Celebrating Overseas NHS Workforce 2026

Celebrating Overseas Workforce Day 2026: Listening to What’s Changed — and What Hasn’t

What We’re Hearing, What’s Changing, and Why It Still Matters

As the sector marks Overseas Workforce Day 2026, we're joining organisations across health and social care in recognising the internationally recruited colleagues who continue to sustain our services. Their contribution is not new — but the context they're working within has shifted significantly.

Over the past year, providers have been navigating tightened sponsorship rules, increased global competition for talent, and the ongoing pressure to balance recruitment with retention. For internationally recruited staff already here, these changes have created new layers of uncertainty: concerns about family separation, questions about long‑term stability, and the emotional weight of adapting to a system that is itself under strain.

And yet, when we speak with internationally recruited nurses, carers, AHPs and support staff, the themes we hear remain remarkably consistent with what we explored in our earlier articles on inclusion, listening, and compassion. These lived experiences — and the organisational challenges around them — are what led to the creation of New Horizons, our CPD‑certified experiential support and development journey for internationally recruited healthcare professionals.

The impact has been clear. In our most recent cohort, participants' self-assessed abilities improved or significantly improved across all 10 dimensions measured — including resilience, communication, confidence, listening, belonging and sense of fulfilment at work. 100% completion rate. And perhaps more telling than any number, one participant reflected:

"I did not realise that I need a programme like this until I started it. It enhanced my experience as an international nurse — and it is heart warming that there is an organisation that cares about the wellbeing of international nurses in this country."

Not because the system has become easier — but because they've had a safe space to talk honestly, learn together, and build relationships that make the workplace feel less overwhelming and more like home.

This year, as the policy landscape continues to shift, the need for that kind of grounded, relational support has only grown. The sector‑wide challenges matter — but it's the zoomed‑in, person‑to‑person moments that change someone's day, their confidence, and ultimately their decision to stay.

So today, we want to do two things:

1. Acknowledge the context. International recruitment is harder. Retention is more critical. And internationally recruited colleagues are carrying more emotional and practical pressure than ever.

2. Reaffirm our commitment to the people behind the workforce data. The ones navigating new cultures, new expectations, new systems — and doing so with extraordinary courage.

If you'd like to see the full New Horizons case study or anonymised participant feedback, please reach out to Nik Screen or Alessandro Alagna.

To all our overseas colleagues: thank you. Your resilience, generosity and global perspective enrich our workforce every single day.