can be felt at every level.
“We're also seeing at supervisor managerial levels that there are vacancies out there that are really hard to fill.
“We've heard of vacancies for up to 12 months in some of those sorts of positions.”
SHARE ME