In New Zealand, the country is experiencing a shortage of workers in so many sectors, including health. The Pacific archipelago, which has just reopened its borders after more than two years of isolation from Covid, now hopes to attract workers from abroad.
With our correspondent in Wellington, Richard Tindiller
No sector is spared by this shortage of workers in New Zealand, but the health sector remains the government’s priority. The country lacks 10,000 nurses and 1,500 general practitioners.
A plan of 8 million euros has been announced to facilitate the arrival of nurses and doctors from abroad. But for Sarah Dalton, president of the Association of Medical Employees in New Zealand, this measure remains insufficient. ” All of these steps in this announcement are going in the right direction, but we probably need a hundred more announcements like this, she explains. The situation is such that our predictions show that some cancer patients will not benefit from a treatment that could save their life because the shortage is too great for professions such as radiation oncologist or radiotherapist. »
►Also read: New Zealand reopens its borders after two years cut off from the world
More than 25% of immigrant workers lost
Same story for the construction sector. Julien Leys heads the New Zealand Building Industry Federation. For him, this shortage represents the greatest challenge of recent years: “ We have a very large shortage of skilled construction workers of about 30,000 people. Many projects have therefore not been able to start. This year, it is estimated that 20 to 30% of construction sites have been delayed or cancelled. »
After cutting itself off from the world for more than two years to protect itself from the virus, New Zealand has lost more than a quarter of its immigrant workers.