46119 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

46119 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the quarter January to March 2024 to ‘Support educational interventions to increase Māori and Pacific access to health professional training, building the workforce pipeline to grow Te Ao Māori and Pacific services’ under section 1.2 ‘Strengthening workforce whānau’ within Te Whatu Ora’s Te Pae Tata: Interim New Zealand Health Plan 2022?

Hon Dr Shane Reti: I am advised that during January to March 2024, Health New Zealand progressed various initiatives in the Health Workforce Plan that focus on growing its Māori and Pacific workforce. These initiatives included the Voluntary Bonding Scheme; scaling and funding Māori access to earn-as-you-learn, and modular training pathways into health careers, such as for kaiāwhina, enrolled nursing, midwifery, and allied roles.