The chances of getting a job as a maintenance and diagnostics engineer are limited. The number of people in this occupation fell by more than 40% between 1996 and 2006. 

The recent global recession has further reduced the chances of getting a job as a maintenance and diagnostics engineer, because many employers have stopped replacing workers who retire or move to other jobs. This situation is unlikely to change until the economy recovers.

Number of maintenance and diagnostics engineers in New Zealand
 (1996, 2001, 2006)

Census	Number of maintenance and diagnostic engineers
1996	4,896
2001	3,456
2006	2,841
Source: Department of Labour, Jobs and Tertiary Education Indicator Tool.

Maintenance and diagnostics engineers work in a broad range of primary and secondary industries, including the meat, dairy, fishing and manufacturing industries, as well as in oil refineries and at mining sites.

The main employer groups are:

• industrial machinery and equipment manufacturers (35% of maintenance and diagnostics engineers)
• fabricated metal product manufacturers (11%)
• plastics and metal fabricators (10%).

Maintenance and diagnostics engineers work throughout New Zealand, but more opportunities exist in the main regions:

• Auckland (34% of maintenance and diagnostics engineers)
• Canterbury (15%)
• Wellington (7%).