Mount Kenya University has partnered with a German university to offer MKU-trained health personnel opportunities in Germany.
In the partnership between MKU and Germany’s Hochschule Koblenz University of Applied Sciences, nurses trained at MKU’s Equip Africa Institute Kenya will get apprenticeship opportunities in Germany.
Students interested in the opportunities will have to go through a course in basic healthcare skills such as healthcare and training of between six and 20 months to learn the German language.
They will then go to Germany where they will receive further training and guidance on integrating to their new environment.
They will be posted in their new jobs at different hospitals in the country.
The first cohort is expected to fly out to Germany this November.
“Upon qualifying for the apprenticeship in Germany, students will enjoy the benefit of getting a student visa, a guarantee of full-time employment and a salary after completing their training,” Mount Kenya University vice chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi said.
“For the training in Germany, students are not charged any tuition fee but are entitled to get a working contract for the training with a monthly salary to cater for the basic needs and accommodation."
Once they complete their apprenticeship, they are guaranteed full-time employment in German hospitals, exposing them to excellent career opportunities, among other benefits.
The vice chancellor, together with senior officials from MKU, held talks with their counterparts from Hochschule Koblenz University when they visited MKU’s main campus in Thika.
They included vice dean of the Faculty of Business Prof Christian Lebrenz and the institute of Social Sciences Research and Continuing Education managing director Prof Stephan Bundschuh.
Prof Jaganyi said the programme would play a part in reducing inequalities in the country.
MKU has been designated as the global hub for championing the fight on inequalities by a United Nations agency.
The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) bestowed the status on the university for its documented academic work on reducing inequalities in Kenya and in the East African region.
Universities that serve as academic impact hubs for SDGs are appointed by UNAI based on their innovative approaches and expertise around a particular goal.
The MKU-Hochschule Koblenz University partnership aims at bridging a shortfall in the number of healthcare professionals in Germany, in which many people in the profession retire without enough people to replace them.
The opportunities are a result of groundwork done by a research consortium formed in February this year to look into how to resolve healthcare challenges while creating opportunities for healthcare professionals in Africa.
The research consortium comprises of Hochschule Koblenz as the project lead, AG Career Hub (a consultancy offering information on career and business opportunities in Germany and Africa) and African Nurses/Pfleger in Germany (a network with more than 2,000 African Healthcare in Germany).
“Due to its aging population, Germany is facing a significant shortfall of healthcare in the coming years. Various studies estimate a deficit of between 400,000 and 600,000 vacancies by 2030,” the research consortium noted.
“One option to alleviate this shortage in Germany could be the preparation of Kenyan high school graduates for an apprenticeship in nursing in Germany.”
The Research Consortium with Hochschule Koblenz and Equip Africa Institute is establishing a training programme to prepare Kenyan high school graduates for apprenticeships in nursing in Germany.
The Equip Africa Institute is a TVET accredited institution.
Since 2016, it has been offering high quality diploma and certificate programmes in various disciplines.
