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16,000 new nursing staff in Vienna by 2030

City councillors Peter Hanke (left) and Peter Hacker (right) visited the future healthcare and nursing staff at FH Campus Wien.(Bild: klemens groh)

The city has recognized that the care sector is in crisis. However, thanks to various measures and substantial investments, things are now looking up.

According to forecasts, the number of Viennese over the age of 80 will rise from 93,000 to 107,000 by 2030. This means that the already high need for care among the population will increase even further. Thanks to various measures taken by the city, there are already over 10,000 more people working in the Viennese healthcare sector than in 2017. waff's funding, the new skilled workers center and the "Pflege.Zukunft.Wien" training offensive are continuing to turn various screws in order to attract interested Viennese into the care professions.

Expansion not yet complete
"We have set the course and it is having an effect," says City Councillor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ) during a visit to the Campus Vienna University of Applied Sciences for Healthcare Professions in Favoriten. According to forecasts, more than 16,000 nurses will be trained by 2030. That is 7,000 more than a study commissioned by the umbrella organization of Viennese social institutions in 2019 showed was needed in the care sector.

Student Michaela learns the first moves on medical mannequins in the training room.(Bild: klemens groh)

"The expansion is not yet complete, we are right in the middle of it," explains City Councillor for Economic Affairs Peter Hanke (SPÖ). From the fall, 2,000 starting places financed by the city will be available across all training courses. "This year alone, we are investing 12.2 million euros in the care sector of the waff Job Plus training program," says Hanke. 3700 people who have completed their training in this way since 2018 are already working in the care sector.

More and more career changers
At the university of applied sciences, there are many career changers between the ages of 30 and 40 on the bachelor's degree course in healthcare and nursing. Like Michaela, the 27-year-old previously worked in business. "That wasn't for me. But this profession fulfills me now," she says. To encourage more career changers to choose this path, the city pays trainees up to 1,400 euros per month as part of the Viennese training allowance and care premium, and there is also a job guarantee. These major efforts and the high level of funding provided are bearing fruit.

Federal government also called upon
According to Hacker, there are more interested parties than training places. But: "We will need significantly more skilled workers. In order to cope with this, the federal government must also step up the pace." For example, in the number of medical study places.