Covid-19 inspired a wave of career switchers, and investment in healthcare sector skills training boomed. Many were jumping into healthcare, perhaps in awe of our frontline heroes. Nurses, in particular, gained a new appreciation from a public grappling with a once-in-one-hundred-year pandemic.

Across Australia, the number of people undertaking independent sector skills training in healthcare jumped 19 per cent in 2021, according to the latest data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.

Mater Education reports that enrolments in the Diploma of Nursing jumped 28 per cent in the first year of Covid-19 as Queenslanders were inspired to join the healthcare workforce. Similarly, Mater Education's 18-month Diploma of Nursing is still tracking above pre-pandemic levels.

While this influx of a new generation of nurses is promising, more entrants into these programs are crucial, considering Queensland alone will need 12,000 extra nurses by 2025 to meet the state's growing healthcare needs.

Mum-of-five Stephanie Miles enrolled in Mater Education's Diploma of Nursing in the thick of COVID-19, inspired by her own healthcare experiences.

"My dad is an anaesthetist, my mum is a critical care nurse, and my grandad was one of the original doctors at Mater when it first opened," said Ms Miles.

"My twins were born prematurely, and I spent a lot of time in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit at Mater Mothers. You always remember your nurses, and they cemented that I did want to become a nurse.

"COVID gave me a bigger push to do the Diploma of Nursing."

Ms Miles, who previously worked in a Government role and was a stay-at-home mum before she started studying, graduated in 2021 and was offered a graduate position as an Enrolled Nurse at Mater Hospital Brisbane's Acute Medical Ward.

"I started at the end of January, and it's really good. I mainly work with renal patients, and I use the skills I learned in the Diploma every day," she said.

"My message to other people thinking about studying at a later age is that it's never too late! You can change your career."

Jo Mandeno, a student nurse from Western Sydney, says she was inspired to pursue a career in aged care nursing during the pandemic.

"I live close to one of the Aged Care facilities that went into hard lockdown early in the pandemic.

"It was really difficult to watch the Premier's daily update and to hear how much worse things were getting for residents and their families, and to hear about the shortages of nurses and nurses' stories first-hand.

"I felt a real sense of helplessness - my heart was heavy for everyone involved. I wanted to do my part to help return society to some sort of normality.

"I had thought about doing nursing in the past but never pursued it, but the pandemic really pushed me into action!"

Ms Mandeno says working full-time and studying online was manageable during the pandemic, but gaining practical experience was challenging.

"The training proved to be an extremely difficult task, given all the new complexities and expectations.

"At times, this felt fruitless trying to secure a placement. Time after time, I was rejected, which did not seem to correlate with the information in the media and those working in hospitals and aged care.

"I wondered how there could be such demand, yet no opportunities for intelligent, hardworking Australians to complete this essential part of an essential service."

A combination of resilience and family support gave Ms Mandeno the strength to continue despite setbacks, which led to a job with Upaged.

"I persisted, reconsidered my options, and a few months ago, I got a job that connects nurses to casual jobs and term contracts in hospitals and aged care.

"I'm now surrounded by nurses, and this got me closer to a world of work I wanted to be in. I am now in the final week of my first six-week placement."

"Having gained the experience and skills via the clinical placement, I am excited to see where and how I can continue to work through both avenues, on the ward in clinical settings and within uPaged.

"But I'm most excited to see where the industry now moves, following on from the pandemic, how we can elevate the status of nurses and support our nurses and healthcare staff. 

"Now that I am almost qualified, I love the fact that if there is another emergency or call out, I can jump in and help out my fellow Australians and make a real difference!"

Mater Education's Chief People and Learning Officer Donna McGrane said new nurses would play a vital role in caring for Queenslanders for many years to come.

"COVID-19 powerfully highlighted the importance of nurses, inspiring many people in the community to make a meaningful career change and join the growing healthcare workforce," Ms McGrane said.

"Caring for others is the most rewarding job of all, and new nurses are in demand in hospitals across the entire state.

According to Jobs Queensland, the state will need 87,000 nursing and midwifery professionals by 2025, up from almost 75,000 today.

"Our enrolments are very healthy, but we need even more recruits to join the nursing jobs boom and ensure that Queensland patients continue to receive world-class nursing care."

If you're interested in a career in healthcare, applications are closing soon for the next intake of Mater Education's Diploma of Nursing.