EUcareNET network event on the transnational migration of nursing professionals on the European labour market

^{Demographic change has already arrived in Europe. Few young people, an ageing population and an increase in people from other countries will change Europe in the long term. This will be particularly noticeable in the healthcare sector. Transparency and the validation of skills are therefore more important than ever for the mobility of skilled workers on the labour market in and for the European Union. They can help to overcome the already serious skills mismatches in the European Union.}

^{EUcareNET - The foundation stone has been laid}

The consortium of the EUcareNET project and its consortium leader DEKRA Akademie GmbH invited to the EUcareNET network activity two weeks ago. Almost 70 participants from more than 20 institutions have turned the three-day event into a platform for joint exchange and learning about migration of healthcare professionals thanks to a wide variety of projects and initiatives (European and national, but also institute-specific).

On the first day, the focus was on current challenges and finding common solutions in the context of transnational mobility of skilled workers and were discussed by an extended international audience of representatives from politics, employers, educational institutions and authorities. On the two following days, further topics concerning the migration of nursing professionals were discussed in detail in practical workshops in a smaller group of EUcareNET network partners. The focus was on practical questions such as "What makes qualifications comparable across borders", "Which skills will nursing professionals need in the future" and "How can language learning be optimally promoted in the context of migration". The guests and partners from all over Europe, including Sweden, Poland and Greece, gave an insight into their project and research results. The EUcareNET network aims to promote exchange and cooperation between different actors playing a role in the migration of nursing professionals in the European labour market across borders. The foundation stone for this was laid in Dresden.

Large network through strong European partners

16 EUcareNET partners form the framework of the EUcareNet network, a number of other institutions from the European Union and beyond have already signalled their interest in becoming active in the network in the future. From German-speaking countries, these include DEKRA Akademie GmbH as coordinator, 3s research laboratory, based in Austria with extensive experience in projects on the transparency of qualifications, including the development and application of a specific matrix methodology for vocational skills, the Technical University of Dresden, the Institute for Vocational Training and Didactics, in which Professor Sandra Bohlinger and her research team are based, and the Hanse Institute Oldenburg.

Other partners include TEI from Athens, the Southeast European Research Centre (SEERC) and the Comune di Ortuna from Italy. The Jagiellonian University (JU) and INTERPERSONNEL Polska Sp.z.o.o. and the Polish Nursing Association (PNA) are among the Polish partners in the project. The State Vocational College in Tarnow (SHVS) and the UOL (University of Lodz) attach great importance to international cooperation. For example, the Faculty of Management (FoM) was a partner in the Help care project (http://helpcare-project.org/), which aimed to develop and transfer innovative practices in education to qualify and professionalize health and social workers.

Visions for the future in Europe

Lectures, workshops, an evening panel moderated by WDR presenter Jürgen Zurheide and a World Café gave the audience plenty of opportunities to inform themselves, to exchange ideas and to learn together. Among other things, the aspect was highlighted that different experts contributed different approaches to similar topics, but in the end these certainly found a consensus. The development of various topics in parallel workshops was very much welcomed by the participants in this context

The impressive 3-D matrix of the HCEU project, presented by Mr Dietmar Metzger, DEKRA, in the form of a cube, attracted special attention of the participants, on the basis of which gaps between the individual country profiles within the qualifications can be pointed out. At the World Cafe, the final event on the third day, all participants enthusiastically discussed visions of the future and opportunities for the future of healthcare in Europe. This encouraged individual participants to reconsider their own opinions. Topics such as "Integration of medical professionals with a migrant background at the workplace" and "Future qualification requirements for nursing professionals", for example, moved the eight tables. Visions of Europe-wide / worldwide uniform basic qualification for nursing professionals in order to simplify the migration of specialists or help through robotics in nursing were discussed several times. Especially this event was very well received by the event guests.

At the end of the EUcareNET network activity, all participants set off again for their home countries and institutions with numerous new ideas and suggestions for the migration of nursing staff in their luggage. On the basis of the numerous positive feedback, the network (www.eucarenet.eu) will certainly be further expanded and new cooperations can be concluded.