DOLE: Germany eyeing more Pinoy nurses

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) said Tuesday that Germany is looking for more Filipino nurses until 2020.

In a statement, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said that Germany has a demand for at least 200,000 foreign nurses, including Filipinos.

“The officials have expressed preference to hire Filipino nurses,” said Baldoz after her meeting with German officials last week.

The deployment of Filipino nurses, she noted, was made possible by the Triple Win Agreement between the Philippines and Germany signed in March 2013.

Since the signing of the agreement, Germany has accepted 222 Filipino nurses, including 128 that are already employed there while the rest are still completing their preparatory German language training in the Philippines.

The program, Baldoz pointed, is even expected to expand after the hiring of Filipino nurses through the private recruitment sector has been allowed through POEA Governing Board Resolution 4-2016.

Previously, the Triple Win Agreement between the Philippines and Germany was only a government-to-government hiring program.

Baldoz said there is a continuing demand in Japan for health workers from the Philippines.

“The high number of Filipino candidate caregivers and nurses for the eighth batch under the JPEPA program is the biggest batch since its beginning in 2009. This shows that there is an increasing demand for Filipino health workers in Japan,” said Baldoz.

She noted how the eighth batch of candidates is composed of 340 Filipino health workers, including 63 nurses and 277 caregivers.

This is higher than the 293 workers, specifically 75 nurses and 218 caregivers, which were deployed last year for the seventh batch.

Dole records show that a total of 1,265 health workers ( 413 nurses and 852 caregivers) have been deployed under the program since 2009.

Baldoz said there are 210 nursing and 392 care giving facilities in all of Japan that are looking to hire Filipino health workers. (HDT/Sunnex)