Kages recruits

Hundreds of nursing staff come from all over the world

Kages also organizes further language courses for the new nursing staff on site, but they learn Styrian on the job

(Bild: Kurt Remling)

Kages needs 600 new nursing staff every year. 137 have now been recruited from Tunisia, Colombia and other countries. The company plans to increase its international recruitment in future. This is the situation of a young Tunisian woman in Graz.

Hela Hammami speaks almost perfect German and sounds happy when she talks about her work at Graz University Hospital. "I've been working in internal medicine for a year, in the endocrinology ward," says the almost 30-year-old Tunisian. She is currently a nursing assistant, and her diploma in healthcare and nursing will be officially recognized in November.

Hela Hammami, 29, moved to Graz from Tunisia

(Bild: Privat/Kages)

Hela Hammami is one of 137 nurses from Tunisia, Colombia, the Philippines and many other countries who were recruited by hospital operator Kages international. 61 are already working in hospitals in Graz and Leoben, 72 are currently completing language courses and 20 more will start work by the end of the year. "We can't solve the nursing shortage problem with this alone, but it is one piece of the mosaic," says Thomas Bredenfeldt, HR Director at Kages.

We can't solve the nursing shortage problem with this alone, but it is one piece of the mosaic.

Thomas Bredenfeldt, Personaldirektor der Kages

Bild: www.christianjungwirth.com

"We would need 600 new nursing staff a year to maintain staffing levels. We hope to recruit around 100 a year from abroad in the long term." The nursing staff are recruited by external agencies and then invited to a virtual interview by a dedicated Kages staff unit before they can come here.

Not an easy decision
Hammami has settled in well in Graz, she says, even if she sometimes feels homesick. "The decision to come here was not easy. But the patients are very nice, they always ask how I learned German," says the nurse. "The dialect language was a challenge at the beginning. After all, we learned High German." Language level B1 is a prerequisite in addition to a bachelor's degree.

The "Stoasteirisch", says HR manager Bredenfeldt, comes with time. So far, he has received mainly positive feedback from patients. Hammami has also already made many friends, says the young woman, "and I've even tried skiing. That was great." She wants to stay.