Indonesian nurses show growing interest in S'pore jobs

They are drawn by higher salaries and the opportunity to upgrade their skills

- Linda Yulisman

More than a year after Indonesia first started sending nurses through recruitment agencies to Singapore, there are plans to deploy more caregivers to meet the island's healthcare needs.

Healthcare players also report growing interest among Indonesian healthcare workers to seek employment abroad, driven by higher salaries and opportunities for career and personal development.

From June 2023 to June 2024, 66 Indonesian nurses have been working in Singapore public hospitals such as Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Changi General Hospital, said Mr Rendra Setiawan, director of placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers at the Indonesia Manpower Ministry.

Most of them arrived in Singapore as healthcare assistants and had to pass the Singapore Nursing Board exam to become enrolled and registered nurses in Singapore.

"There have been two recruitment drives in Indonesia under a private-to-private (P to P) scheme through agencies (since 2023), and a process is underway to bring those selected to Singapore," Mr Rendra told The Straits Times.

He added that the programme was introduced in 2023 to allow Indonesian healthcare workers to work in Singapore hospitals, with recruitment agencies as the middleman. "From the government side, we support the placement of Indonesian nurses overseas, including in Singapore," said Mr Rendra.

Singapore will need 24,000 additional nurses and healthcare staff by 2030, he said, citing figures from Singapore's Ministry of Health, adding that this demand brings opportunities for Indonesian nurses.

Until 2023, there was no formal placement programme for Indonesian nurses to be sent to Singapore.