International Recruitment - Working with Orient MCT
Over the past 5 month’s we’ve been developing a partnership with OrientMCT, who are based in Abu Dhabi and provide recruitment and training services for international Health and Social Care professionals.
We made the connection with Christian, Executive Director, through Pearl who joined us as a Nurse but is now a Unit Manager in one of our Belfast Homes.
Christian has a background in HR, his people centred approach aligns with our values at Healthcare Ireland and with his added recruitment insights we are delighted to be working with him and Arcee. Arcee works as a recruiter and has experience recruiting Nurses internationally as well.
In January, myself and two of our Directors travelled to Abu Dhabi to meet the OrientMCT team after many video calls! Greeted warmly by the team, we spent three days with them. We were also able to meet some of the fantastic Trainers, we were so impressed by the facilities and the trainers passion for imparting knowledge and the importance of care.
Culturally, Abu Dhabi is very different to Northern Ireland, with most care being delivered at Home with round the clock Care Assistants and Nurses. We knew this would be an additional hurdle for any recruits as they not only have to adjust to the Northern Irish accent and weather, but the way in which we provide care in Nursing and Residential Homes. We were able to meet with Jane and immediately began to plan additional training that we could provide to help successful candidates adjust to the various different ways of life in Northern Ireland. Jane, Lead Trainer has excellent clinical knowledge and the way that she speaks about her trainees reassured us that the coaching they would receive from her would set them up in the best way for their new roles.
In March, we travelled back to Abu Dhabi, this time as a team of five – myself, Alana Irvine - Regional Manager, Amor Laguesma – Nurse, Connie McNeill – Recruitment Team Lead and Karla McDermott – HR, Recruitment and Communications Co-Ordinator.
As we were interviewing Nurses, we needed to bring two Nurses with us who would have the clinical knowledge required. Alana and Amor were brilliant, and whilst it was Amor’s first experience with recruitment, she excelled in building relationships with candidates – making the moment we got to make the offer even more special.
There were often a lot of happy tears when we offered candidates the opportunity to join us! Amongst all of the necessary paperwork, it was so moving to hear about their desire to move to Northern Ireland and take the next step in their career.
The hospitality in Abu Dhabi is unmatched (Jane’s sticky coconut pudding in particular!). It was an intense trip with lots for all of us to take in. We were there during Ramandan which meant we took extra care to remain respectful of the local customs throughout our visit.
We ended the trip having made a number of offers to Nurses and Care Assistants who will hopefully join us in the early summer.
It is a huge privilege to be part of this experience, and we look forward to continuing to work with OrientMCT and their brilliant team.
Healthcare Ireland Recruitment Trip March 2024