Vocational Education & Training (VET) in Germany

A short overviewprepared by Ute Albertsen

Comparisons Germany – Taiwan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany - and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan

Germany Taiwan

Inhabitants 80,585,700 23,340,136

Density 225 inhabitants / km² 644 inhabitants /km²

Area 357,0 km2 36,2 km²

Fertility rate 1,41 children born per woman 0,9 children in 2010 (2,1 in 1984)

Nationality 20% foreign background 7,7 % foreign citizens

98% Han Chinese ethnicity

Cities (> million inhabitants)

Berlin 3,5 Hamburg 1,8 Munich 1,3 Cologne 1,0

New Taipei 3,9 Kaohsiung 2,8 Taichung 2,7 Taipei 2,7 Tainan 1,9

Religion Christianity (63%), Non-religious (34%) Islam (5%) Judaism (0,3%) Hinduism (0,1%)

Mixture of Buddism, Taoism and Confucianism (93%), Christianity (4,5%)

Life expectancy 80 years 79 years

Between 1949 and 1990 Germany was divided into two countries, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The Federal Republic of Germany:founding member of the European Union (EU), has been a member of NATO since 1955,is a full member of the UN since 1973.

Germany is a democratic and social federal state.

It comprises 16 Länder

• The Länder are fundamentally responsible for education and culture (‘cultural sovereignty’ of the Länder). Consequently, in some cases there are marked differences between the school systems of the individual Länder. To ensure a minimum level of common features and comparability despite this, the Standing Conference of Ministers for Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) of the Länder was established, and meets three to four times a year.

• In the field of VET, the Federal Government is responsible for in-company vocational training, while the Länder are responsible for vocational training in schools, and hence also for vocational schools.

About my career I

• 13 years school (Grammar school) • 3 years apprenticeship as

carpenter/joiner/cabinetmaker• 6 years working as carpenter (1 ½ year as training

instructor)• 7 years of study at the University of Hamburg

(„Teacher in vocational school“ education, principals of teaching (didatics), wood and plastics technology, history)

• 2 year internship in a vocational school (carpentry)

My career II

• 9 years of teaching in a vocational school „Staatliche Gewerbeschule Kraftfahrzeugtechnik Hamburg“ (state school for auto mechanics: with all german professions related to vehicles, e.g. repairing cars, lorrys, motorbikes, bikes, painting cars, bus driver and lorry driver training)

Actual work in my school

• 3 classes of car mechanics in social studies (5 lessons weekly), 3 x 6 x 2 weeks a year

• a class of technics in social studies, working law, enterprice economics and how to teach young people who are in apprenticeships (4 lessons weekly), 2 years

• a class „Ausbildungsvorbereitung“: young pupils who left school after 10 years but didn‘t get a job or an apprenticeship or still have no work orientation. (In Hamburg young people have to go to school 11 years.). (8 lessons and 4 hours to visit them in practicals).

German School SystemSource: http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/germanschools.html

Cohort structure by type of qualification, 2004Source: Schaubilder zur Berufsbildung, BIBB, 2006;

www.bibb.de/dokumente/pdf/a22_ausweitstat_schaubilder_heft-2006.pdf

Distribution of trainees and proportion of training enterprises by enterprise size categories, 2004 (%)

Source: Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, 2006.

Example: car mechanicThe apprentice has a contract with the owner of the bodyworkshopThe training takes 3 ½ yearsPayment by the company: 622,- Euro (1 € = 40 NTD)Each year:

about 37 weeks on the job … weeks bei der Innungabout 12-13 weeks in vocational school (divided in 6 parts)about 5-6 weeks vacation

Certificate of vocational school34 lessons a weeksubjects: German, Social Studies, English and Theorie

Certificate of the chamber after practial and theoretical examStarting later wages: about 1.700,- Euro

Example: vendor / salesmanThe apprentice has a contract with the owner of the bodyworkshopThe training takes 2 yearsPayment by the company: 765,- Euro (1 € = 40 NTD)Each year:

about 37 weeks on the jobabout 12-13 weeks in vocational school (divided in 6 parts)about 5-6 weeks vacations

Certificate of vocational school 34 lessons a week or 1 ½ day per weeksubjects: German, Social Studies, English and Theorie

Certificate of the chamber after practial and theoretical examStarting later wage: about 1.500,- Euro

Legislation

Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology or other

competent ministry by agreement with the Federal Ministry of Education

and ResearchFederal Institut for

Vocational Training (BIBB)

Employer and employee representatives

Main committee

VET committee

Competent bodies

Land committee

Land ministries

Conference of Ministers for

Education and Culture (KMK)

Vocational schoolspart-time

Training enterprises

* Curricula

* Framework curricula* Examinations*Suitability oftraining venue

Federal Agency for EmploymentVocational guidance

Finding of training places

Source: Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, 2006.

Main Committee of BIBB

Federal Government5 Representatives

16 Votes

Consultative body of the Federal Government Vocational training reportFundamental questions of vocational trainingDecision-making body of the institute

Federal States16 Representatives

16 Votes

Financing of vocational training by financing bodies, 2005

Financing bodies Expenditure (in € billions)

Enterprises 27,7

Federation and Länder Part-time vocational schools (dual system) 2,8 Full-time vocational schools 2,2 Other school types providing VET(e.g. spec. Grammar schools, Fachoberschulen)

1,5

Intercompany VET facilities (ÜBS) 0,03 Teaching courses and programmes 0,28Federal Agency for Employment (BA) 4,5

Thank you for your attention!