KOCHI: Europe has always provided plentiful opportunities for Indian nurses. Now, new markets are opening up in the continent that were not hitherto traditional destinations for our paramedical professionals. But there is a catch: the recruits need to have a working knowledge of the native language. And to add to the problem, there is a dearth of instructors here who can teach these tongues.
According to Anoop K A, managing director of Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants Ltd (ODEPC), a Kerala government undertaking, 36 nurses flew to their workplace in Belgium on Friday as a part of the Aurora project.
“We have been conducting training programmes. There are also job opportunities knocking on our doors from various other European countries. But we don’t have trainers to teach many of their languages,” he said. “In the case of the 36 nurses who were trained at Lourdes under the Aurora project, we had to seek the help of our associate partner Dignitas in Belgium.
They sent two instructors who were here for the entire six months of training. They have now returned and will only be back in June when the next batch starts,” Anoop said. There is huge demand for nurses in Belgium, he added.
Recruitment for Belgium is being conducted under a tripartite system. “Here we have Lourdes as one of the partners. In Belgium, we have tied up with Dignitas, which is a consortium,” he said. The interview process for the next batch of nurses to Belgium will begin in February and the training will begin by June.
Language biggest hurdle in nurses’ recruitment
“We don’t face problems when it comes to English-speaking countries like Canada. Also, we are already sending recruits to Germany. But still, we have not been able to meet demand. Recruiters from Germany have sought 1,500 nurses. Among the various challenges, language poses the biggest hurdle,” said Anoop. Canada has made a request for 500 nurses, he added. “Another country that has called in with requirement is Wales, which needs 400 nurses. But we don’t have people teaching Welsh! Another country that has approached us in Finland. But you won’t find a person who can teach Finnish!” said Anoop.
“We need experts in these languages to make the most of the opportunities,” he said, adding ODEPC is like a one-stop supermarket when it comes to getting nursing jobs in foreign countries. “We provide six months’ training that encompasses all the criteria prescribed by the health departments of these countries, find jobs, get the recruitment done, get the nurses visa and finally arrange transportation,” he added.