The Labour cabinet secretary Florence Bore reported on 11th April that there is a low number of applications for the nursing opportunities secured by President Ruto in Saudi Arabia. She highlighted this when she appeared before the National Assembly Diaspora and Migrant Committee indicating that at that moment they had only received 1765 applications out of the required 2500 posts. Bore indicated that out of the applications received 880 were female and 885 were male showing a balance in gender.
The Cs saw that the Kenyan nurses had a negative opinion of the pay range that was instructed contributing to the lower applications.
“The shortfall in applications for the vacancies has been attributed to the low perception of the salary offer amongst applicants and the requirements for a 90-day bonding period for the Private Recruitment Agency facilitating the process,” explained Hon. Bore
CS Bore also noted that among the 1765 applications applied by Kenyan nurses out of verifications, only 586 meet the requirements and they will be interviewed soon.
Additionally, Bore stated that nurses who were already interviewed and qualified for the opportunity were ready with permits and were yet to travel.
He promised to be responsible for putting policies and other requirements in place to aid in improving the effectiveness of relocations for Kenyans who were appointed for government-facilitated jobs.
The Salaries for the positions advertised in early January of this year would sum up to 146000 Kenyan shillings.
Among the requirements and qualifications for the nursing job advertised was that one should be between the ages of 22 and 35. Furthermore, the applicants were required to have either a nursing degree, diploma, or certificate depending on the the specifications of the job.
If the applicant meets the requirements for the posts, they are expected to get a round-trip ticket.
The Prometric test also was a requirement which would be done in Kenya or Saudi Arabia and the costs would be deducted from the employee’s pay over three installments. Upon successful appointments, applicants must produce valid Prometric results
as well as the Nursing Council License or any employment certificate. Data flow verification reports for Education were also mandatory.
