According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 37,400 people successfully completed their training as nursing professionals last year. This was the second graduating class since the introduction of the three-year generalist nursing training programme in 2020 (33,570 in the class of 2023).

According to statistics, the vast majority of graduates (99 percent) chose the generalist professional title introduced five years ago. Only about one percent obtained a degree with a focus on health and paediatric nursing or geriatric care.

At the same time, around 59,400 people started nursing training last year, nine percent more than in the previous year. Three-quarters of them are women. The average age was 24.

The practical part of the dual training programme can be completed in a hospital, an inpatient care facility or an outpatient care facility. More than half of the new trainees worked in hospitals last year. This was followed by inpatient care facilities with a share of 35 percent and outpatient care facilities with 11 percent.

In addition to vocational training, it has also been possible for some time to study nursing at universities with the aim of obtaining a bachelor’s degree. According to the data, there were 1,200 students in this field at the end of the year, 740 of whom were first-year students.