Thanks to Brexit, 20000 Kenyan trained nurses get jobs in UK
It’s a new dawn to thousands of unemployed nurses in Kenya as the Ministry of Labour is set to see them get jobs in the United Kingdom’s healthcare industry.
Labour CS Simon Chelugui said Britain was grappling with a deficit of 62,000 nurses and the European country has already opened at least 20,000 vacancies for nurses trained in Kenya to fill them.
The opportunity comes just weeks after the two countries signed a bilateral agreement for collaboration on the healthcare workforce.
“We are exporting Kenyan nurses. Last month we were in London with President Uhuru Kenyatta and had discussions with the UK government, which agreed to take 20,000 of their 62,000 shortage of nurses trained in Kenya. There is a benefit for us because our institutions are now being upgraded to international standards to offer training to fit the UK market,” Mr Chelugui said.
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The CS said the UK government has also committed to building the capacity of Kenya’s medical training colleges and universities to impart skills in more nurses.
About 900 nurses are already living and working in UK, while in Kenya, approximately 30,000 nurses are still unemployed.
Mr Chelugui also confirmed that the first batch of successful applicants will be flown out of the country on October 15.
“Brexit is an opportunity for this country. The fact that Kenya’s education system, standards and language of instruction is English is a huge opportunity for our country.”
“We are engaging our medical training schools to enhance capacity for the export market.”
All applicants seeking to work in the UK must possess a Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from a recognized institution and be registered and licensed by the Nursing Council of Kenya.
In addition, the applicant must have a valid Police Clearance Certificate and should at the point of application not be in a paid employment in the public or private sector in Kenya.
