The deregulation of the 1980s gave impetus to a consulting industry dedicated to helping New Zealand’s commercial and social environment adapt to the type of change that is now becoming a way of life for other economies.
The national development agenda – particularly in areas such as agriculture, transparency in the public sector, natural hazards and disaster risk management – has seen New Zealand develop internationally relevant capabilities. While New Zealanders’ pragmatic approach to strategic reforms often gives them a competitive edge in the international arena.
New Zealand consulting services available to international clients include agriculture, communications, economic development, education and training, emergency and disaster relief, energy and power services, environmental and conservation, fisheries and marine resources, forestry, health, legal, organisational and social support and development, resource management, tourism and transportation, urban planning and physical infrastructure and water supply and sanitation.
Some of the industry’s international successes have been:
- assisting countries with earthquake risk assessment and mitigation, and emergency, disaster and risk management
- advising governments on economic growth and environmental management
- designing infrastructure solutions for transport and water-related services
- helping with policy development and implementation of education reforms.
New Zealand’s consultancy sector exports are worth approximately NZ$600-700 million per annum. This includes work with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, both of which procure about $20 million in consulting services a year.
The global consultancy services opportunity
Major restructure and reform movements such as those in New Zealand's education and public finance sectors in the 1980s generated new research and development, and economic and system efficiency. Also during this time accountability and transparency became increasingly important.
Success in these areas has subsequently created international demand for New Zealand consultancy services.
Currently, the largest consultancy sector is engineering design, including project management, transportation asset management, and specialised fields such as seismic engineering, where New Zealand is a world leader.
How NZTE can help consultancy services companies
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) employs staff with commercial experience across the diverse range of consultancy services including in strategic locations around the world. Much of our consultancy services work is focused on opportunities in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
NZTE works with the industry to build capability and to identify new opportunities for growth internationally including through partnerships with international partners. NZTE also helps to promote the industry’s strength globally.
To find out more about NZTE’s work in the consulting services industry, or to talk with an NZTE representative about participating in initiatives in the industry:
As well as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, other funding agencies that provide useful channels to market include NZAid and AusAid (where New Zealand companies are also eligible to bid).
