One of the questions I get asked most often is, “Which country should I source my international nurses from?” This is an important question and there are some things you may want to bear in mind before deciding which approach is best for your organisation.
#1: Do the qualifications transfer over?
You’ll find that most EU countries have standardised nursing curricula now which makes it relatively easy for EU workers to work in other EU countries. But when you’re recruiting from outside the European Economic Area, you will want to look into which countries have similar nursing curricula to the UK.
For example, India has a very similar mental health curriculum to the UK, and we source many of our nurses from the Philippines because they have a very similar Adult General Nurse curriculum. Think about the type of nurse you’re looking for and if there is an adequate supply in the country you are considering.
#2 What is the supply of nurses like?
Ideally, you’re looking for a country with a growing population and large supply of adults of working age. If you’ve got a choice, you don’t want to be targeting countries that have an aging population or have a shortage of nurses themselves.
#3. Is it ethical to recruit from this country?
This was alluded to above but it isn’t ethical to recruit from countries who don’t have enough nurses themselves, or to poach nurses from developing countries. If you’re in doubt you can check out the NHS Code of Practice documentation on the NHS Employers website for a full list on where you should and shouldn’t recruit from.
#4. Will the UK be attractive to nurses from that country?
Think about how the quality of life and salary compares to what a nurse might experience in their home country. Will it be a step up or a step down for them in terms of lifestyle? The higher the step up, the more attractive the UK will be to nurses from that country and the wider choice of candidates you will have to choose from.
#5. Do they speak the language?
It’s worthwhile thinking about how prevalent English is in the country you are considering recruiting from given they will have to pass an English language test. Opting to recruit from a country where they already speak English is an advantage.
Obviously countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand speak English as a first language but countries like India, the Philippines and Nigeria also have a high proportion of English speakers.
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