Vocational Education & Training (VET) in Germany A short overview prepared by Ute Albertsen

Comparisons Germany – Taiwan - and GermanyTaiwan Inhabitants80,585,70023,340,136 Density225 inhabitants / km²644 inhabitants /km² Area357,0 km 2 36,2 km² Fertility rate1,41 children born per woman0,9 children in 2010 (2,1 in 1984) Nationality20% 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 ReligionChristianity (63%), Non-religious (34%) Islam (5%) Judaism (0,3%) Hinduism (0,1%) Mixture of Buddism, Taoism and Confucianism (93%), Christianity (4,5%) Life expectancy80 years79 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 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 System Source: ogermany.com/p ages/germanscho ols.html

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

Distribution of trainees and proportion of training enterprises by enterprise size categories, 2004 (%) Source: Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, 2006.

Example: car mechanic The apprentice has a contract with the owner of the bodyworkshop The training takes 3 ½ years Payment by the company: 622,- Euro (1 € = 40 NTD) Each year: about 37 weeks on the job … weeks bei der Innung about weeks in vocational school (divided in 6 parts) about 5-6 weeks vacation Certificate of vocational school 34 lessons a week subjects: German, Social Studies, English and Theorie Certificate of the chamber after practial and theoretical exam Starting later wages: about 1.700,- Euro

Example: vendor / salesman The apprentice has a contract with the owner of the bodyworkshop The training takes 2 years Payment by the company: 765,- Euro (1 € = 40 NTD) Each year: about 37 weeks on the job about 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 week subjects: German, Social Studies, English and Theorie Certificate of the chamber after practial and theoretical exam Starting 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 Research Federal 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 schools part-time Training enterprises * Curricula * Framework curricula * Examinations * Suitability of training venue Federal Agency for Employment Vocational guidance Finding of training places Source: Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, 2006.

Main Committee of BIBB Federal Government 5 Representatives 16 Votes Consultative body of the Federal Government  Vocational training report  Fundamental questions of vocational training Decision-making body of the institute Federal States 16 Representatives 16 Votes Employers 16 Representatives 16 Votes Trade Unions 16 Representatives 16 Votes

Financing of vocational training by financing bodies, 2005 Financing bodies Expenditure (in € billions) Enterprises27,7 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 0,28 Federal Agency for Employment (BA)4,5

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