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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
A NURSING couple based in the United Kingdom has established a recruitment agency targeting Zimbabwe’s health workers who are sometimes exploited by some international agencies as they seek greener pastures.

In the past few years, more nurses have been leaving the country in search for employment in the diaspora, especially in the UK.

The challenges experienced by the country’s citizens have prompted the Zimbabwean couple to establish a recruitment agency; “GoodNews For Life” targeting locals.

Mrs Shine Ndebele said she and her husband Mqondisi moved to the UK last year and their migration experiences led them to innovate and register their organisation with the National Health Services (NHS), which handles health workers employment issues in the UK.

Mrs Ndebele, who is the company’s chief executive officer, said a lot of health workers fall prey to fraudsters as they become desperate to secure employment opportunities in other countries.

“My husband and I are nurses and we came here last year. While I came to the UK on a spousal visa, meaning I didn’t face many challenges as my husband was already here, his experiences are what prompted us to start this company.

He spent almost a year trying to get a reputable organisation to bring him here, which causes a lot of desperation. So from those experiences we realised that there is a gap that exists that can be exploited.

So, we decided to set up our own agency. Most of the recruitment agencies are not run by Zimbabweans and this is part of the problem that we want to address,” said Mrs Ndebele.

She said the desperation to get new opportunities leaves the public vulnerable.

“We mainly want to recruit more Zimbabweans and those from Bulawayo and Matabeleland region in particular.

While health workers are pushing to migrate to other countries for economic opportunities, there is a need for people to exercise due diligence as there are concerns of human trafficking as well.

If someone is offered a job, they should make sure they thoroughly check if the company that is offering them employment opportunities is in existence, is it registered and all the necessary information,” she said.

“These days through information communication technology it is easier to conduct background checks on organisations for their authenticity.

There is no need to rush, people have to be patient because as a result of pressure of seeing others leaving some people end up being desperate and falling into wrong hands. We have heard of cases where people end up getting into trouble while trying to seek employment outside the country.”

Mrs Ndebele said they will be recruiting nurses, social workers, radiographers, scientists and health care assistants in line with the NHS expectations.

She said while the effects of health workers leaving the country will be felt, there is greater economic benefit for the individuals and the economy.

“I believe it is an economic benefit for people to migrate to countries like the UK because they will be able to support their families back home. At the same time, the remittances will be good for the economy as well. We are able to send our children to better schools as a result of the opportunities that exist following my relocation. I have also seen people in the diaspora investing back home and this is my ultimate goal,” she said.

Mrs Ndebele said after setting up their company she was nominated for the 11th edition of the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards, which she believes is a confirmation that their organisation speaks to addressing challenges affecting Zimbabweans both in the diaspora and at home. —@nqotshili