The purpose of this section of our website is to give professionals a brief overview of the main biotech clusters around Europe and Internationally that might provide the job and career development opportunities that they are seeking. These are biotech clusters with which Liftstream has client relationships.

New Zealand Bio

New Zealand Biotech

New Zealand is a country that ranks highly as a country of destination for people to live and work. It is an amazing country, with some of the most stunning landscapes and natural environments. It is famed for it outdoor pursuits and love of sport, so for individuals with a desire to live the outdoor life, New Zealand is the place.

However, the ‘featured-cluster’ portion of the Liftstream website is not a feature aimed at giving people ideas for a holiday, for that there are adequate resources available. Instead, our aim is to give people a quick overview of what is happening in the life sciences industry and whether New Zealand might be a place they can develop their careers.

As we venture through the early stages of 2009, there is considerable change happening around the world from an economic perspective, so many people will be thinking about how they can change their circumstances. A result is that many people will seek fresh challenges and opportunities elsewhere in the world and at Liftstream we have already received many enquiries from European candidates seeking opportunities in Latin America, Far East, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

New Zealand is a country that in recent years has been experiencing a strong economic period which has been helped in no-small part by their thriving biotechnology sector. It is now a very well established and thriving sector of the economy but also a sector which is having an impact around the world in the advance of science in Animal, Plant, Agricultural and Human Health.

There are clusters around key areas of both the North and South Islands in Auckland, Waikoto, Manawatu, Wellington, Canterbury and Dunedin. So within New Zealand there are diverse clusters, each with slightly different focuses that may orientate around Plant, Ag-Research, Crop and Food, Forestry, Human Health, Medical Devices and Technology, Farming and Horticulture. This provides individuals seeking employment in New Zealand with multiple choices.

Here are some companies that illustrate the diversity in what Bio-businesses are up to in the New Zealand market:

EnCoate™ is rapidly moving towards commercialising technology initially used to help kill off grass grub in New Zealand pastures. www.encoate.com

 Living Cell Technologies -  LCT is a New Zealand based biotechnology company focused on developing living cell products for the treatment of diabetes, neurological disease and haemophilia. www.lctglobal.com

 Global Technologies Ltd (GTL) has prototyped a pen-like, bio-electronic DNA and protein testing and tracing device that could retail for a few dollars a unit. It has potential applications to test food. www.glotec.co.nz

 The overall view is that New Zealand has a thriving industry of biotech and life science companies that are excelling in many areas of scientific research. It is a country that offers the career opportunities as well as the ‘quality of life’ benefits too. For that reason, New Zealand is a serious consideration for those looking to radically change their situation and who wish to seek a thriving life sciences cluster in which to develop their careers.

If you'd be interested in moving to New Zealand and want to know more about the career opportunities, please contact Liftstream for an informal discussion. 

www.nzbio.org.com

www.workingin-newzealand.com