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NSDC rolls out skill development programme for nursing professionals at Bathinda AIIMS
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a central agency, has set a target to send one-lakh qualified nursing professionals to various countries, including the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, by 2025
BATHINDA : The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a central agency, has set a target to send one-lakh qualified nursing professionals to various countries, including the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, by 2025.
At the inaugural function of an international skill centre at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda, on Thursday, adviser to NSDC Sandeep Kaura said the government-to-government tie-up will open new avenues to the skilled healthcare professionals in the overseas market.
Sharing details of a one-of-its-kind project in the country that started on Thursday, Kaura said 48 nurses from different places have been enrolled for the free Occupational English Test (OET), a mandatory language proficiency exam exclusively for medical professionals aspiring to work in the UK.
“The first batch of nurses was selected after a test and now they will be trained in the language proficiency test. We hope that after completing the skill development training in two months, these nurses will get a job in the public sector institutes of the UK. There is complete transparency in it as this project is between the governments of India and the UK,” he said.
Kaura said that post-Covid pandemic, the governments of the UK, Canada, the US and Australia have approached India to get trained healthcare professionals and the centre is providing a global platform to the healthcare professionals.
“Punjab is among the key states from where after graduating in nursing, the youth desire to work abroad. But most of those who manage to go to different countries through private immigration consultants after spending a fortune, do not get the work of a nurse. But the centre government is working to assist promising healthcare professionals to cherish their dreams to work abroad. The ambitious project will help them to meet the professional standards of the employing country by the best experts in the industry without spending any money,” he said.
The top official of the central agency said it is unfair to term it ‘brain drain’ but it is a ‘brain exchange’.
“Several developed countries of the West have recognised the potential of healthcare professionals in India and are keen to hire them. Centre has worked to prepare 4 lakh nurses in the next 3-4 years to meet the global target of sending 1 lakh nurses,” he added.
