Target groups for a new Danish nurse training programme recognising prior relevant education, training and working experience

The background to this study is the shortage of nurses. Its purpose is to contribute to a mapping of the target groups for a training programme giving access to the nursing profession that would be offered under the Danish further and higher education category of “Open Education” and would give credit for applicants’ existing education, training and experience. Three target groups have been mapped on the basis of criteria relating to education and working experience.

Target group 1:  Persons who have dropped out of a medium  or long-duration higher education programme in the health care field, for example training as a nurse, radiographer or doctor, in 2001–2005, and who do not hold any other vocational qualification earned via a medium  or long-duration higher education programme. 

Target group 2:  Persons who hold the Danish qualification of social and health care assistant.

Target group 3:  Persons holding a long-duration higher education qualification, such as “cand.mag.”, who are not employed in a managerial position or as a member of a professional association.

The mapping shows that the second of these groups, i.e. the social and health care assistants, represents a numerically far more significant target group for the existing nurse training programme for those with prior relevant education, training or working experience than target groups 1 and 3. There were almost 13,500 persons in target group 2 with at least one year’s relevant working experience within the last three years, and a good 10,500 who had relevant work throughout the three years.