Official Information obtained by Newshub shows the Government forked out more than half a million dollars on a health worker recruitment campaign, but only three candidates have been interviewed for jobs.
The "make a difference, somewhere different" video campaign aimed to entice foreign health workers to New Zealand. Filming took place at various locations around New Zealand, with an emphasis on highlighting New Zealand's natural beauty and the outdoor activities foreign health workers could enjoy.
The campaign has involved running video advertisements across multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Google, Indeed.com and YouTube.
It started on November 21 last year, but the results are less than impressive.
Official Information shows Te Whatu Ora spent $514,254.41 on placing ads on various media platforms.
Up until January 27, 2023, 668 people expressed an interest in working in New Zealand as a result of the ad campaign.
Forty-four candidates were referred to Te Whatu Ora's recruitment team. However, only three candidates were interviewed. It's unclear whether any health staff have been employed as a result of the campaign.
- Do you have a related story? Email Michael Morrah in confidence at michael_morrah@discovery.com
Those who were referred to recruiters included 11 paramedics, 11 medical laboratory technicians, three midwives and five senior medical officers.
The half a million dollar cost of the campaign only relates to the cost of placement of social media ads and does not include video production or consultancy costs.
Watch Newshub Live at 6pm for more.
