Midwives require a four-year degree during which they pay over $38,000 in fees. File photo. Photo: 123RF
Long training and unpaid placements means it could take decades for New Zealand teachers, nurses, social workers and midwives to catch up in cumulative earnings with minimum wage workers, a new study has shown.
The study - led by University of Canterbury's Mathematics and Statistics senior lecturer Dr Leighton Watson - revealed the financial impact of university fees and unpaid work on workers in these female-dominated professions.
Watson said these jobs usually required three to four years of full-time tertiary study, where students are paying fees while working for free on compulsory placements.
"Midwives require a four-year degree during which they pay over $38,000 in fees and must do more than a year of full-time work on unpaid placements," he said.
However, despite the the higher salaries after completion of the qualifications, the study showed the time spent out of the workforce, paying tuition, accumulating debt, and the opportunity costs during the unpaid placements have long term implications.
It found that in New Zealand it takes more than eight years since starting study, for a nurse to have higher cumulative earnings that someone who worked a minimum wage job during that time, and up to 12 years for a social worker.
Watson confirmed that cumulative earnings are calculated as the total sum of income after tax, and his calculations also take into account the lost income - as an opportunity cost - during placements.
It also found that for nurses, it takes 14 years since starting their studies to reach cumulative earnings equivalent to that of police officers, while for midwives, it takes 28 years.
Watson said the financial stress could contribute to high drop out rates and workforce shortages in these professions.
"Dropout rates from social work programmes are around 40 percent and 37 percent for midwives, compared to only about 2 percent for firefighters and police who are paid during their training," he said.
In New Zealand, firefighters train for 12 weeks, and police recruits train for 20 weeks.
When living at the Royal NZ Police College campus in Porirua, a police recruit is paid, with the cost for subsidised accommodation deducted from their salary.
Firefighter recruits are paid to attend a 12 week live-in course at the national training centre in Rotorua, with meals and accommodation provided.
Watson said the research suggests that paying students for placements in these professions could address the workforce shortages in these sectors.
"If we want to recruit and retain workers in essential education and healthcare services we need to rethink our education approach to reduce the short-term pain and improve the long-term gain," he said.
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