healthcare workers

Canadian province looks to hire ‘hundreds’ of Filipino health workers

Michelle Abad

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Canadian province looks to hire ‘hundreds’ of Filipino health workers

SASKATCHEWAN. An aerial view of the Legislative Building in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

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Possible jobs up for grabs include registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, continuing care assistants, and medical laboratory assistants

MANILA, Philippines – The Canadian province of Saskatchewan is open to hiring hundreds of healthcare workers from the Philippines over the next two years, the Canadian embassy in the Philippines said.

Saskatchewan’s job openings are part of the province’s plan to recruit, train, incentivize, and retain more healthcare workers to strengthen its healthcare system.

According to Saskatchewan’s Minister of Health Paul Merriman, job openings include registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, continuing care assistants, and medical laboratory assistants.

“We want to spread the word to healthcare workers in the Philippines that our province is a place of great opportunity,” said Merriman. “We would love to welcome into our friendly Saskatchewan communities health-care workers from the Philippines who are interested in coming to work and live here along with their families.”

Saskatchewan claims to be the first Canadian province to implement an accelerated training assessment pathway for eligible nursing recruits from the Philippines. Before heading to Canada, Filipino participants must fulfill online components of the intensive educational program. Then, the final clinical and practicum components will be completed in Saskatchewan.

For successful applicants who commit to a return for service agreement, costs will be covered for language and education assessments, bridging and training, professional exam and registration fees, travel for clinical placement, and other possible costs incurred during training.

International recruits will also have their transportation, accommodation, and settlement-related costs covered. These include immigration fees.

Meanwhile, spouses will also get to enjoy assistance in securing employment in Saskatchewan in other industries, such as trade, construction, and food service.

“Our province has had much success in welcoming Filipino nurses and other health-care workers into our workforce and our communities,” said Everett Hindley, minister of mental health and addictions, seniors, and rural and remote health.

“We wish to invite the Filipino people to consider building a thriving career here in Saskatchewan, where you can enjoy a great quality of life, raise a family and be part of a strong and supportive community,” added Hindley.

Filipinos in Saskatchewan

According to the Canadian embassy, Saskatchewan has a Filipino community of about 33,000, with Tagalog as the most spoken foreign language in the province.

The Canadian embassy highlights the career of Jestoni “Toni” Tinio, who started out as a continuing care assistant, worked his way to become a registered nurse, and then a nurse practitioner.

“There are a lot of health-care opportunities in Saskatchewan, especially if you are willing to keep an open mind and take additional training, the possibilities are endless,” the embassy quoted Tinio, who works in the Saskatchewan Health Authority, as saying.

Tinio said that the transition from one professional role to another was “almost seamless” with the support of family, friends, and colleagues. He added that in rural Saskatchewan, there is plenty of community support.

“Everywhere you go, there is almost always someone from the Philippines and you feel that connection, as Filipinos are very helpful to each other,” said Tinio.

The embassy said that Saskatchewan is currently negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the Philippines on recruiting Filipino healthcare professionals. The MOU is expected to focus on ethical recruitment, and transparency in the labor force development.

The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has renewed its crackdown on illegal recruitment practices of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

On October 11, the DMW led the closure of immigration consultancy firm K-Monster, which was found to be allegedly recruiting OFWs illegally. Canada was one of the destination countries where K-Monster was allegedly recruiting for. – Rappler.com

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Michelle Abad

Michelle Abad is a multimedia reporter at Rappler. She covers the rights of women and children, migrant Filipinos, and labor.