Wanganui bucks national shortage in nursing ranks
A local polytech is helping to stave off a nursing skills shortage affecting other parts of the country, a District Health Board director says.
Newly released figures show the number of job vacancies has grown nationwide in the last year and more people are on the lookout for new jobs.
While there are skills shortages in some specialised industries, competition is fierce for positions in administration, retail and call centre roles.
A government website that lists skills shortages shows a lack of automotive electricians, civil engineers, chefs and nurses/midwives.
But Whanganui District Health Board director of nursing Sandy Blake said the organisation was fortunate in not having difficulty employing nursing staff. The fact that nurses were trained locally at UCOL was a big advantage, she said.
Government job support website Careers NZ matches jobs on Immigration New Zealand's long-term skills shortage list against specific job listings on Trade Me.
Out of the 37 jobs in Wanganui currently listed on Trade Me, six are for nurses and three are for engineers.
Meanwhile, new data from job search website Seek this week revealed growing activity from jobseekers last month.
Seek New Zealand general manger Janet Faulding said the increase in job applications was in line with recent data which showed more New Zealanders were looking for new jobs.
"Our research shows that 43 per cent of Kiwis are intending to secure a new job in the next 12 months, so this rise in applications is not unexpected."
While Seek's data showed no significant increase in advertised job vacancies in the past month, they were up 6.5 per cent year-on-year. It also showed a jump in job applications.
"The market is showing signs of slow, but steady recovery, and job seekers are actively applying for jobs," Ms Faulding said. "It is encouraging to see the market is being stimulated by supply and demand in both directions."
While new job listings were on the rise in some specialised industries, applications have been flooding in for a limited number of positions in retail, admin and call centre roles.
The Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union organised a "Jobs Crisis Summit" in Auckland yesterday. More than 100 people including unionists and employers' groups discussed how to stop a decline in the manufacturing sector, with claims that 40,000 jobs have been lost in the past four years.
Green Party leader Russell Norman said manufacturing had been "decimated" under National's watch. "We urgently need to turn that around," he said.
Who's in demand
Top five in-demand jobs featured on Immigration New Zealand's long-term skills shortage list:
- Automotive electrician
- Civil engineer
- Nurses/midwives
- Chef
- Electrical engineer/electrician
Source: Careers NZ
The top five competitive occupations, with the most job applications received:
- IT support staff
- Call centre customer service staff
- Administration staff
- Retail sales assistants
- Accounting administrators
Source: SEEK
The top five in-demand jobs which are hardest to fill:
- IT consultants
- Engineering managers
- Local government personnel
- Private practice solicitors
- Midwives
Source: SEEK
