Finding permanent employment in the computer industry in Christchurch and Canterbury if you are at more than the entry-level is well neigh impossible. It's not what you know, but who you know more than anything else. Of course there are exceptions, but that is my perception. I have a friend who got a very good degree in Comp. Sci. and then sat on the dole in Christchurch for well over a year. Eventually he got a very suitable job in Auckland.
I'm currently in the same boat. After being made redundant end of last year I've been on the dole fore 3 months, and am now in the bed making factory - I don't mind getting my hands dirty but I'd far rather they were inside the guts of a computer system, hardware or software.
-- Paul Wilkins
