Print version Recommend this page Press release
14/ 2005
Bonn, 05.04.2005
Greater flexibility, more clarity - and somewhat leaner: The Vocational Training Reform Act also overhauled the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training
The Vocational Training Reform Act01 that went into force on 1 April 2005 has not only laid a new foundation for vocational training in Germany and opened up more flexibility and openness vis-à-vis new challenges. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training ("BIBB") which has served the vocational education and training field in Germany as a federal institution for policy, research and practice for 35 years now has also received new avenues for development as a result of the amendment. For example, the new Vocational Training Act describes and expands BIBB's duties, giving them greater clarity and flexibility. It modifies BIBB's organizational structure, reduces internal bureaucracy and has established a Research Council to advise the Institute on research issues. Which is why BIBB is "in complete agreement with the version of the Federal Training Reform Act that was passed [and expresses] its appreciation to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and its staff for this bill," as BIBB President Helmut Pütz said.02
The Vocational Training Reform Act re-incorporates BIBB into the Vocational Training Act with a description of the Institute's responsibilities and organizational structures. The Vocational Training Act covered BIBB back in 1969. With the passage of the Vocational Training Promotion Act in 1981 however, BIBB was governed by a law dedicated exclusively to it. Now that these two laws have been amended and combined as the new 2005 Vocational Training Act, BIBB has been returned to its "legislative origins".
How will the amended law affect BIBB?
Examples of the changes the new legislation has brought:
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The number of members sitting on the BIBB Board will be reduced from 53 to 29 (eight representatives each for employers, employees and the federal states; the federal government's five representatives now hold a total of eight votes). This will give the Board greater flexibility and markedly improve its capacity to work.
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The Disabled Persons Committee will become a Standing Committee under the Board.
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Since the Board has been reduced in size, the Permanent Committee which was established in 1993 will be dissolved. The Board will assume the Permanent Committee's responsibilities.
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The Vocational Training Reform Act establishes a Research Council to advise BIBB on research matters. By doing so, the Act underscores the Institute's standing as a research institute. The Research Council will have the job of monitoring, ensuring and evaluating the quality of the Institute's research work.
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The new legislation eliminates the expert committees and the Länder (federal states) Committee. The Bund-Länder Coordinating Committee consisting of representatives from the federal (Bund) and state (Länder) governments will perform the duties of the Länder Committee in the future.
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The provisions of the new legislation allow BIBB to accept external contracts and, in the process, make its expertise available to clients outside the federal government.
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The new Vocational Training Act includes a change in wording to make it clear that BIBB receives its basic funding in the form of federal grants. The formerly used term "allocations" was easily misunderstood.
Further information on the Vocational Training Reform Act and the changes it brings not only for BIBB but for vocational training in Germany as well can be found in the current issue (2/2005) of BIBB's German-language journal Berufsbildung in Wissenschaft und Praxis (BWP - Vocational Training in Theory and Practice) which focuses on the subject "Reform of Germany's Vocational Training Law - New Impetus for Vocational Training After 35 Years" and in the following articles:
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Johanna Mölls, "Das Berufsbildungsreformgesetz: Neuerungen für das BIBB in Organisationsstruktur, Aufgabenwahrnehmung und Finanzierung"
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Tomas Sondermann, "Das Berufsbildungsreformgesetz von 2005: Was ist neu und anders?"
