Workforce population analysis

Māori are relatively underrepresented in our workforce, making 8.5% of our workforce, compared to 17.3% of the New Zealand population. There are some workforces where representation is increasing over time, such as medicine with 16.5% of new 2023 graduates identifying as Māori. However, this growth is not consistent. Māori are expected to represent 21% of our population by 2043.

We know Māori make up a greater proportion of our rural communities — making rural Māori workforce particularly important.

Trends in our Māori workforce

An increasing number of our training pipelines have improved representation for Māori. But deep-rooted inequalities mean it will take time to build a representative workforce.

Barriers into health careers include:

• limited access to science education in schools
• a lack of role models for Māori students.

Māori are more likely to experience racism at work, and they report feeling culturally unsafe in their workplaces.

The opportunity to increase our Māori workforce

To achieve representation for Māori in our workforce by 2033, we need them to make up:

• 65% of new medical trainees
• 67% of new nursing trainees.

This outcome is not likely, so instead we need to consider gradual growth opportunities.

Partnering with Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs) can help create local solutions and connect Māori to health careers.

Training models like earn-as-you-learn can also improve Māori access to health training.

Our Māori providers have become a strong source of Māori talent for our health system. Continued growth in the primary and community sector offers opportunities to strengthen their workforce development capacity.

What it will take to increase our Māori workforce

Our short-term focus is to:

• support local Māori-led workforce initiatives and innovation through IMPBs
• continue investing in Māori workforce programs that improve access to care in ways we cannot achieve with mainstream’ interventions.

Over the medium-term, we will work with IMPBs to shape our on-going approach to growing our Māori workforce.

Workforce plan priorities over the next 3 years

5.3 Invest appropriately in Māori-focused programmes

Continue review and funding of effective initiatives to increase recruitment and retention of Māori workforce that directly impact on improved access to care and outcomes for high need groups.

5.4 Grow mātauranga Māori specialists

Develop new mātauranga Māori roles in key workforces where we have evidence that intervention improves access and health outcomes.

Pacific peoples make up 4.9% of our health workforce overall, compared to 8.9% of the New Zealand population. Pacific peoples are expected to grow to be 11% of the New Zealand population by 2043.

Pacific peoples are relatively under-represented in Health NZ’s workforce.

Trends in Pacific workforce

We have had good growth in Pacific people entering health training, especially in medicine. But they are still under-represented compared to their share of the population.

Urban-based training, especially in Auckland, offers potential for growth at scale. But barriers like full-time study and unpaid placements make it harder.

Pacific peoples are more likely to experience racism at work, and they report feeling culturally unsafe in their workplaces.

The opportunity to increase the Pacific workforce

To achieve representation for Pacific peoples in our workforce by 2033, they need to make up:

• 35% of new medical trainees
• 29% of new nursing trainees.

This outcome is not likely, so instead we need to consider gradual growth opportunities.

Pacific providers, who are highly connected to their communities, will play a key role in the growth of the Pacific workforce. Strengthening links between Pacific families, health providers, and training providers can help create better pathways into health careers.

What it will take to increase the Pacific workforce

Over the next 3 years, we want to focus on investing appropriately in targeted programmes. We want to continue to invest in Pacific workforce programs that improve access to care in ways we cannot achieve with mainstream interventions.

Workforce plan priorities over the next 3 years

5.5 Invest appropriately in Pacific-focused programmes

Continue review and funding of effective interventions that grow Pacific health workforce that directly impact on improved access to care and outcomes for high need groups.

About 1 in 4 New Zealanders have a disability. But we do not have reliable data on how many health workers identify as disabled. It is clear that disabled people are not represented well, likely due to many barriers.

• Many face discrimination and feel unsafe disclosing their disability. This can be due to unfair assumptions about what they can and cannot do from colleagues and patients.
• Support tools like accessible technology or interpreters are not always available.
• Job applications and hiring processes can discourage disabled candidates. Especially if disability questions are not asked in an appropriate way.
• Some training programs have rules that unintentionally block access for disabled people, such as requiring people to do tasks without help.
• In certain roles, current technology may limit what people can do. For example, vision-impaired individuals may not be able to perform visual diagnostics.

These barriers highlight the need for more inclusive systems and better support across the health sector.

The opportunity to increase the disabled workforce

Growing our disabled workforce represents an opportunity to:

• make sure people with disabilities receive care from a representative workforce
• strengthen our health workforce
• open up more job opportunities for a group that faces high unemployment.

This would be a benefit to all New Zealanders, as many of us will experience disability at some point in our lives.

What it will take to increase the disabled workforce

Over the next 3 years, our focus is to:

• develop a consistent national measure of disability status for our staff
• improve our disability status data over time, making sure our people feel safe to disclose if they have a disability
• remove unfair barriers that unnecessarily exclude disabled people from health jobs
• build clear pathways into careers where lived experiences of disabled people are invaluable, such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

In the medium term, the goal is to make more health careers accessible to disabled people. To help disabled people safely work across more roles we need to invest in enabling technologies and change professional expectations.

Workforce plan priorities over the next 3 years

5.2 Review recruitment processes for inclusivity

Review our recruitment processes for Health NZ workers with a range of diverse staff, and redesign them with a view to attracting exceptional, diverse talent.

5.6 Open pathways for disabled people

Work with tertiary education providers to create explicit, inclusive training pathways for disabled people into key allied professions.