Hrafnista is one of three nursing homes that participated in the pilot project Málbrú, which is a development project organized by the Association of Companies in Welfare Services (SFV) and worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Children and Education.
About 20% of residents in Iceland have a mother tongue other than Icelandic, and the percentage increases to 35% when looking at staff in nursing homes. In workplaces where communication is crucial for safety, well-being and teamwork, language is the key.
The goal of the project was to develop and test ways to improve the work-related Icelandic skills of nursing home staff with a mother tongue other than Icelandic. Málbrúar's uniqueness lies in the fact that the Icelandic language program is related to daily work. Staff strengthen vocabulary and practice communication that they use at work, among other things with residents and staff. In this way, the program is useful in real situations and can increase both the safety and self-confidence of the staff.
During the four-month testing phase of Málbrúar, 41 employees in three nursing homes participated. In a final survey, 94% of respondents said they had experienced positive results in the Icelandic learning. The results therefore give positive indications of the usefulness of this approach.
The project was discussed in rúv's news
More about the project Icelandic learning at work is a shared responsibility
