Data from Dansk Evalueringsinstitut, EVA, shows that students generally experience openness and friendliness from their colleagues in the workplace. Students express that this is of great importance for a motivating learning environment.
Good start
A good start is almost synonymous with the students having the experience of a workplace that has the resources to give them positive and safe training. A good start is about welcoming, introducing them to the practical conditions and inviting them into the working community.
The working environment that characterizes the beginning of the training will help maintain the students' commitment and curiosity to learn. The study " Unge medarbejdere og arbejdskultur " highlights data that shows that 31% of 18–25-year-olds in the social and health field have left a job because they did not feel welcomed.
A good start in training will often settle the student's foundation for learning, testing and develop into a lasting experience with practice that the student can carry with them professionally and in working life.
School and training
Starting with training can also be the start of an uncertain period, where the student must find a place in the new working environment. To accommodate the student's possible uncertainty in the beginning, it is of great importance that the student experiences a strong professional connection between school and the training period. This is shown by a study that Rambøll has carried out to uncover efforts that can reduce dropout rates in the main courses of social and health education. The survey shows that dropouts typically occur in the transition between school and the start of the first training period.
In relation to the working environment, Rambøll emphasizes that it has a direct impact on the desire to continue in the profession, that the student feels welcome and well received at the workplace, are given clear introduction and instruction, and qualified guidance that includes systematic feedback that supports professional development. It is predominantly within the above areas that the students encounter challenges during the training process. The consequences of this include a feeling that the professional and social connection to the training place is absent or is perceived as inadequate.
Synergy between the working environment and the training environment
Research from RUC shows that a focus on synergy between the working environment and the learning environment helps the workplace create a culture where both students and employees thrive, develop, and contribute to the workplace's success and opportunities to perform the core task. Developing such a culture calls for integrating learning as a natural part of work routines and performance, and with a focus on both individual and organizational aspects of the working environment.
e-courses from BFA
The Danish Working Environment Association for Welfare and Public Administration (BFA for Velfærd og Offentlig Administration) has developed five e-courses with a focus on the interaction between the working environment and the learning environment. You can find the five e-courses here:
List of sources:
”Kortlægning af virksomme indsatser, der kan øge gennemførelsen og reducere frafaldet på social- og sundhedsuddannelsernes hovedforløb”. Rambøll, Marts 2024
”Unge medarbejdere og arbejdskultur”, Fremfærd Sundhed & Ældre 2025)
”Arbejdslivets læringsmiljøer”, Christian Helms Jørgensen og Niels Warring, RUC, Tidsskrift for Arbejdsliv, årgang 24, nr. 1 2022.
”Oplevelsen af praktik på uddannelserne til lærer, pædagog, sygeplejerske og socialrådgiver”, Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut, EVA, 2023