Call Center Companies in the Philippines are Not Eager to Hire Nursing Graduates as Call Center Agents
Call center companies in the Philippines are not really eager to hire nursing graduates to work as call center agents – rumor says.
Right now, there are many nursing graduates who are still waiting for their applications to be approved locally or abroad. Many of them are already registered nurses (board passers) but was told to wait for a while due to the oversupply scenario we seems to be having now.
These group of nursing hopefuls have to look for a job temporarily while waiting for their visas or applications to be approved. They have to at least help to recoup some of their expenses during their studies in college to become a nurse. Without any slot in local hospitals, what is their next best choice?
The call center industry in the Philippines is the next best job opportunity.
Call centers and BPO companies are thriving in the Philippines for several years now. And there is big hope in the horizon, based on recent reports from economic and business forecasters, that the industry will bring in more jobs in the future. Many college graduates from different professions end up in the call center if they can’t find a job suited to what they studied for. The same is now true for nursing graduates.
However, rumor has it that not many call center companies today are keen on getting these nursing graduates in the industry because of the very poor turnout of quality English speakers. Call center companies are very particular with how the applicants express themselves in English. It is highly probable that the nursing graduates have been tagged as poor English speakers – which I strongly disagree.
Add to this is the doubts of long term commitment from the nursing graduates since they are just waiting for their VISAs or work permits to go abroad to be approved. I think this one is a valid concern. One applicant said that as soon as the recruiters found out that they are nursing graduates, the recruiters are not interested anymore.
No one can blame the call center companies. The call center agents are typically trained for some time and it entails much costs to be invested in them by these companies. On top of that, competition in the industry triggers more costs for hiring making the call center companies become more selective of the candidates that are dedicated and committed to work for the industry to ensure greatest return for their money.
If this is the case, then the future is gloomy for the future nurses. If the oversupply is not addressed and the demand is not created by the Philippine government, we will have a nursing pool added to our unemployment rate.
We certainly hope that the call center industry would bring in more from the nursing profession and remove such discrimination over nursing graduates if these rumors are even true.
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Is there really an oversupply of Pinoy Nurses in the Philippines?
Recent reports state that there is an oversupply of Pinoy nurses now in the Philippines due mainly to 2 factors.
1. Highly commercialized nursing schools – Students are still being advised to take on Nursing because they and their parents believed that becoming a nurse abroad is their ticket to escape poverty. Success stories of Pinoy nurses abroad are being flaunted everyday by nursing schools to attract more and more students to boost their earnings. And one way or another, someone from the family has direct link or relation to someone who is making big bucks abroad that only solidify the intent of the students to take on nursing.
The result – more and more high school graduates are now flooding these nursing schools as the preferred college course. Tens of thousands also end up taking the nursing board exams. The high board passing rate also encourage the students to take on the course.
2. Practical Nursing programs – Not many people know on the onset that Practical nurses end up to be the nursing assistants to registered nurses here and abroad. The proliferation of practical nursing programs from various nursing school institutions, which is a vocational course to begin with, has attracted even more students to easily jump into the nursing boom.
False advertising plays the part on the oversupply. Students are led to believe that Practical nursing course is their shortcut to going abroad than taking the full 4-year course. But recent reports showed that graduates of practical nursing are having a hard time finding jobs abroad contrary to what has been advertised when they are enrolling in those practical nursing schools.
This has raised concerns at PNA which warned students to be very careful taking on this course as it is not a guarantee that they will get working visas or immigrant status in the US for example.
Now with all unemployed nurses around, how will the government deal with this oversupply situation? This will definitely add to unemployment rate in the future if and when the government will not take action as early as now to curb the impact of this impending oversupply as well as the effect of deteriorating demand in the nursing profession here and abroad.
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When Nursing is Not a Lucrative Profession Anymore for Future Pinoy Nurses
Recent reports have suggested that Nursing is not a lucrative profession anymore for future Pinoy nurses.
This came after PNA revealed that job opportunities for Pinoy nurses are not as promising as it used to. Now future nursing students are advised to think twice before taking the nursing course. Those that think that this nursing profession is their ticket to success by working abroad is in for a big disappointment.
The culprit is the big drop in demand for nurses abroad mainly in the US and UK. Now, local hospitals like the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and St. Lukes Medical Center have serious backlogs to consider as nursing applicants are advised to wait 6 to 12 months.
Despite this, nursing schools continue to lure students to enroll which further fuel the over supply of nurses in the country. The PNA blamed these schools for commercializing the profession thus more and more high school graduates are entering the nursing profession yearly.
In our earlier report, Nursing is the top choice amongst enrollees this year based on CHED reports. This commercialization of the profession also raise up the tuition cost of becoming a nurse and other expenses for those planning to go abroad.
Now, more than ever, CHED should be able to provide governance to the nursing schools. Recent reports showed that CHED still failed to clamp down on incompetent nursing schools which add more insult to the injury the profession is taking in right now.
So what’s in store for our nursing graduates this year? That is something the Philippine government should really be concerned with if they cannot create demand outside the United States and the UK soonest.
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