At a recent conference on vocational education, Nguyen Quang Vinh, business director of the ANG Human Resource Supply and Education Development corporation, said several Vietnamese students choose to follow nursing thanks to the field’s ample job opportunities and attractive salaries.

Students at a Hanoi conference about vocation education in Germany, November 26, 2024.

Germany currently lacks up to 1.4 million workers, with around 500,000 in the medical field, according to statistics.

"Nursing alone needs 100,000-200,000 people," Vinh said.

Having lived in Germany for over 40 years, Vo Thi Thien Nga, director of the Devi Horizonte company, said education and job opportunities in the healthcare sector in general, and in the nursing sector in particular, are becoming more readily available for Vietnamese students. Germany has several nursing homes and high demand for elderly care, she added.

The nursing vocational education program usually lasts 3-3.5 years, where applicants would study and work at the same time. Students in the field will be able to study for free and receive monthly aid from businesses, at around €1,000, according to Make it in Germany.

Students can also do part-time jobs for 20 hours a week, with salaries at around €800. Living costs, including housing, food and traveling, are at around €900 a month.

A representative of the MziB hospital in Berlin said the hospital currently lacks 30-40 workers. Students in vocational training may practice at the hospital’s facilities, earning €965 a month during their first year, and more in their next two years. After graduation, their salaries can go up to €3,300 a month.

The number of students signing up for vocational training through Vinh’s company has increased by around 150% compared to the pre-Covid era. After 7-9 months of studying the language, over 200 people are eligible to travel to Germany and about half of them pick nursing, Vinh said.

Nevertheless, the greatest obstacle for Vietnamese students is language, according to both Vinh and Nga. A common requirement is a foreign language proficiency at either B1 or B2, depending on certain fields and schools.

"The most important thing is a shift in the language mindset. Instead of studying to get certificates, students must study so that they can use the language," Nga said, adding that students should try to write, speak and listen to German often.

Around 7,400 Vietnamese students are in Germany, a 30% increase from the pre-Covid era.

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