OPINION: I spoke last week at the Christchurch and Canterbury International Education Conference 2017 about the value of international education and its critical importance for our region's future.

A high value education needs more than high quality facilities, however, and Canterbury is proving attractive to international students because of the added value we provide them.

There is a high degree of trust involved in overseas families sending their young people to our schools and universities.

They're not just trusting they will receive a good formal education.

They're trusting that we will nurture their young people, support their integration, help them embrace new experiences and opportunities.

The strong sense of community engagement and welcoming spirit that developed in the aftermath of the quakes has created a reputation for Christchurch as a caring, welcoming community.

The way we responded also created an environment of innovation, an ability to embrace change, and a resilience to thrive.

These are the sort of skills that businesses and other employers look for – 21st century skills our young people need to succeed in whatever career they choose.

The cultural diversity and different perspectives our international students bring enhances the experience of our Kiwi born students, the wider community, and our businesses and other employers, delivering significant benefits all round.

One striking statistic underscores the importance of the international education sector in developing the learners and leaders we need to contribute to our future prosperity.

Over the next 15 years we're expecting to lose 72,500 workers in Canterbury as baby boomers move into retirement.

We know that technological disruption will massively impact the economy in coming years and result in some jobs disappearing, but we're going to need a lot more smart, skilled people, the kind of thinkers who will enable us to continue to drive the economic development already underway.

We need to develop and maintain a strong pipeline of talented, energetic leaders of the future.

Migration is an important means of filling this gap, and one of the best ways to attract the people with the skills, thinking and approach we need is through encouraging and supporting international education.

Migrants tend to move to countries they are familiar with, and countries in which they have felt welcomed and valued.

International education became New Zealand's fourth largest industry in 2015, worth around $4 billion to the national economy.

In Canterbury we're welcoming around 11,000 students annually, the majority from China and India and significant numbers also from Japan and South Korea.

The economic impact of those students in 2015 was $291million, supporting 2,430 jobs, and we're working hard to ensure those figures continue to grow.

Christchurch's challenge is to work together to continue to attract and retain international students who benefit from being here and in turn benefit the city and region.

Click here to see online column