Signite's Magazine

The Chamber of Nursing of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has collected comprehensive data on the nursing situation. According to this data, several cities in the state will experience a drastic shortage of nursing professionals. According to the chamber, the cities at particular risk are Coesfeld, Höxter, Kleve, Leverkusen, Minden-Lübbecke, Neuss, Soest, Steinfurt, […]

Those working in nursing now earn good money. In February 2022, the nursing commission agreed on a gradual increase in minimum wages in nursing, as well as additional vacation days, and proposed correspondingly gradually increasing hourly wages. The first increase in the minimum wage for nursing staff in Germany took place on 1 September 2022. […]

The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) has presented the Eighth Care Report ‘on the development of long-term care insurance and the state of long-term care in the Federal Republic of Germany’. It covers the years 2020-23, the challenges, progress and initiatives. The shortage of personnel and the increasing number of people in need of care […]

In 2024, significantly more visas were issued in Germany for skilled workers than in the previous year. According to initial projections, the number of visas for employment purposes rose by ten percent year-on-year to around 174,000. If the figures prove to be correct, this would be a new record. With the exception of the coronavirus […]

Collectively agreed salaries for trainees are rising. Thanks to a 6.4 percent increase in collectively agreed training allowances in the current 2024/25 training year, there are now only a few sectors in which trainees receive less than €1,000 per month in their first year under the collective agreement. According to the results of a recent […]

On 1 July, the national minimum wage for nursing care in Germany will increase. This is the third and final stage of the increase decided by the Nursing Commission at the beginning of last year. Nursing staff will then receive at least €20.50 per hour. According to the federal government, around 1.3 million people work […]

The new German government has also brought about a change in personnel at the Ministry of Health. Nina Warken took over from Karl Lauterbach as Federal Minister of Health last week. She is calling for more powers and better working conditions for nursing staff. She believes it is important to tailor tasks more closely to […]

The health and education company SRH has conducted a representative survey which found that 96% of working people in Germany consider healthcare and nursing to be essential. However, most are unaware of the extensive career prospects in this field. Meaningful work, but little knowledge about specialisations and career opportunities: those who decide to train as […]

Since mid-March 2022, staff in care facilities and hospitals in Germany have had to prove that they have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from the Corona virus. This regulation also applied to staff in facilities for disabled people, doctors’ surgeries, emergency services or maternity facilities. Otherwise, there is the threat of a ban on […]

The German TV station “MDR” (Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk) has been broadcasting the documentary series “Die Pflegeklasse” (The Nursing Class) for a short time. You can also watch it on the internet, but unfortunately access is not possible from all countries. The documentary accompanies six young women from Magdeburg who have decided to train as nurses. In […]

In Germany, so-called lower staffing limits for nursing staff have been in force for some time in nursing-intensive areas of hospitals. In this way, the legislator wants to ensure that there are always enough qualified staff available in the departments where good care of patients by nursing staff is particularly important. These lower limits must […]

In Germany, a so-called facility-based vaccination obligation currently applies to all persons working in medical care. This means that hospitals, rehab providers and nursing homes, as employers, must ensure that staff are vaccinated against Corona with vaccines recognised in the EU. From October, even stricter rules for proof of immunity will also apply. But the […]

In a nationwide raid, the customs authorities searched for evidence of social security fraud and illegal employment in the care sector. The action was directed against a complex of companies that provide care staff for 24-hour care in private households, according to the public prosecutor’s office in Dortmund and the main customs office in Münster. […]

The shortage of skilled labour is affecting many sectors in Germany. It has now also reached the traditional branch of mechanical engineering. At the start of the new training year, many apprenticeship places remain unfilled. This is because there is a lack of qualified applicants, according to the industry association VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und […]

Germany’s Federal Statistical Office has published new statistics on the recognition of foreign professional qualifications. According to the figures, the number of positive recognition procedures increased from 52,300 in 2022 to 65,300 in 2023 (up 25 per cent). This is 11% more than in the previous year. Compared to 2016, when Destatis recorded the recognition […]

The German government has decided to introduce a new nursing assistant education programme. The aim of the bill is to ensure that nursing assistants in future undergo a nationally standardised, appropriately remunerated training. Because Germany is divided into 16 federal states, which are allowed to have a say in educational matters, the introduction of such […]