Hey there,
my wife and I are from Oz, heading to London early 2008, and she's is a little worried after hearing that there is not a lot of supply work going for nurses these days. She is about to go through the whole registration process, including the compulsory literacy test, but she's worried that she will get through all of the red tape, and pay the money to register, then find out there is hardly any work for her. She has about 2 1/2 years experience, including critical care, general nursing and mental health.
I was wondering if there was anyone who has gone through the process recently and can give any advise. Should she look for work in hospitality or retail, or are there other cities in the UK that are screaming out for nurses? We would obviously prefer to be in a bigger city with an airport for Europe travel.
Cheers for any info!
Damo
Are you travelling on UK ancestry visa or an EU passport? I ask because if you only have Australian passport, the Home Office has stopped issuing work permit for overseas nurses because of current oversupply. Nursing has been dropped from the list of shortage occupations, meaning that potential employers now have to demonstrate that there are no other UK and EU applicants able to do the job.
I have just found the following news item from RCN website: Work Permit changes. See if your wife still qualifies under shortage list. 2 1/2 year post-qualification experience would be Band 5 in UK.
You might want to PM JenPat. She doesn't post often any more, but may check in now and again. She's an extremely well qualified ICU nurse, and she found it incredibly difficult to get work (any nursing work, not just ICU) in the UK. She returned to Australia in June this year, despite having a new two year visa, as a result.
Thanks for the info guys. Geez that is a worry.
Does anyone know what the supply work situation is like though?
She's not really interested in a career move, just some funds for Europe travel. Unfortunately we cannot get an ancestral visa, so we are relying on a Working Holidaymaker visa.
Cheers
trusted partner
