Te Āti Awa partners with Whitireia and WelTec to qualify more Māori nurses

Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa in partnership with Whitireia and WelTec | Te Pūkenga is helping more Māori students qualify as nurses and enter the healthcare workforce. 

This is being done with a new intake of ākonga Māori (students) to the Whitireia Bachelor of Nursing Māori programme which has been designed to allow the students to remain in work should they need or want to.  
 

The full-time, three-year programme will run from July to June and will be taught via online platforms and wānanga, with hands-on practical sessions utilising the laboratories and existing clinical placement systems at Whitireia. It will be overseen by Te Āti Awa and the Whitireia programme leaders.  
 

“Financial difficulties are one of the main reasons ākonga leave study before completing, so finding ways to help them remain in work is key to their learning success,” said Jeanette Grace, Dean of Te Wānanga Māori at Whitireia. 
 

“The programme responds to the needs of ākonga Māori and will help them successfully complete a Bachelor of Nursing so they can use their skills to address the health needs of the community,” said Wirangi Luke, Te Tumu Whakarae (Chief Executive), at Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa. 
 

“This is an incredibly special and powerful partnership, with impacts that will be profound,” said Dr Leanne Ivil, head of operations at Whitireia and WelTec. 
 

“One of our greatest challenges is helping ākonga ‘earn while they learn’ so that they can remain in study while managing the financial and family pressures of daily life,” said Mark Oldershaw, Tumu Whenua ā-Rohe 3 | Executive Director, Region 3 at Te Pūkenga. “This initiative and partnership is a community focused way to empower many who would like to gain a degree and become nurses - which are urgently needed in the New Zealand health sector.” 
 

Peggy Luke-Ngaheke of Te Āti Awa has named the first cohort of students in this new initiative ‘Matariki’ to signal new beginnings. 
 

Whitireia and WelTec | Te Pūkenga offer the Whitireia Bachelor of Nursing Māori programme which will continue to run from January to December. The additional delivery described above is offered in partnership with Te Āti Awa and will run from July to June.