NLB Healthcare, the healthcare subsidiary of NLB Services - leading global technology and digital talent solutions provider, today announced its strategic partnership with Nursing Norway AS, a part of the Focus Care Group and a market leader in the supply of healthcare personnel to the Norwegian healthcare system, and World Trade Center Pune India, an affiliate of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), a global network spread across 330 cities in 130 countries that fosters international trade, to recruit, train and deploy medical nurses from India to be employed in the Norway healthcare system.

Norway has one of the toughest criteria for recruiting working professionals outside the EU. This tri-partite partnership is the first industrial recruitment process being undertaken with an Asian country outside Europe.

The partnership seeks to establish a steady flow of talent to the Focus Care group of companies and also directly to Norwegian municipalities. By tapping the huge potential of the Indian healthcare workforce, this partnership is taking a giant leap in the right direction. The goal is to recruit 3000 nurses to the Norwegian market over the next 5 years.

Speaking on the strategic importance of this partnership Tommy Andre Iverson, CEO, Nursing Norway AS said, “We are creating a unique pathway for Indian nurses to gain full authorization to work in Europe and address the pressing challenge of nurse shortages in Norway. We have been impressed with Indian education standards and the quality of Indian nurses is more than adequate to meet the needs of the Norwegian healthcare system.”

Varun Sachdeva, SVP & APAC Head, NLB Services added, “At NLB Services, our purpose is to Bridge the Gap and we are well aware of the talent crunch for healthcare workers across the EU. This partnership is of strategic importance because it helps create new avenues and expand the talent ecosystem at the root level. While these are initial steps in the direction, we are sure that they will significantly address the gap in times to come.”

Elaborating on World Trade Center’s role in facilitating this partnership Niraj Khinvasara, Chief Innovation Officer, World Trade Center Pune said, “We are very excited about this partnership. After the pandemic, we’ve seen a gap in skill-based labour especially in healthcare in many parts of the world. Programs like this will help ease the situation and contribute to the healthcare segment globally.”

The partnership will be a great platform to establish NLB Healthcare as a market leader in healthcare recruitment and set the stage for the program's second phase, with ambitions to expand its reach to Europe and the rest of the world.