RECRUITER SAYS: Saudi needs 50,000 nurses in 6 months

MANILA, Philippines -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia needs from 50,000 to 60,000 nurses in the next six months, and officials of the King Fahd Medical Center are in the country interviewing prospective applicants, a recruiter said Friday.

In a telephone interview with INQUIRER.net, Lito Soriano of the LBS E-recruitment Solutions said the requirement of the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, for medical staff was urgent, but the Philippines would only be able to fill up one in five job vacancies in the kingdom.

"Even with the economic crisis, the demand for nurses and other medical staff in the Middle East is very high and very urgent," he said.

"Unlike in the United States, the projected need for nurses in the Middle East is immediate," he added.

To illustrate the immediacy of the demand, Soriano said King Fahd Medical Center has linked up with more than two Philippine recruitment agencies to fill up the vacancies.

"This is a reflection of the lack of nurses there," he said.

"The top priorities in Saudi are security and health, and its ministries of defense, aviation, and health, which operated government hospitals, are doing the hiring not just for nurses, but for technical medical workers like X-ray technicians, respiratory technicians, and the like," he said.

Soriano said applicants might check out his company's website (http://www.e-recruitment.com.ph) or send in their applications to

aplymsd@e-recruitment.com.ph.

At the same time, he said, Saudi increased its inflation allowance from five percent to 10 percent of the basic salary, which would range from $600 to $1,000. "This is on top of free housing, free transportation, and yearly vacation," he said.

Placement fee, which is collected by 20 percent of recruitment agencies, is usually a month's worth of salary.

Asked why the Philippines was not able to fill the nurses need for Saudi Arabia, Soriano said lack of experience was the main reason.

"Saudi hospitals need nurses with two years actual experience in tertiary hospitals with at least 200 beds and working with modern equipment," he said.

Unfortunately, he said, there was a lack of tertiary hospitals in the country and the volunteer work of Filipino nurses in government hospitals were not properly recognized.

"We should demand respect and recognition for Filipino nurses here. Even if their experience is for actual staff work, their certification only indicates their work as volunteer nurses. These certifications are not acceptable to Saudi employers," he said.

"The Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Employment, which are responsible for these certifications, should make them more specific and more official," he added.

To Filipino nurses who are aiming to work in the US, Soriano suggested that they try and gain more experience in Saudi hospitals. He said that the US action on allowing foreign nurses into US hospitals was still a long way off, even with the recommendation of the US Ombudsman for Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"Our nurses should try and gain more work experience in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries first, as it takes only 30 to 45 working days to leave for their jobsites after selection," he said. - Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, January 02, 2009