OFWGuide published an article about the launching of the Student and Work Placement Scheme (Swops) of United Kingdom (UK) for Filipino healthcare workers. Under this scheme, Filipino healthcare workers are given the opportunity to study, work, and live in the UK.

However, barely a week after its launching, a group based in UK that promotes the rights of Filipino nurses there issued out a warning against the earn and learn scheme as they are afraid that it might be used by some unscrupulous businessmen to exploit Filipino nurses eager to go out of the country to work.

The demand for nurses’ worldwide makes many people see it as the easiest gateway to work abroad and secure their future. As such, every chance that opens for healthcare workers is seen as a viable opportunity for most of our healthcare professionals. However, to provide hopeful applicants both sides of the story, this article will now present the supposedly disadvantage pitfalls of this scheme.

According to the former President of the Center for Filipinos-UK, Edna Aquino in an article published in GMANews.Tv, “While there remains a shortage of nurses in the UK health service, the government had told the Philippine overseas labor office that the priority sources for nurses are countries of Eastern Europe that have recently joined the European Union."

The former Chair added, “The UK National Health Service is cash strapped. Although many hospitals continue to admire the work ethics of Filipino nurses, they don’t have the budget to extend sourcing beyond Europe. The UK immigration law has also become very restrictive on this matter."

United Kingdom is indeed experiencing labor shortage in their healthcare industry and there is a great need to deploy foreign healthcare workers like nurses and caregivers. However, it does not entirely mean that they plan to hire only Filipino nurses.

The fact remains that the rigid British skills and competencies certification system puts licensed and experienced Pinoy nurses unqualified to meet the UK standards. This is the reason why newly-hired Filipino nurses undergo a three to six months training called adaptation.