Basic training for nurses lasts 3.5 years and the students will spend the majority of their time at the hospital. Some classes will also be taught in Tartu and the whole course will be taught in Estonian.

Narva Hospital hopes most of the graduates will stay and work in the border city.

"We hope this will significantly alleviate our labor crisis. We could take on the right nurses for the right number of specialties right away, but the real shortage will come when we can start a new hospital. Then there will be a need for significantly more staff," said Ago Kõrgvee, head of Narva Hospital.

Tartu Health Care College Ulla Preeden said regional courses help students who do not want to, or cannot, relocate for several years.

"For the college, the most important thing is that the students who come want to study and graduate," she said.

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