- India mission to promote WA as destination of choice for healthcare workers
- Strengthening links across healthcare, medical, and life sciences between nations
- Minister for Health to deliver a keynote speech at a key forum 'BioAsia 2024'
- Part of the Cook Government's ongoing commitment to healthcare recruitment
Minister for Health Amber-Jade Sanderson is embarking on a mission to India to strengthen WA-India links across the healthcare, medical, and life sciences sectors.
The mission, which begins on Thursday, 22 February 2024, will showcase Western Australia as a destination for health workers and students in these fields to live, work and study.
Recruiting additional healthcare workers is a key priority for the Cook Government, with forecasts predicting WA will need an additional 5,000 FTE doctors and nurses by 2033.
While in India the Minister will open four Health Skilling Symposiums to promote WA as a place to live and work, highlight jobs available in the local health industry, and the Government support on offer to help skilled migrants to relocate.
The Minister will also meet with State and central skills development corporations which work closely with industry, and support workers as well as students by facilitating high quality training.
The Cook Government's $4.25 million Skilled Migrant Job Connect Program supports skilled migrants with funding and free settlement services - including mentoring and cultural training to help them establish their lives in Western Australia, and participate in WA's workforce.
The Minister for Health will also deliver a keynote speech at 'BioAsia 2024', the premier life sciences and healthcare forum in Asia, which is now in its 21st year of operation and will be held in Hyderabad.
The forum is expecting tens of thousands of visitors from over 50 countries during the four-day event.
Minister Sanderson will also provide a keynote address at 'UmagineTN 2024' in Chennai, an annual Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Skill Summit, as well as host an Invest and Trade WA Business Luncheon with India's healthcare industry.
As stated by Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:
"Work is underway on the WA Workforce Strategy, through the WA Health Workforce Summit and roundtables, but we already know migrant healthcare workers will continue to play an important role in our healthcare system.
"India has a strategy to produce high quality healthcare workers in numbers greater than they need for their own healthcare system, with a view to facilitating migration elsewhere, and we want to make sure WA is their number one choice.
"This mission will be beneficial for both Western Australia and India, with a chance to showcase our internationally recognised research base and entrepreneurial talent."
