Welcome to the social and health sector

The work of caring for the elderly, sick and disabled members of society and others who need help is a cornerstone of the Danish welfare society.

Some people need a little help in their own home while others require 24-hour care and attention. However, whatever the need, help is always based on the individual’s personal resources, and the end-goal is the highest possible quality of life.

Social and health carers and social and health care assistants

When caring for the elderly, sick and disabled, the aim is always to adopt a holistic view of every individual, and care is based on an assessment of the individual’s own personal needs and resources.
This means that people who need help can get various forms of assistance, from cleaning in their own home to 24-hour care in a nursing home.
The care offered is based on respect for the person who needs help and support, and the aim is to qualify carers to a high professional standard.

Working in the social and health services sector

Working in the elderly care sector will bring you in close contact with people who depend on your help to achieve the highest possible quality of life. Together with the people in your care, it is your job to identify and plan the best solutions for them, a task that places high demands on your professional qualifications and requires a broad understanding of health promotion, care, nutrition, exercise and illness. You must also be able to plan your work so you do not put your own health at risk, for example, by lifting wrongly.

Working as a social and health carer

Social and health carers typically work in the home care service, in nursing homes, sheltered housing facilities or elderly centres.
The type of work depends on the institution, but the job is highly independent, with tasks ranging from practical help with cleaning, shopping and personal hygiene to motivating elderly, sick and disabled people to become more active. 

Working as a social and healthcare assistant

You need an authorisation to work as a social and health care assistant in Denmark. If you come from an EU country and have a qualification from your home country corresponding to the social and health care assistant programme, nursing or similar, your authorisation can be transferred to Denmark. Your application for Danish authorisation should be sent to the Danish National Board of Health.
Social and health care assistants typically work in hospitals, the mental health care service, elderly care and institutions for people with mental and physical disabilities.
The work depends on the institution, but the job is highly independent and all-embracing. The tasks range broadly from nursing care to cooperating and coordinating with other professional groups, and motivating the elderly, sick and people with mental and physical disabilities to become more active. 

Social and health care training

Many native Danes start on a career in the care sector as unskilled workers, but the aim to provide a highly professional service means that people who work with the elderly and similar groups enjoy a range of continuing education opportunities. Unskilled workers arriving in Denmark can also take a social and health care qualification. If you are unskilled and over 25, you can also take an adult vocational training course (AMU) during which you will continue to receive your normal salary. 

Introduction programme for people from abroad

As described elsewhere, when you start a job in the social and health care sector with a local authority, private employer or private temping agency providing local authority services, you will always go through an introduction programme. These programmes can be structured in very different ways, but should ideally be arranged jointly by your local FOA branch, employer and an accredited relevant educational institution.
Your job introduction will be combined with intensive Danish lessons.

The social and health carer training programme

The goal for all people working in the social care sector is ensuring that they have taken a basic qualification programme. 
You are entitled to apply for a programme of education in Denmark. However, you cannot complete a basic programme unless you have a reasonable command of oral and written Danish. The formal admission requirement for the basic social care programme is a command of Danish corresponding to level 3, or level 2 Danish supplemented with six months of relevant work experience.

Many basic health care colleges around Denmark offer training programmes for social and health carers. You can apply direct to the college or get a job with a local authority, which will get you started on the programme. 
If you have work experience or another qualification, it may be possible to shorten your training programme.

The social and health carer programme lasts one year and seven months, including a 20-week basic course. 
The remainder of the programme is a mix of practical training periods and school study, for example:
• Three school study periods, a total of 24 weeks
• Two practical training periods, a total of 31 weeks

Training agreement

At the latest round of collective bargaining for social and health care staff, an agreement was made to give all non-qualified employees the right to take a social care worker training programme, provided they meet certain requirements.
You must be offered the training programme at the latest after three years of uninterrupted employment, and you are under no obligation to accept the offer. You will be granted leave of absence from work to attend the programme and receive financial compensation corresponding to adult trainee pay grade 11.

Continuing education opportunities

The training programme for social and health carers may be a step on the road to qualifying as a social and health care assistant. However, you can also continue your training through a wide range of relevant adult vocational training courses (AMU), which lead to nationally recognised qualifications and can also earn you credits for other basic vocational training courses.
For example, you can take an AMU course in dementia if this aspect of elderly care is your special area of interest or work.

Training to become a social and health care assistant

As mentioned earlier, if you want to work as a social and health care assistant in Denmark you must come from a Nordic country or be an EU citizen and have a corresponding qualification from your home country that can make you eligible for authorisation. 

The social and health care assistant qualification is level two of the social and health care training programme. If you are a qualified social and health carer, this may give you direct admission to level two, and if you have work experience or another qualification, it may be possible to shorten your training programme. 
You can apply direct to the college or take the programme in connection with a job in a local authority.

The social and health care assistant programme lasts one year and eight months and is a mix of practical training periods and school study, for example:
• Four school study periods lasting a total of about 32 weeks
• Three practical training periods lasting a total of about 48 weeks

Further and continuing education

Successful completion of the social and health care assistant programme qualifies you for admission to a wide range of medium-cycle further education programmes such as nurse, social worker and social educationist.
Social and health care assistants can also upgrade their skills through adult vocational training courses (AMU), which lead to nationally recognised qualifications and can also earn credits for basic vocational training courses. If you have worked as a social and health care assistant for two years and are over 25, you can take a programme of further education in health practice, which leads to a diploma-level qualification

If you are looking for a job in Denmark in these areas

• care of the elderly, sick and disabled
• children and young people
• catering and cleaning services
• technical and maintenance services

---