Early feedback indicates a similar to slightly better job market for new graduate nurses, with 64 per cent having jobs before sitting their state final exams.
The mid-November snapshot survey by nursing schools for nurse educator group NETS is similar to the 63 per cent result last year, when the survey was carried out several weeks later.
Survey compiler Cathy Andrew of CPIT said the results felt better than the previous year, with the percentage brought down by some regions still awaiting job offers from their local district health board.
“To have 64 per cent sitting on job offers immediately at the end of a programme is pretty impressive really.”
She said also on the good news front was the fact that all graduates of the about-to-be-shelved Te Whare Wänanga o Awanuiärangi nursing degree had job offers prior to state finals.
But just as the number of new graduate vacancies vary from DHB to DHB so does the percentage of nursing school graduates with job offers by the state final exam. ase available to trial with the mid-year graduating cohort.
Penny O’Leary, head of UCOL’s nursing school, said about 50 per cent of the105 students graduating from its Palmerston North, Whanganui and Wairarapa programmes had job offers at state finals, the vast majority in new graduate programmes and so far only one to Australia.
She said the timing of the survey meant job hunting was still a “work in progress” and UCOL believed about 90 per cent of last year’s graduates eventually got jobs.
Sue Gasquoine, head of Unitec’s nursing school, said 50 per cent of graduates had been offered new graduate places by state finals with a number offered two jobs and one three jobs. A couple of graduates were going to Australia and moving to the private sector. She said at the time of last year’s survey, 60 per cent had new graduate places, but there were more graduates this year following improved retention rates.
Deb Spence, joint head of AUT’s (Auckland University of Technology) nursing school, said it was reasonably pleased with employment rates. She said some boards, like Waitemata DHB, had held a good number of places for graduates and this year AUT graduates had done very well getting mental health places.
She said long term the country still needed to get more graduates into primary healthcare but the infrastructure needed to be put in place to make this happen.
