When Dreams Come True

We easily imagine that when highly educated professionals and specialists from other countries find employment and settle in Denmark, it is due to poorer working conditions, salary conditions, and employment situations in their home countries. Perhaps we overlook that a sense of adventure and a desire for exploration can be strong motivators for the wish to seek employment abroad.

The dream has certainly come true for Italian Marta Piazza, who is currently living her Danish adventure as a psychiatrist at Gødstrup Regional Hospital. For Marta and her husband and two children, encountering a different culture and a new language is not an obstacle but an exciting change. And for her employer in the region, it is naturally important that both dreams and other positive motivations are supported with targeted efforts, so that the reality in Denmark remains attractive. This applies to Marta, her two foreign psychiatric colleagues at the hospital, and their three families. It has resulted in an innovative collaboration between Gødstrup Regional Hospital and Sprogcenter Midt in Herning, contributing to the region’s international recruitment strategy.

Education Manager Admir Muratovic explains: “At Sprogcenter Midt, we are very aware that it requires a special approach when the foreign employees of the regional hospital need to acquire very specific Danish language skills that can match the professional knowledge they use both in collaboration with their colleagues and in dealing with patients. This means concretely that our teacher Birgitte Madsen is present at Gødstrup Hospital and, through participation in relevant meetings, can tailor her teaching to the specific challenges and issues that the three psychiatrists need to address. Fortunately, this collaboration has been successful.

We also collaborate with Gødstrup Regional Hospital by providing families with advice and tips for a well-functioning everyday life. We have successfully used our network to establish contact between the spouses of foreign specialists and local employers with an unmet need for workforce. This has resulted in Marta’s husband, Nicola, finding employment as an engineer.”

Fulfilled dreams need to be nurtured and cultivated all the way around – with language and new skills – so they remain resilient and sustainable.

The local newspaper Herning Folkeblad has published a fine article about it (requires a subscription).

2560 1707 Sprogcenter Midt