DEMAND FROM SINGAPORE
Dynamic Health Staff director Arun Kumar Ojha said nurses who choose to relocate to Singapore will receive a housing allowance of up to S$500 (US$375) a month, gratuity, and joining bonuses from the institutions they join.
The perks are one of the reasons why it has seen more Indian nurses interested in moving to Singapore recently. This interest is also matched by rising demand from Singapore.
There is “a lot of demand” from the private and public sectors in Singapore, said Mr Ojha, adding that the Ministry of Health Holdings in particular admitted a large number of candidates to the pre-registration process. The process means that nurses are exempted from the Singapore Nursing Board exam.
There is demand from healthcare institutions like National Kidney Foundation and nursing homes, he said.
Foreign nurses must adhere to criteria set by the Singapore Nursing Board and undergo supervised work stints in Singapore before they can be granted local registration.
“We work really closely with a lot of universities and colleges to amend and modify the curriculum to ensure students who are graduating as healthcare workers actually have the requirements that foreign employers want,” said Mr Varun Khosla, chairman at the employment agency.
The agency is set to prepare more than 100 nurses for the next recruitment drive in September.
Of the close to 4,000 new nurses expected to be onboarded this year, there will be a higher proportion of foreign to local nurses – with a ratio of about 60:40. This will make up for the slowdown in foreign nurse recruitment due to the COVID-19 border restrictions, Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said last year.
Even as Singapore ramps up foreign recruitment of nurses, the “large majority” of its nursing workforce will continue to comprise locals from nursing school intakes and mid-career training programmes, Mr Ong added.