Care students go Dutch
Care students go DutchKeywords:Vocational training, Elder care, Nurses, The Netherlands, United Kingdom
A project developed using money from the EU Leonardo vocational training programme is helping UK students to undertake three-week work placements in The Netherlands. Students on NVQ and GNVQ level 2 and 3 care courses at Lewisham College, south London, work in Dutch care homes for the elderly, as a result of the college's link with Koning Willem I College in s Hertogenbosch. The link has been established for three years, and six students took part in the scheme last year.
The Dutch method of training care workers as "nursing generalists" is seen as a model for Britain. The status and responsibilities of UK care workers are being broadened to alleviate the current shortage of fully-trained nurses available for work, and to help to prevent polarization between university-educated nurses and level 1 care assistants. Further information about Leonardo is available from the Central Bureau for International Education and Training, 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN, UK. Tel: +44 20 7389 4389.
