Some 700 workers joined healthcare sector in 2016 via fairs, govt schemes

SINGAPORE — About 700 people, including mid-career professionals, found jobs in healthcare last year through the Government’s support programmes, and to woo more workers to the sector, it will offer overseas nursing master’s scholarships to non-nursing degree-holders from this year onwards.

Giving an update in Parliament on Tuesday (March 4), Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that last year, some 300 people were employed in the healthcare sector through the Manpower Ministry’s Adapt and Grow initiative, which is targeted mainly at mid-career professionals, managers, executives and technicians to help them boost their skills to adapt to changing job demands.

Another 400 mid-career Singaporeans were also hired through recruitment fairs organised by the Agency for Integrated Care.

Mr Gan said: “The Ministry of Health will enhance the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) to recruit more mid-career Singaporeans as nurses. We will increase funding support for employers of mid-career nurses, for their professional conversion training and on-the-job training.”

More people joined the healthcare sector through the PCP, he said in response to a question by Nominated Member of Parliament K Thanaletchimi, who asked about the success rate of the PCP in placing and retaining people who switch to healthcare for work.

Since 2009, more than 400 Singaporeans have joined the healthcare conversion programme.

Of the 223 workers who joined between 2009 and 2011, 82 per cent completed their training and successfully landed a healthcare job, Mr Gan said. Of those successfully placed, 92 per cent remained after the end of the minimum service period, which is two or three years depending on the job role.

Mr Gan also said that nurses have been given opportunities to improve their skills. Over the last three years, more than 750 enrolled nurses have joined the polytechnic nursing programmes to train to become registered nurses.

“Our public healthcare institutions also support suitable non-clinical healthcare (workers who want to) undergo skills conversion through the PCPs or similar programmes to take on clinical roles,” he said. Over the last three years, 54 training scholarships and sponsorships were given to non-clinical staff members already working in the sector, to enable them to take on clinical roles such as nurses and allied health professionals.

Last month, it was announced in Parliament that there would be a new overseas nursing scholarship for non-nursing degree graduates such as fresh graduates and those with prior work experience, for them to pursue a graduate-entry master’s course in nursing.