NEW DELHI - Ms Carolyne Marak's family has faced financial difficulties since the death of her father four years ago. But a nursing job in Singapore may help change things for the family of four.

The 29-year-old, who has six years of nursing experience, passed the Singapore Nursing Board (SNB) licence exam in April. She has a job offer from a nursing home in Singapore and is waiting for registration from the board. She will then apply for a work permit, according to her recruitment agency, Ajith Enterprises.

Singapore was her top choice when she attended a Meghalaya state government job fair for nurses in 2023, at which international recruiters from other countries such as Japan and Britain were also present.

"I chose Singapore because I heard the place is safe and the weather is good. There is also no need to learn another language," said Ms Marak, who has been offered seven times the salary she currently earns at a private hospital in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, a state in north-eastern India.

"My family is very excited. Let's see how much I can save," she added.

She was among 13 nurses recruited for Singapore at the job fair, where Singapore was a top preferred destination for those seeking work abroad, said Mr Ramkumar S, executive director of Meghalaya State Skill Development Society.

"The response was overwhelming. We had about 1,500 nurses who turned up, and many of them actually came with very little prior information. But they wanted to go to Australia and Singapore, because they speak English there," he said.

Twenty-seven nurses also got job offers from Japan, which has been wooing Indian nurses. 

Nurses such as Ms Marak are in demand these days as international recruiters, including from Singapore, look to India to fill their vacancies, even as India suffers from a shortage of nurses.

The better English-language skills of candidates from Meghalaya and other north-eastern states are also seen as a plus by recruiters.

In neighbouring Assam, which has growing links with Singapore, as many as 53 nurses have had their professional track records verified for SNB by the Assam Nurses' Midwives' & Health Visitors' Council since July 2021, clearing them for recruitment in Singapore.

The demand for more nurses in Singapore is due to a high rate of attrition in recent years amid a growing global demand for such professionals.

Many foreign nurses left to return home once borders were reopened as the Covid-19 pandemic waned.

According to SNB figures, there were 43,772 nurses and registered midwives in Singapore in 2022.

About 75 per cent of the 36,995 registered nurses are Singaporeans or permanent residents.

Among foreign nurses, most were from the Philippines (13 per cent), followed by Malaysia (5.7 per cent), Myanmar (2.4 per cent), India (1.3 per cent), China (1.27) and elsewhere.

To make up for the shortfall following the pandemic, 5,600 nurses were hired in the public healthcare system in 2023, according to Singapore's Ministry of Health.

Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had said in 2023 that the ratio of local nurses to foreign nurses would be about 60 to 40 and that the "large majority" of its nursing workforce will continue to comprise locals from nursing school intakes and mid-career training programmes.

The main factors driving Indian nurses to seek opportunities in Singapore are better pay, the country's English-language environment and its advanced healthcare set-up that allows them to boost their professional skills. 

Mr Arun Kumar Ojha, director of Dynamic Health Staff, an agency that specialises in global recruitment of nurses from India, said the interest among Indian nurses in working in Singapore is not just because of the financial benefits. Singapore is also seen as a stepping stone to better opportunities in Europe and elsewhere, he said.

This is especially true for nurses working in hospitals in smaller towns and rural areas, where they have limited access to modern technologies, he added.

"The good thing is that hospitals in Singapore are using advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence. So, there is interest among Indian nurses to work in Singapore to get some exposure for four or five years and then migrate to Europe," said Mr Ojha.

The firm has recruited around 300 nurses from India for both public and private hospitals in Singapore over the last three years.

Indian nurses in Singapore can expect to earn anywhere from $1,800 to $2,500 a month, which is significantly more than what they make back home - along with other benefits such as housing allowance and a one-time relocation support.

One out of eight Indian nurses works overseas, as per a report in The Hindu newspaper. In 2013, an estimate by two migration scholars suggested there are around 640,000 Indian nurses working overseas.

In 2023, the southern state of Kerala saw 27,000 nurses going overseas, according to the Kerala chapter of the United Nurses Association (UNA). Kerala has long been a global source for nurses and is the biggest exporting state when it comes to nursing professionals.

Mr Sojan Joseph, a nurse from Kerala who migrated to Britain two decades ago, was even elected to the British Parliament as a Labour candidate in the recently held election. In recent years, nurses from other states have also increasingly moved overseas, including from Meghalaya, whose government is now sending nurses abroad for the first time.

Ms Lily Ezung (not her real name) is among those who were cleared for recruitment in Singapore by the Assam Nurses' Midwives' & Health Visitors' Council in 2024 and is waiting to hear from her agent on a suitable vacancy in Singapore.

Currently working at a hospital in Guwahati, the largest city in the north-eastern state, the 26-year-old earns around 20,000 rupees (S$323) per month.

She hopes to improve her professional skills while earning more in Singapore. "I want to learn more things… I don't know what are the (work-related) practices they do outside (India), so I want to know about them."

Singapore is the only country she had applied to work in so far as she wants to be based in an English-speaking country. But she is open to working in Britain, Canada, Australia or New Zealand should suitable opportunities arise, she said.

Digital talent solutions provider NLB Services said in a report in 2024 that the demand for Indian nurses abroad is growing steadily, and is projected to increase by almost 100 per cent in six to seven years.

It also noted proactive initiatives in countries such as the United States, Britain, Canada and Japan that have facilitated the entry of Indian nurses.

Japan, for instance, offers a three-year visa, which is extendable by two years with monthly salaries going upwards of $1,700. In the United Arab Emirates, nurses can get upwards of $3,000 a month. Other perks being offered include free food and accommodation for a short duration, like in Britain.

Singapore will face competition hiring Indian nurses as other countries step up recruitments, noted Professor Roy K. George of the Trained Nurses' Association of India, a national organisation of nursing professionals.

"Singapore is just a transit destination. Either they come back to India or they go to some Western country," said Prof George. He noted the high cost of living also gave nurses some pause for thought.

"Savings is less because Singapore is an expensive place to live in."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.