Veterinary Services and Animal Care » Muka Tangata Workforce Development Council

$597m

Contribution to GDP as of 2023
$98m

Generated as profit in 2022
$1.4b

Generated as revenue in 2022-2023
7,740

Individuals worked in Veterinary industries across 2021

Overview

Last updated: 24 March 2023

In 1856, a hospital for sick horses was opened in the Hutt Valley by J.W. Woodhouse, but it wasn’t until over 100 years later, in 1962, that a formal training programme was set up for veterinarians in Aotearoa.

Today, Aotearoa veterinary nurses support veterinarians across the country to care for all kinds of animals, from domestic pets to larger pets and farm animals. In 2021, we counted 7,740 people in the veterinary nursing workforce.

The Veterinary industry has reported ongoing problems with attracting and retaining staff. The composition of the workforce is 82% female and 6% Māori. Relatively low pay in respect to the amount of training required; the emotionally and mentally challenging nature of the role, which can involve supporting people through animal and pet hardship and in some cases death; and cases of conflicts with customers are said to have contributed to the attraction and retention issues. With more cows in Aotearoa than people, there is a relatively high need for veterinary nurses in rural areas. However, enticing new graduates to isolated rural areas remains a challenge for the industry.

Find out about our work to assess the quality of programmes delivered by providers for this industry here.

A snapshot of the Veterinary Services and Animal Care workforce development plan is available for download here. Please note that this reflects a point in time (July 2024). The most up to date information is on the workforce development plans website.

Trends and Analysis

This section provides information about the workforce, industry and Vocational Education and Training (VET) provision and performance. It shows data and research focused on key aspects of Muka Tangata industry groups and learners. This section is expected to feature regular updates to the data and trends being showcased.

Industry

Insights for Industry about trends in economic performance indicators.

Workforce

Insights on the workforce, including; size, ethnicity, age, regional distribution, and gender.

Learners and Providers

Insights about learners, including trends in enrolments and mix of provision.

Projects

Opportunities

All opportunities

We highlight the current key priorities and opportunities for each industry. These opportunities will be updated on an ongoing basis as our understanding of the industry evolves and deepens.

All opportunities

Attraction and Retention

There is a perception across the industry that retention is a key issue, due to a variety of barriers including low remuneration and lack of a visible career path.

Read more about Attraction and Retention

Mental Health and Wellbeing

The industry reports an increasing impact of stress on its workforce due to the nature of the work and conflicts with customers.

Read more about Mental Health and Wellbeing

Qualifications

Providers are finding it difficult to develop a programme for the new Level 6 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing.

Roadmap

All roadmap actions

This is our plan to address the opportunities that arose from our engagement, research and analysis. It includes real actions that we are committed to delivering – these are both industry specific and cross-cutting actions across all industries in the food and fibre sector where common themes emerged.

It includes broader areas or dependencies where external parties will need to provide input into solutions with Muka Tangata support; for example, advocacy, engagement, collaboration, and provision of specific expertise or data. We will work in collaboration with those who will need to take the lead in this area. This section will test potential solutions that we’re working on and seek feedback and input into them.

All roadmap actions

Veterinary Services and Animal Care