Graduate nurses finding jobs sooner

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says more graduate nurses are obtaining jobs sooner as a result of the nationwide recruitment system.

“The national recruitment system (ACE) helps to match new nurses with employers. It enables DHBs to get the graduates they want, and helps new nurses find jobs in their region and specialty areas,” says Dr Coleman.

“In the latest six-monthly ACE matching round, 755 students (51 per cent) have already been placed in DHB positions prior to receiving their final Nursing Council exams results. This is 157 more nurses compared to last year.

“We know that around two-thirds of new nurses have jobs within five months, and the latest data shows that a year on from November 2013’s ACE round, only 23 of the 1337 graduates (around 2 per cent) are still looking for positions through the ACE system.”

51,387 nurses with annual practising certificates are registered with the Nursing Council New Zealand as of March 2014, an increase of 5,422 since 2009.

“We know that New Zealand needs more nurses in the future as our more senior nurses will begin to retire and we face a growing and ageing population where the skills of nurses are needed even more in our communities,” says Dr Coleman.

“The government has also in the past year funded 225 extra training places on nurse entry to practice programmes - 160 in DHBs, 40 in aged residential care homes, and 25 in GP practices.”