New Zealand vets welcome new president amid lack of qualified workforce
Kate Hill will take the reins of the national veterinary association NZVA.
Hill, a registered specialist in small animal internal medicine, will take over from Grant McCulloch, who has been in charge of the association for the last three years.
She has been involved with the New Zealand Veterinary Association since 2006 and has been a member of the NZVA Board since 2018. Hill graduated from the University of Queensland and worked in the United States for several years before moving to New Zealand in 2005.
She is the Director of the Master of Veterinary Medicine Program at Massey University.
The challenges ahead
New Zealand has experienced a shortage of trained professionals and needs to rely on overseas veterinarians to fill the demand. Around a third of officially registered vets in the country come from abroad.
The country has undergone one of the most restrictive lockdown policies during the pandemic and many veterinary centers had to close their doors.
The NZVA’s main challenge over the past two years has been the lack of qualified veterinarians coming to work in the country.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country will provide a streamlined and prioritized pathway to residency, incentivizing highly skilled workers to relocate to New Zealand in the long term. The list includes 85 hard-to-fill roles – including veterinarians – to help attract and retain high-skilled workers to cope with the skill shortages.