With its workforce taking a hit because of the ongoing pandemic, Saskatchewan, a province in Canada, is turning to the Philippines to bulk up its health care system once again.
According to a report by The Star Phoenix, a local newspaper in Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is aiming to “hire permanent, full-time nursing and laboratory staff” specifically from the Philippines. They are looking to fill at least 150 spots with Filipinos, out of over 1,000 vacancies.
Saskatchewan, Canada | Image: Tanu Nanda Prabhu via Unsplash.com
Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, expressed the importance of the Filipino workforce to the Saskatchewan health care system. “We could not be without our Filipino nurses,” Zambory said in a statement. “They are a gigantic asset and we could not run without them. We just have to make sure that we are taking lessons from the past.”
The SHA has done mass hiring in the Philippines in the past, such as in 2008 and the following years. Unfortunately, from those hired, many eventually ended up leaving, as they found themselves unprepared for the drastic change of country and environment. According to the SHA, this time around, they are taking the necessary steps to make sure their new Filipino hires feel better adjusted as they settle into their new lives in Canada.
Visit the Saskatchewan Health Authority website for more info.
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