Saudi Arabia launches drive to hire 1,000 nurses from Sri Lanka
Medical and paramedical personnel to be hired to meet increasing demand in the kingdom
Dubai: Hundreds of Sri Lankan nurses will be hired in Saudi Arabian hospitals this year, according to the Ministry of Labour in Sri Lanka.
The first round of recruitment took place in Colombo last week. Sanjay Nallaperuma, media secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment, revealed Saudi Arabia’s intention to recruit medical and paramedical personnel from Sri Lanka, among other countries, to meet the increasing demand in the kingdom’s medical sector.
The initial phase aims to recruit 1,000 nurses in a 12-month rolling programme. In the first round, 95 nurses with Bachelor of Science degrees were selected from a pool of 400 applicants, slated to serve in government hospitals across Saudi Arabia under the aegis of the Saudi Ministry of Health.
With nursing emerging as a highly sought-after career path in Saudi Arabia due to significant healthcare investments, the subsequent recruitment cycle is set to commence in August.
The employment of these nurses, whose average income is 5,250 riyals (approximately $1,400), is expected to provide a boost to Sri Lanka’s struggling economy.
Given the annual exodus of approximately 200,000 Sri Lankans in search of employment opportunities abroad, the country, grappling with its most severe financial crisis since 2022, heavily relies on foreign exchange.