The Occupational English Test, an English language test for healthcare professionals, is to be available in Pakistan from November 2019 following the opening of a new test venue managed by AEO Pakistan in the capital, Islamabad.
OET is an Australian-developed international English language test that assesses the language proficiency of healthcare professionals.
“We have had an unprecedented number of candidates asking us to open a test venue in Pakistan”
It provides an assessment of all four language skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking – through test material designed to reflect real healthcare scenarios.
“AEO began its operations in Pakistan in April 1997. With more than 20 years of experience, AEO Pakistan joins hands with Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment [owners of OET] to offer OET testing in Pakistan,” said Saad Mahmood, CEO of AEO Pakistan.
“This will enable healthcare professionals to take OET test within the country and pursue their dreams of migrating to a country of their choice.”
OET CEO, Sujata Stead said she was thrilled to bring OET to its 42nd country.
“We have recently had an unprecedented number of candidates asking us to open a test venue in Pakistan and the Islamabad centre will go some way to meeting this demand,” she said, adding that plans are also in place to open test venues in additional cities in Pakistan.
“AEO Pakistan is a first-class venue and we look forward to working with them to give test candidates in Islamabad a positive test-day experience.”
To meet demand, OET also opened its first test venue in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, and the test has been increasing in popularity among employers who value the ability of a healthcare-specific test to best prepare candidates for the English-speaking healthcare workplace.
In 2017, the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council and General Medical Council began to formally recognise the OET test for overseas-trained nurses and midwives who need to prove they have a proficient level of English for registration in the country.
And from October this year, healthcare professionals have been exempt from the English language requirement for their UK visa application where they have used their successful OET results for registering with the relevant healthcare regulator.
“This will enormously reduce the burden on overseas-trained professionals seeking to work in the UK,” added Stead.
