A total of 2,500 Kenyan nurses are expected to go to Saudi Arabia after the national government through the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare secured the positions in a recent visit to the Gulf country, Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore has said.
Bore said the processing already started and by mid-January 2024, they will be done and ready to send them there.
“About 2500 diploma and degree graduates of nursing graduates will by mid-January go to Saudi and work there. I secured the jobs during my visit there last week.” CS Bore said yesterday during a media briefing at her office in Nairobi.
Bore noted that over two hundred thousand Kenyans are working in Saudi currently and with the renewal of the bilateral renewal that is still under review, more Kenyans will be going to work there as professionals and domestic workers.
She revealed that the renewal was already done through her ministry but they are waiting for the National treasury to soon reveal the details to the public.
The CS said they will continue to ensure the private recruiting agencies follow all the set guidelines before taking someone there as she said there will soon be a customer care desk at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport that will be assessing anyone leaving for the gulf.
“We scaled down all the private agencies from 900 to now five hundred. I am ready to even bring it down to 100 as long as the Kenya domestic workers in the gulf are safe and follow the right channels going there.” Bore said.
The CS met private recruitment owners today together with officials from Saudi Arabia in a move to ensure Kenyan workers in the Gulf country are safe.
Official representatives from Saudi Arabia are in Kenya to check on how the National Employment Authority (NEA) and recruiting agencies work and operate before sending Kenyans to their country.
They are expected to visit NITA and NYS facilities in their two days in the country.
