NMC announce changes to language testing requirements
NMC announce changes to language testing requiremenThe Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) have announced changes to their Language testing requirements. In addition to the currently accepted International English Language Test System (IELTS), the NMC will now accept the Occupation English Test (OET).
The new addition will now give international nurses and midwives wanting to work in the UK an alternative option when demonstrating their English language capabilities and eligibility to work abroad.
Whilst fewer testing centres around the world offer OET, the test has been deemed more accessible than IELTS which has been criticised as being to ‘academic’.
The NMC stated that “While this provides an alternative way for nurses and midwives to demonstrate their English language capability, applicants will still need to meet our existing English language standards.”
Those requirements include evidence that nurses and midwives have:
- “Undertaken a pre-registration nursing or midwifery qualification taught and examined in English.”
- “Registered and practised for a minimum of one year in a country where English is the first and native language, and a successful pass in an English language test was required for registration.”
The NMC claims that these new changes will bring the training criteria for non-EU/EEA candidates more closely in line with the current requirements for EU/EAA nurses and midwives.
The IELTS apparently takes between 8 months and a year to pass with around a 50% success rate for applicants. Introducing the OET is hoped to help speed up the process for getting international candidates onto hospital wards and alleviate staff shortages in the NHS.
The changes will come into effect at the beginning of November 2018.
References:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-and-updates/changes-to-language-testing-requirements-come-in-force/
