About 730 new graduates have successfully found places on state-subsidised new graduate programmes but the job-hunting success of the other 500 plus new nurses remains unknown.
Chief Nurse Jane O’Malley said 59 per cent of the 1239 applicants to the new ACE “one-stop job shop’ for graduate nursing jobs had been successful after the second job round in early December.
The ACE clearinghouse is only for places in government-subsidised NETP (nursing entry to practice) or NESP (mental health) new graduate programmes. The vast majority of the jobs are in district health board public hospitals, but some places, jobs are also available in residential aged care and primary health care settings.
O’Malley said the number of new graduates seeking or who had found jobs in the private sector or overseas would remain unknown until the annual graduate destination survey carried out by nursing schools in March (last year’s survey found 85 per cent of respondents were nursing but only 66 per cent of those were signed up to NETP or NESP programmes).
Meanwhile O’Malley said the vast majority of unsuccessful new graduates applicants were remaining in the ACE pool and DHBs were continuing to employ from that database. “The directors of nursing have a really strong commitment to employ as many as possible.”
O’Malley has also been advocating for more district health boards to move from the current vacancy-driven/permanent contract model of employing new graduates to offering a regular number of ring-fenced 12 month contract positions (see other Newsfeed story).
She said the vacancy-driven model meant in times of low nursing vacancies, like the present, there was a high number of unemployed new graduates and in times of high vacancies there was an imbalance of new to experienced nurses in the workforce.
Ring-fencing first year nursing jobs would ensure a steady supply of new graduates getting experience under their belt prior to the predicted upsurge in demand when the recession ends and the ageing workforce starts to retire.
O’Malley said what was happening in Australia at the moment (see other Newsfeed story) also showed the vagaries of the market/vacancy driven model.
This year was the first time nursing had used the ACE clearing house that was initially developed to place medical graduates. O’Malley said the ACE pilot had provided good new data on graduate and regional employment trends, which would be released after being shared with district health boards and nursing schools.
A formal evaluation of the pilot was also to be held, including areas for improvement, and a decision then made whether ACE would be a permanent fixture.
