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Screen-print illustration of Glenorchy Lagoon and the Humboldt Range, Queenstown-Lakes District
Illustration generated with AI.

Otago (Ōtākou). Council area

Copilot training in Queenstown-Lakes District

Queenstown-Lakes District workplaces may coordinate visitor teams across Queenstown and Wānaka. Copilot exercises can give each location its own source file, owner and approval step before a shared update goes out.1,11,29

Enquire Read the local brief

61.3% of Queenstown-Lakes District’s employed residents are in desk-based roles.

Role typeQueenstown-Lakes DistrictNZDiff (pts)
Desk-based 61.3% 63.6% −2.4
People-facing 10.0% 9.0% +1.0
Hands-on 28.7% 27.4% +1.3
Employed residents31,3562,622,534

About 19,200 people in desk-based roles. 2023 Census, counted where people live.

Rows 2 to 4: ANZSCO major groups 1, 2, 5, 6 / 4 / 3, 7, 8. Stats NZ 2023 Census, employed residents. Proxy per ILO 2025; not a forecast.
Residents
47,8002023 Census
Business locations
11,520Feb 2025, +25.7% since 2020
Employees (jobs here)
32,680at local businesses, Feb 2025
Towns with a page
41,000+ residents

What AI means for work in Queenstown-Lakes District

4 findings from Stats NZ data for Queenstown-Lakes District, and what each means for Microsoft Copilot training.

Workforce by occupation group, Queenstown-Lakes District against New Zealand

61.3% of employed residents in Queenstown-Lakes District work in desk-based roles, against 63.6% across New Zealand. Desk-based roles live in Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel, which is where Copilot works. A broad rollout has plenty of people to benefit: plan the pilot group and the champions first.

Employed residents by occupation group, Queenstown-Lakes District and New Zealand, 2023 Census
Occupation groupChartPeopleQueenstown-Lakes DistrictNZ
Managers 6,888 22.0% 18.3%
Professionals 6,795 21.7% 26.8%
Technicians and trades workers 5,232 16.7% 12.5%
Community and personal service workers 3,147 10.0% 9.0%
Clerical and administrative workers 2,724 8.7% 10.8%
Sales workers 2,799 8.9% 7.8%
Machinery operators and drivers 1,236 3.9% 5.9%
Labourers 2,526 8.1% 9.0%

Desk-based = ANZSCO major groups 1, 2, 5 and 6 (managers, professionals, clerical and administrative, sales): roles where AI assistance is most applicable. Broad proxy informed by ILO 2025; not measured adoption or an employment forecast. People-facing = major group 4. Hands-on = major groups 3, 7 and 8.

Source: Stats NZ, 2023 Census, usually resident employed people; ILO, Generative AI and jobs: a refined global index of occupational exposure (2025).

Hospitality: 23.5% of local jobs, 3.3× the national share

Top employer: hospitality, 7,688 jobs (23.5%). Heat cells mark industries over-represented against New Zealand. Plan Copilot use cases by department in the largest employers first.

Share of paid jobs by industry, Queenstown-Lakes District and New Zealand, February 2025
IndustryChartJobsShareNZ×
Hospitality 7,688 23.5% 7.2% 3.3×
Construction 4,062 12.4% 8.2% 1.5×
Retail 3,957 12.1% 9.3% 1.3×
Admin and support services 2,110 6.5% 4.6% 1.4×
Professional services 2,055 6.3% 8.3% 0.8×
Arts and recreation 1,907 5.8% 2.0% 2.9×
Transport and warehousing 1,755 5.4% 4.2% 1.3×
Health and social care 1,270 3.9% 12.0% 0.3×
Education 1,264 3.9% 8.5% 0.5×
Farming, forestry, fishing 1,258 3.8% 4.8% 0.8×

Share of paid employees at business locations in the area, by ANZSIC06 industry division. × is the local share divided by the national share.

Source: Stats NZ, Business Demography Statistics, February 2020 and 2025.

Business locations +25.7% and employees +13.6%, 2020 to 2025

Paid employees 28,770 (2020) to 32,680 (2025), +13.6% against +5.0% nationally. Business locations 9,165 to 11,520. Largest job gain: construction (+678). Largest loss: admin and support services (−215).

Business locations
9,16511,520 in 2025, from 2020
+25.7% NZ +9.6%
Employees (jobs here)
28,77032,680 in 2025, from 2020
+13.6% NZ +5.0%
Change in employees by industry in Queenstown-Lakes District, February 2020 to February 2025
IndustryChart20202025Change
Construction 3,3844,062+678
Farming, forestry, fishing 5911,258+667
Retail 3,5703,957+387
Admin and support services 2,3252,110−215
Media and telecoms 241237−4

Geographic units (business locations) and paid employees, February of each year. Small counts are randomly rounded by Stats NZ, so small changes can be noise.

Source: Stats NZ, Business Demography Statistics, February 2020 and 2025.

Remote readiness: work at home and household internet

Both on-site and remote sessions work. Most teams start with a half-day on-site.

19.7%

Mainly worked from home, census day 2023

New Zealand 17.7%

95.1%

Households with internet access

New Zealand 90.5%

Main means of travel to work on census day, and access to the internet in occupied private dwellings.

Source: Stats NZ, 2023 Census, usually resident employed people.

Towns in Queenstown-Lakes District

Each town has its own page and brief. Largest first.

Towns in Queenstown-Lakes District
TownResidentsDesk-based Chart Business locationsSince 2020
Queenstown 25,000 58.5% 5,937 +22.5%
Wānaka 11,900 64.9% 2,844 +29.5%
Arrowtown 2,840 66.0% 654 +20.4%
Lake Hāwea 2,000 59.6% 303 +68.3%
New Zealand4,993,92363.6%654,435+9.6%

Where Microsoft Copilot helps first in Queenstown-Lakes District

Tourism is a major district employer and council also supports new technology activity. Microsoft 365 workflows can make the boundary between a local shift schedule and a district-wide claim visible.1,2,16

Hospitality and tourism

Build a sample Excel shift schedule, draft a Word guest-service note, and confirm each site’s details with its manager.16,17

Professional and technology teams

Summarise an approved Teams discussion on a diversification proposal, then assign a reviewer to test figures and assumptions.2,19

A district workshop can map which SharePoint document belongs to which settlement before participants prepare a cross-site handover.11,17,29

Public Microsoft Copilot workshops in Otago

There is no public Copilot workshop in Otago on the calendar yet. Register interest below and we will tell you when one is scheduled. Organisations can book private training for their own staff at any time.

Register interest in a public workshop in Otago

Tell me when there is a workshop in Otago

We will email you when a public workshop is scheduled nearby. No other mailing.

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Elsewhere in Otago

Queenstown. Lake Wakatipu. (50854629786)
Queenstown. Lake Wakatipu. (50854629786) by Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0.

Microsoft Copilot training in Queenstown-Lakes District: questions

Can Copilot combine Queenstown and Wānaka files?

It can draft from permitted sources, but staff must check that each statement names the right town or district scope.11,29

What should a visitor operator prepare?

Bring a safe example of a shift schedule or guest notice and identify the manager who approves its final wording.17,18

How do teams review a technology proposal?

Check the draft against council strategy material and record who owns any unverified market claim.2,19

Train your team in Queenstown-Lakes District

  1. ScopeHeadcount, sites, Microsoft 365 plan and licences, and the teams you want to start with.
  2. PlanWe propose a course, a pilot group and a format, and agree the files and meetings to use.
  3. TrainOn-site or over Teams, in Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams, with your own work.
  • In person
  • Remote
  • Half-day workshop
  • Full-day workshop
  • Team rollout

Independent training by TheColab. Not affiliated with Microsoft.

Enquire

Tell us about your team in Queenstown-Lakes District. We reply by email with a suggested course and format.

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Sources

Local research checked 29 September 2026. Population and business figures come from Stats NZ.