Norwegian Govt to Offer Internships to Health & Social Studies Students

The Norwegian government has announced it will collaborate with the municipal sector’s organization KS, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and Care Services to offer more internship opportunities for health and social studies students.

According to a media release issued by the government, the agreement is expected to boost and improve cooperation between municipalities, universities, and colleges, Erudera.com reports.

The Minister of Research and Higher Education, Ola Borten Moe, said that the government is focused on offering good health services across the country.

“It is good both for the health and social studies students and for the citizens who use the municipal health services,” Minister said.

The government reveals that around 20 percent of all municipalities do not have students from health and social studies completing a practice.

Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol said that the capacity and quality of internships in municipalities is essential to have more professionals with the necessary skills who would join health service.

“This cooperation agreement addresses the challenges and is an example of the effective measures we will take to meet the staffing challenges in the coming years,” Kjerkol said.

President of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), Gunn Marit Helgesen, expressed delight over the agreement which she said means entering into important cooperation for more and better internships to be offered across municipalities. The President of KS also said that students should have the chance to complete practice as part of their studies to gain the right skills and succeed in employment.

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The agreement is valid until 2025 and includes regular meetings. Parties should evaluate the work done by the end of each year in cooperation with the government and municipal sector.

Earlier this year, the Norwegian government allocated an additional NOK 50 million to public and private universities and colleges in the country to cover the expenses of students who participate in internships far from the city where they study.

Norway might face a nursing shortage crisis by 2035, with 20,000 fewer nurses projected to be in the country that year, according to Statistics Norway. To overcome this challenge, the government created 300 new study places for students who want to study nursing and specialist nursing courses this year.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education said it would create 1,000 study places for students in Norway, mainly because the number of refugees in the country is expected to be high this year, and it isn’t certain how many people want to study or continue education at Norwegian universities and colleges.