More applicants choose welfare education programmes in Denmark

More Danes are applying for welfare-focused higher education programmes such as nursing, teaching, and social work, according to new figures released by the Danish Ministry of Education and Research on Tuesday.

Applications submitted through kvote 2—Denmark’s alternative admissions route, which assesses candidates on criteria beyond grades, including work experience and extracurricular activities—show a 5% overall increase for welfare-related programmes compared to last year. The number of applicants for nursing rose by 5%, while social work saw the sharpest rise at 18%. Teacher training applications remained unchanged.

A total of 57,244 people applied via kvote 2, marking a 1% increase from 2023 and the highest figure in five years.

Camilla Wang, spokesperson for Danske Professionshøjskoler (Danish University Colleges), welcomed the rise, particularly for nursing and pedagogy programmes, which have seen declining interest in recent years. “We’ve grown accustomed to seeing a downward trend for welfare education, so this increase is positive,” she said.

However, unions representing educators and nurses warned that the growth is insufficient to address staffing shortages. Elisa Rimpler of BUPL, the Danish Union of Early Childhood and Youth Educators, noted that a 2% rise in pedagogy applicants “doesn’t change the fact that we still face a serious shortage of 3,800 educators in the coming years.” Dorthe Boe Danbjørg, chair of the Dansk Sygeplejeråd (Danish Nurses’ Organisation), called the nursing increase “a step in the right direction” but stressed that more must be done to make the profession attractive.

The kvote 2 deadline precedes the main kvote 1 application period, which closes on 5 July. Wang expects similar trends in the larger applicant pool. All candidates will receive admission results on 28 July.