Enrolments for health workers training to specialise in mental health and addiction programmes have more than doubled from four years ago.
Nearly 400 signed up this year, as the industry continues to battle a worker shortage.
Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital is among the mental health facilities benefitting from a recruitment frive by Te Whatu Ora as they battle to keep up with demand.
"I think it's probably fairly well known that we've got significant workforce shortages in mental health and we need a diverse workforce," Te Whatu Ora Waitaha specialist mental health services nursing director Patsy Tarrant said.
Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Māori nurse consultant Cassandra Staps said specialising in mental health and addiction is "a challenging space, but it's an incredibly rewarding space".
Now, enrolments for Te Pou, the national workforce centre for mental health, addiction and disability are at a record high.
Last year, there were more Māori and Pasifika trainees than Pākehā.
Among the new graduates is Lisa Zandbergen, who gave up her job in pharmacy to switch professions.
"I'm so grateful for the support that I got along the way because I considered that — in my 40s — that I might be too old and, no, I wasn't," she said.
The mental health nurse is already achieving her goal of improving health outcomes for Māori, who she says are "over-represented in mental health and addiction services".
Tarrant credited the rise in numbers to increased support and word of mouth.
"I also think the increase in the nursing MECAs [Multi-Employer Collective Agreements]), the changes to the pay structure, have also helped as well," she said.
Approximately 390 nurses and Allied Health staff signed up last year, and this year's numbers are already close behind — with more enrolments still expected as other graduates complete their studies.
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