More nurses are needed in Canada .

That ’ s according to immigration consultancy firm Enhance Visa , citing a demand for at least 60,000 nurses in Canada by 2020 .

The number comes from the Canadian Nurses Association ( CNA ).

Occupations listed in Canada ’ s labor shortage include nurses specializing in burns , dialysis , and cardiology , as well as psychiatric nurses and nurse technicians .

“ The average age of a nurse in Canada is 55 years old . If we don ’ t get younger nurses into the workforce , there ’ ll be an even greater gap that the country would need to fill in the future ,” said Tony Burke , vice president of the OMNI College of Nursing in Vancouver , Canada during the Canada Nursing Career Expo in Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City last January .

Enhance Visa , which organized the expo , said it specializes in immigration solutions through its Study to Permanent Residency Pathways in Canada , Australia and New Zealand . OMNI College of

Nursing and Enhance Visa have been partners for many years , said Burke . The school specializes in training nurses with skills in line with Canada ’ s requirements as well as providing language preparation courses for the Canadian Nursing Licensure exam .

Filipino immigrants to Canada almost doubled from 232,665 in 2001 to 454,335 in 2011 . This makes Filipino- Canadians one of the largest foreign-born groups , and the number is growing yearly due to Canada ’ s more liberal immigration laws to compensate for its low population growth .

According to its latest Survey on Overseas Filipinos , the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that there were 2.44 million overseas Filipino workers in 2015 , about five percent more than their ranks in the year before that . About 95,000 were professionals , who accounted for nearly four percent of the group . Laborers and unskilled workers accounted for more than 330,000 or about 14 percent of all overseas Filipino workers . The second largest group were service workers and sales workers , who numbered 177,000 or about seven percent of the group as of 2015 .

Burke said each Canadian province projects to open 2,000 to 4,000 nursing jobs in the next couple of years to address this shortage .

“ The Canadian government has called the nursing shortage a crisis ,” Burke said .

Burke said Canada ’ s aging population requires more nurses to take care of the elderly , but Canadian universities just can ’ t produce Canadian-trained nurses fast enough .

The Canadian Nurses Association ( CNA ) has predicted that Canada would be in need of at least 60,000 nurses by 2020 to fill the labor shortage .

Burke said the best and most effective way to address this gap is to hire internationally educated nurses such as those from the Philippines .

According to the

Department of Labor and Employment ( DOLE ), the Philippines produces 200,000 nursing graduates annually , while there are only 2,500 available nursing jobs that await them .

Because of this surplus , many are forced to work abroad or stay in the Philippines but work in unrelated fields while waiting for a job vacancy .

However , other countries such as Canada do not recognize nursing education in the Philippines and , therefore , would imply that Filipino nurses in Canada are technically not nurses unless they acquire a

Canadian nursing license .

Burke said the Philippines is OMNI ’ s second top market , neck and neck in terms of number with India ; but what sets Filipino nurses apart from their Indian counterparts is the former ’ s ability to adjust wherever they go .

“ Filipinos , anywhere they go , they make it and they ’ re successful . Filipino nurses and Indian nurses both have really good training and experience , but adapting is the biggest difference ,” said Burke .

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