Care worker education and training around the world
The Nuffield Trust report New Horizons looked at the efforts being made in other countries to professionalise the care sector to see what England could learn.
Norway
- Bespoke training programme designed to recruit men, who are underrepresented in the workforce
- 2.5 years of class, practice and mentoring to become so-called ‘health workers’
- Paid salary while training
New Zealand
- Qualifications and length of experience are tied to pay and progression
- Three levels of qualification to train workers in person-centred support and leadership
- Employers must support staff to achieve qualifications within set timescales
- The government funds employers for two days of training per employee per year
Sweden
- Government-funded training for 10,000 care workers to become nursing assistants, introduced over the pandemic
- Paid at usual wage while studying
- The government also funds backfill costs; municipalities offer permanent contract upon completion
Germany
- Apprenticeship-based approach with a fully-funded retraining route for workers from other sectors
- National training standards and professional development paths are clearly defined
- Personal care is viewed as qualified work
Denmark
- 1.5–3.5 years integrated training across health and care, with rotations across hospitals, care homes and homecare
- Protected time off to study and paid at trainee rate
- Right to training within three years of employment
Japan
- More comprehensive coordinator role requiring two to four years of training
- Training on health interventions
- Employers offered financial incentives to offer CPD
Republic of Korea
- Care workers must undertake 240 hours (around 40 days) of training plus an exam to be certified
- The government is developing a career ladder so that after five years’ experience, homecare workers can progress to director of homecare services