CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Six paramedics from Australia were officially sworn in Friday as part of the Charleston County EMS team.

The paramedics are credentialed in Australia, but were recruited to help fill the paramedic shortage currently facing Charleston County. Australia has the opposite problem, with a surplus of certified paramedics.

EMS Director Dave Abrams explained that recruiting paramedics from Australia was an “outside the box” way to “find qualified workers who want to be paramedics and want the opportunity to work in Charleston County.”

The group will complete clinical hours and take exams to be credentialed in the U.S. and are expected to be full-time paramedics by the end of June.