According to Labor Minister Martin Kocher, preparations for this should be completed by autumn. Vorarlberg will be one of several model regions.
The consequences of the shortage of skilled workers in the nursing sector are already being felt. “By 2030, 76,000 additional nursing staff will be needed throughout Austria,” said Labor Minister Martin Kocher during his visit to the country. He wants to take countermeasures, among other things, with the three-year apprenticeship as a nursing assistant or in four years for nursing assistants. Key points should be fixed by autumn. The conditions for the training would be worked out with the social partners and the federal states. In Vorarlberg there has been a separate working group for a few years. “The progress is so far that we can start next year,” emphasized Health Minister Martina Rüscher. To do this, only the legal framework – content of the curriculum, details on the qualifications of the trainers and apprentice compensation – would have to be in place by autumn at the latest. The application process should start in February, when young people decide on an apprenticeship. Florian Kresser, Managing Director of the social enterprise Aqua Mühle, is one of the members of the working group. One topic that concerned the members was the age limit for training. While Kocher pleads for the age limit of 17 to be observed, Kresser emphasizes that there are definitely 15-year-olds who are oriented towards care – and also companies that want to train. Young people should grow into care jobs. Staff already need a lot of stamina . “Therefore, the framework conditions must be such that young people can grow into nursing through access to an apprenticeship,” said Kresser. The managing director also referred to good experiences with the model project “Training combination of operational service apprenticeship and nursing assistance” and the Swiss apprenticeship as a nursing specialist. There were around 12,800 nursing apprentices there in 2018. “That has power to relieve the system!”
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