Health Minister Paul Merriman was part of a delegation that went to Philippines in November to recruit health care professionals. Now some are arriving in Saskatchewan.

Razelle Juare, Ephrain Aquino and Kennedy Jess Gonzales Pobre are just some of the latest health care workers welcomed to the province through the provincial government’s recent hiring project.

“I had the opportunity to meet Razelle and Ephrain when I was in the Philippines on the recruitment night. We just shared pictures that we took of that evening,” Health Minister Paul Merriman told CTV News.

The hiring process was quick, according to Juare, who is a lab assistant.

“I just emailed from the recruitment poster and then when I received the email for the interview and then job offer it was just so fast,” she said.

However, getting licensed is the challenging part of the process.

“I think when it comes to licensing, Saskatchewan has the toughest regulations you know when it comes to licensing,” Pobre said.

“They are looking for a lot of documents and something else and like compared to the other provinces that have loosened it up already.”

All commend their employers for guiding them through the process.

“Throughout the process they’ve been very helpful, always following up with what papers do we need to get, what process is the next step,” Aquino said.

In hindsight though, it might have been easier to have gone elsewhere first.

“Once we have our license in another province, we can transfer it easier rather than starting the evaluation for our license here in Saskatchewan,” Pobre added.

The Government of Saskatchewan recognizes the discrepancy between provinces.

Filipino nurses are trained to American standards.

Beginning this fall, the bridging program is expected to be reduced from one year to 14 weeks.