Copenhagen scheme draws more career changers into care work

Copenhagen Municipality has doubled the number of applicants to a scheme helping people switch careers into social and health care work, DR reports. The number rose from 32 in 2024 to 65 in 2026.

The scheme is for people already in the workforce who want to train for social and health care jobs. Participants receive adult apprentice wages during their training, rather than the student grant normally paid to trainees.

Analyses predict that municipalities will be short of more than 20,000 social and health care workers in 10 years. These jobs are already difficult to fill.

Thomas Burild, 59, joined the scheme after working as a kitchenware salesperson. He said adult apprentice wages made it possible for him to retrain while supporting his family.

“I would not have taken the training if I had not received adult wages. I had a house, a wife and grown-up children to look after,” he said.

Jens-Kristian Lütken, the municipality’s health and care mayor and a member of the Liberal Party, said the scheme was helping attract committed workers.

He said the share of participants who complete their training is twice as high among those who start through the career-change scheme as among those who take the regular training route. He added that helping more people finish could make financial sense because training places are also costly when students leave before completing their courses.