New BRC Project Brings Healthcare Workers from Around the World to Bayreuth
Due to the foreseeable demographic changes in Germany in the coming years, the demand for elderly care services will continue to rise. This results in an increasing need for qualified personnel in various care facilities. Unfortunately, the shortage of skilled workers in all areas of care in Germany is an acute problem that endangers the quality of care.
As part of its efforts to address the shortage of skilled workers, the Bavarian Red Cross (BRC) District Association Bayreuth, as a member of the international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, looks beyond national and European borders for solutions.
BRC Project Care and Career Recruits Workers Worldwide
As part of the “Care and Career” project launched in 2021 by the BRC District Association Bayreuth, the Red Cross in Bayreuth is actively seeking committed professionals from abroad who are interested in training and working in elderly care in Germany.
The target group of these efforts includes both people abroad and individuals with an international background already living in Germany who are interested in a career in elderly care. The BRC District Association Bayreuth primarily utilizes the cross-border opportunities of the World Wide Web and international social media, also building on local networks in non-European countries.
“The worldwide Red Cross movement warmly welcomes people of any geographical, cultural, or religious background. As part of this movement and as an employer in Bayreuth, we uphold this openness and strive to attract skilled workers from all over the world,” explains Markus Ruckdeschel, District Manager of the BRC District Association Bayreuth. “Our project for recruiting nursing professionals on an international level leverages this openness as an advantage both for foreign employees and for the Red Cross as an employer in the competition for skilled workers.”
BRC Bayreuth Provides Support for Employees from Abroad
The international recruitment is coordinated by Chen Chen, who has been heading the newly created position for international personnel recruitment at the Red Cross in Bayreuth since the end of 2021. In addition to the fundamental coordination work, Ms. Chen is also responsible for the extensive administrative processes and supports international employees with immigration and foreign qualification procedures.
BRC Bayreuth Ensures Local Training and Accommodation
The BRC District Association Bayreuth provides further comprehensive support during the recruitment process. As the school authority of the BRC Schools for Nursing, it offers training opportunities and, with the BRK Hostel, living and training accommodations in close proximity to the BRK Ruhesitz in Bayreuth, the flagship of the senior facilities of the BRC District Association Bayreuth.
BRC Project Care and Career: Initial Successes
The BRC District Association Bayreuth can already report initial successes within the Care and Career project. In the summer of 2023, five new employees from the People’s Republic of China began a language course as part of this project to optimally prepare them for the nursing training starting in September.
In the coming months, the BRC District Association Bayreuth plans to build on these initial successes and intensify its efforts to recruit international employees.