Canada’s Saskatchewan province begins in-person recruitment for Filipino nurses

A delegation from the province of Canada’s Saskatchewan province began its weeklong in-person recruitment of Filipino nurses to work in major healthcare institutions.

Led by Saskatchewan Minister of Health Paul Merriman, who is joined by other government officials and representatives from the province’s largest healthcare employer, Saskatchewan Health Authority, and secondary institutions, the delegation sought to engage directly with Filipino healthcare workers and actively promote the province’s employment opportunities.

“The people of the Philippines are kind, caring and compassionate, and this translates into the quality of health care they deliver to patients,” Merriman told reporters in an interview, noting that Saskatchewan, a largely agricultural province, “has experienced success in welcoming Filipino nurses and other health-care workers into our workforce and our communities” over the years.

“We want to continue building on that success, as we recognize and appreciate the excellence and professionalism Filipino people bring to our health system,” he said.

Merriman said Saskatchewan, home to 36,000 Filipinos with Tagalog as the number one foreign language spoken in the province, seeks to hire 1,000 to 1,200 nurses from various countries, including the Philippines.

He explained that Saskatchewan’s move to hire more Filipino nurses is not intended to weaken the Philippines’ healthcare system, but meant to provide them an “option” that they could consider.

As of this year, only 7,000 Filipino nurses, one of the most sought-after workers in highly developed nations, including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, are allowed by the Philippine government for overseas employment. Manila said the cap is temporary and was enforced to ensure that the country has adequate nurses amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I wish to invite health-care workers from the Philippines to consider building their future in our province. Saskatchewan is ready to welcome you!,” Merriman said.

“Our province is a place of opportunity where you can enjoy a great quality of life, raise a family and be part of a strong and supportive community,” he added, noting that Saskatchewan also offers excellent incentives and settlement support and assistance to spouses in finding employment.

Average entry-level salary of a nurse in Saskatchewan, he said, is $75,000CAD per year or about PhP3.1 million.

While in Manila, the Canadian delegation is also providing licensing, regulatory, and immigration process information to applicants and information about Saskatchewan.

Over 3,000 applications have been received for the sessions and hundreds of invitations have been sent to those eligible to attend.

Members of the delegation, who will be in Manila until December 2, said they are pleased with the “high level of interest” in the available healthcare jobs the province is currently looking to fill.

“The Filipino culture and spirit is very much integrated into Saskatchewan. We have nothing but positive feedback. We are also recruiting in other parts of the world but we wanted to come here first to show how important it is to the Philippine community that the government of Saskatchewan is on the ground ready to offer them an opportunity,” Merriman said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News