Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) - When it comes to applications for recognition of professional qualifications acquired abroad, activities in the health and care sector dominate. "Almost two thirds of the applications for professional recognition in 2021 came from the health professions," said Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) on the occasion of his most recent report on the NRW Recognition Act to the state parliament. That is gratifying. The current situation in the healthcare system shows more than clearly how urgently specialists are needed in this area.
According to the report, 10,518 applications to determine professional qualifications were processed by the NRW examination authorities in 2021. That was 159 more than in 2020. Full equivalence with the German profession was found in 4,767 cases. In 3,225 cases, the authorities ordered a compensatory measure. In 1,347 cases, no decision had been made by the end of the year. According to the report, 846 procedures were decided negatively. 306 proceedings were discontinued due to lack of cooperation or other reasons.
There were clear shifts among the professional groups in 2020: According to the report, applications for the nursing professions increased by 12.7 percent to 3858 procedures. Proceedings for medical professions increased by 12.3 percent to 1644 cases. A strong increase was also observed among midwives (35.8 percent) and pharmacists (27.2 percent). In the case of engineering professions, on the other hand, the procedures fell by 20.4 percent to 528. In the professional group of electronics technicians, the minus was even 59.6 percent. Applications for teaching professions fell by 27.1 percent.
