The Government announced they'll be able to come into the country on the straight-to-residency pathway from this Thursday.
All secondary and primary teachers will get added to the green list come March - alongside gasfitters, drain layers and motor mechanics.
And on Friday we told you there was a shortage of bus drivers - well bus and truck drivers will have a time-limited residence pathway.
Immigration Minister Michael Wood said they are, and have always been, open to looking at more changes if necessary.
"What we've said all the way along is that in light of real global labour shortages we will be pragmatic and we will make changes if we need to in order to support the needs here in New Zealand," he told Lloyd Burr.
"We always said we would be open to looking at change for the green list if that was going to help our economy by getting the workers we need. That's what we've done today, it's a practical step and it's been welcomed widely."
The Immigration Minister is refuting claims by the hospitality sector, its staffing crisis is being ignored.
Wood told Burr chefs did not make the specialist criteria.
"We've now approved visas for about 280 chefs to come into New Zealand, about 870 cooks, so we are actually seeing through the existing settings, fairly good numbers of those people approved to come into New Zealand."
Despite not adding chefs or any other hospitality-related occupations to the green list, which Hospitality NZ said is 'an ongoing disaster for businesses across the country', Wood said hospitality is not being forgotten.
"What we have actually put in place for hospitality is an exemption across many roles in hospitality. A below-median wage exemption so employers can recruit workers at a slightly lower wage rate than most other employers are required to do.
"We doubled the number of places under the working holiday visa from countries with capped schemes which has meant that more of those backpackers coming into New Zealand who often play a critical role in hospitality can come here and do that work.
"Right the way along we've been trying to work closely and trying to support the sector through those mechanisms and we will keep working with them."
Listen to the full interview between Michael Wood and Lloyd Burr above.
You can also download the full interview on the Lloyd Burr Live podcast, and listen on the go. Download the rova app on apple or android to listen to this podcast on the go, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
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