Future Workforce

Thematic relevance

Skilled professionals are the cornerstone of an effective and patient-centered health care system. Given the acute shortage of skilled workers that we are already seeing today, particularly in the nursing sector, and the foreseeable demographic trends, the health care system is under considerable pressure to take action. To attract and retain skilled workers over the long term and help them realize their full potential in a targeted manner, a fundamental shift is needed: toward more future-oriented training, attractive working conditions, a transformational leadership style, and participatory structures. Even though clear lines of responsibility are necessary in acute situations, day-to-day work in health care facilities must be characterized by employee co-determination, participatory leadership, and interprofessional collaboration. This is the only way to retain skilled workers in the long term, effectively reduce high turnover, and streamline processes.

The RBIH's ambition 

Health care professionals should be prepared and qualified to meet current and future health care needs. Both workers and managers possess the skills to drive innovation, actively shape the digital transformation, and collaborate across sectors and professions.

The impact approach: how change is shaped

RBIH funding in the “Future Workforce” is intended to bring about improvements in the following three areas: 

1. Strengthening transformational leadership in health care: 
In a dynamic and increasingly complex environment, leadership is a key driver of change. Through our activities, we aim to contribute to a shift in leadership culture within the health care sector – toward greater collaboration, diversity, and empathy. We also support the development of German hospitals, including the Robert Bosch Hospital, through the certification process to become a Magnet hospital, which aims to improve working conditions, among other things, by increasing employee co-determination within the hospital. 

2. Continuing our long-standing efforts in the field of academic qualification in nursing: 
Academic qualification in the nursing professions is systematically promoted in order to increase the proportion of highly qualified professionals while ensuring a balanced mix of skills. Programs and policy initiatives help strengthen the nursing professions through interprofessional collaboration. 

3. Promoting future skills among professionals: 
Sustainable health care requires new skills in various areas, such as digitalization, innovation, and cross-sector and cross-cultural collaboration. Our activities are aimed at creating targeted learning and development environments.

The health care professions are characterized by diverse backgrounds, particularly regarding the origins of the workforce. Diversity and inclusion are therefore incorporated as cross-cutting themes in all activities and are actively promoted through targeted measures.