Nursing education expands in Germany to address workforce needs

Efforts to bolster the nursing workforce are expanding in Germany through new educational initiatives and increased training capacities. In Berlin, the Campus Pflegeschule am Südkreuz is increasing its training capacity by 50 percent, moving from two to three classes for aspiring nursing specialists in 2027. This expansion follows a significant rise in interest, with 2,980 people beginning nursing training in Berlin in 2025, a more than 20 percent increase from the previous year.

Beyond capacity increases, new educational pathways are being introduced to attract younger demographics. The FSW initiative, ‘Pflegestarter:innen – Pflege ab 15’, aims to provide early entry points for adolescents into nursing education. These developments respond to a changing healthcare landscape driven by an aging population and the integration of digital technologies, which are increasingly used to assist with documentation and patient care to alleviate the workload of nursing staff.