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One in 15 UK medical sector job seekers looks abroad for work, says recruitment specialist

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1 March 2007

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Jobs4Medical.co.uk, a leading specialist online recruitment service for the medical profession, revealed today (Thursday 1 March 2007) that one in 15 people who have used its services in the last six months has looked for jobs outside of the UK.

In the last six months, New Zealand proved to the be the most popular country of choice with more than 16,000 page views for jobs advertised on the New Zealand pages of the recruitment website. Of the 520 foreign jobs available on the website, 22% are for doctors, while a staggering 55.2% are for nursing positions.

These latest findings come after a report compiled by the Institute for Public Policy Research, entitled Brits Abroad: mapping the scale and nature of British emigration, showed that every three minutes a British national leaves the UK to start a new life abroad. According to a recent feature on the BBC’s website, Australia and New Zealand are keen to recruit UK public service workers and the Jobs4Medical research shows that these are popular destinations, along with North America and Ireland.

Vicky Scott, Operations Manager at Jobs4Medical.co.uk, said: “With the continuing amount of job cuts and ongoing change in working conditions at the NHS, it’s not surprising that people are looking for more favourable salaries in hotter climates to progress their careers. Perhaps the most alarming figure is the number of nurses that are looking to leave the UK – most likely the result of understaffing, long hours and low pay.

“The medical sector is becoming a global profession, attracting a pool of highly talented individuals, both in the UK and abroad. Medical workers are increasingly looking for jobs abroad, regardless of their nationality, which is certainly a new trend. This time last year we did not have any foreign medical sector jobs posted onto the site, and we can see the trend continuing in years to come,” Ms Scott added.