Northlanders chase job chances in shaken city | Northland News | Local News in Northland

While Cantabrians are taking stock of the financial loss from the weekend's earthquake, Northland tradesmen who have been struggling to find work   plan to make money in the earthquake-stricken city.

Builders, bricklayers and plumbers are waiting for offers and one, Whangarei's Bruce Waetford,  is already hunting for work in Christchurch.

The builder has been out of work for about a month and had booked a holiday in the Garden City before he was  laid off.

"Work was there [in Christchurch] before the earthquake but now I guess things will speed up and I'll have a look around ... pick up the papers and see what's available," he said.

Mr Waetford flew down with his partner on Sunday and is staying at a house in Dunsandel, a farming community south of the city.

He said  little work was on offer in Northland and he hoped something came up during his week-long stay.

Plumber Lindsay Johnson  wants  to work in the disaster-ravaged area. He works in Whangarei-based family business Alec Johnson Plumbers with brother Wayne: "I am still thinking about it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved in something like that." 

Business had been slow in Whangarei since the recession hit and his father, Alec, also a plumber, said the past one-and-a-half years had been the toughest he had experienced in 37 years in the business.

The Northland Masonry Trades' Association plans to discuss what work is available in Christchurch  during the New Zealand Brick and Blocklayers Federation conference in Invercargill this Thursday and Friday. Association secretary Kelly Wech  said business in Northland had been  fickle.