Germany Needs 200k Nurses, Has Expressed Preference to Hire Pinoys –Baldoz

Germany will need 200,000 nurses in the next four years and has expressed preference in hiring Filipinos, according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Baldoz, who recently met with German government officials led by Parliamentary State Secretary Thorben Albrect, said the European Union powerhouse is suffering from a shortage of nurses especially those specializing in geriatric care.

“The officials have expressed preference to hire Filipino nurses,” Baldoz said.

Baldoz met with Philippine and German officials in Europe to discuss the Triple Win Project under the Philippines-Germany government-to-government hiring agreement, which was signed in March 2013.

Since the signing of the agreement, Germany has accepted 222 Filipino nurses, 128 of whom had been deployed to 14 employers in Germany.

The rest are still completing their preparatory German language training in the Philippines, which is free of charge.

Baldoz said the Philippines is looking into tapping the Human Resource Development Technical Cooperation Program of the World Health Organization and International Labor Organization in training Filipino nurses in geriatric care.

“We don’t have this in the Philippines due to the absence of nursing homes,” she noted.

She added that she will soon meet with officials of relevant government agencies to discuss the opportunities presented by Germany’s health care sector. —Jessica Bartolome/KBK, GMA News

(Source: GMAnetwork.com)