A provincial health service is extending opportunities to talented candidates living in refugee circumstances as part of the solution to a critical shortage of healthcare skills in Canada.

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Health Services partnered with TalentLift to find talented healthcare professionals who are living as refugees in Ethiopia, in a pioneering initiative alongside our partners at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Under this initiative, we partnered to convene a 3-day virtual recruitment event in October, powered by our in-house hiring platform. We are thrilled to share these early results:

49 candidates moving forward
70+ interviews with talented healthcare professionals
Interviews held in 5 refugee camps – Jijiga, Assosa, Gambella, Melkadida, and Semera – as well as in the capital city Addis Ababa
The start of a talent pipeline between the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and displaced healthcare professionals in Ethiopia, making it possible for many more employment opportunities to follow

NL Health Services is among a growing group of leading employers globally who are recognizing the immense talent within refugee populations, and providing people with a chance to put their skills to use and reach their full potential in a safe new home.

NL Health Services is also showcasing a new form of win-win global recruitment in healthcare by recruiting from within a population that has only insecure and temporary status in their host country. A job opportunity in Canada – while filling critical healthcare roles – provides a pathway to continued careers and secure futures.

“NL Health Services continues to actively recruit talented health-care workers here at home, and abroad in an effort to meet all the needs of Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Debbie Molloy, Vice President Human Resources, NL Health Services. “NL Health Services is a great place to work and an ideal place where health-care professionals from anywhere in the world can grow their careers. As such, we encourage communities throughout the province to continue to provide a warm welcome to the health-care professionals joining us from around the world so that health-care workers can have the best possible experience living and working in our province. Our hope is that Newfoundland and Labrador may become their permanent new home.”

There are thousands of healthcare professionals who are living in refugee circumstances globally who are talented, resilient and keen to contribute their skills in a safe new home. TalentLift is grateful to employers like NL Health Services that are recognizing their skills and extending opportunities to talent living anywhere.

Read more about this pioneering initiative in an NL Health Services press release.

Listen to our Dana Wagner and Debbie Molloy of NL Health Services speak about this initiative with CBC On the Go.

Candidates living in refugee circumstances and seeking a job in Canada can join TalentLift. Employers seeking global talent while engaging their team in something transformative can start hiring.

Newfoundland and Labrador builds hiring pipeline to displaced healthcare talent in Ethiopia