Heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our essential services workers into heroes.

Here are some of the jobs our heroes are doing to keep us safe and healthy during the lockdown.

Health heroes save lives and care for people who are unwell.

Most health services jobs require a relevant tertiary qualification, such as a Bachelor of Nursing degree for registered nurses. However, you don’t need a qualification to become a health care assistant.

You may also need to complete further training, depending on the type of job.

Find out more about health services jobs:

• Health care assistant
• Paramedic
• Pathologist
• Pharmacist
• Physician
• Registered nurse.

Safety, law and government heroes save people from life-threatening situations and maintain public safety and order.

Most safety, law and government services jobs require specific training, such as training at the Royal New Zealand Police College to become a police officer.

Some roles may have other essential requirements as well. For example, to become an army soldier you need to be at least 17 years old.

Find out more about safety, law and government services jobs:

• Air force officer
• Army soldier
• Emergency management officer
• Firefighter
• Police officer
• Security officer/guard.

Social and community heroes support people, families and communities.

You may need a tertiary qualification or relevant experience to be a social or community services worker. You need a degree to become a social worker and qualifications such as a New Zealand Certificate in Contact Centres (Level 3) are useful for contact centre workers.

A driver’s licence is also required for some jobs.

Find out more about social and community services jobs:

• Cleaner
• Contact centre worker
• Rubbish/recycling collector
• Social worker
• Support worker
• Youth worker.

Supply, delivery and transport heroes may sell or deliver food and other essential products when required.

You don’t need training to stack shelves or operate a checkout in a supermarket as you learn skills on the job.

Delivery and transport services workers, such as delivery, heavy truck and taxi drivers, will need a relevant driver’s licence.

Find out more about supply, delivery and transport services jobs:

• Delivery driver
• Forklift operator
• Heavy truck driver
• Retail sales assistant (checkout operator)
• Storeperson
• Taxi driver/chauffeur (Uber driver).

• Explore job ideas with CareerQuest
• Search for a job you’ll love

Sources:

• COVID-19.govt.nz, ‘Essential businesses’, accessed April 2020, (www.covid19.govt.nz).
• Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, ‘Essential services’, accessed April 2020, (www.mbie.govt.nz).