Print version Recommend this page Press release
11/ 2006
Bonn, 27.04.2006
Girls' Day at BIBB: Ten young women from Bonn discover the world of technical occupations
The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training ("BIBB") actively supports Girls' Day which is being held for the sixth time today. Ten eighth-grade girls from Bonn-Bad Godesberg Comprehensive School will have the opportunity to spend the entire day at BIBB getting a taste of exciting occupational fields that are "atypical" for women. These girls will have the chance to get their feet wet in fields such as printing and IT and to find out what demands await them in a generally male-dominated workplace. "Girls' Day offers an excellent opportunity to present girls and young women the entire range of occupational options available to them. BIBB is the right place for this," noted BIBB President Manfred Kremer.
Germany's "dual" vocational training system (that combines part-time vocational schooling with practical work experience) offers training for approximately 350 recognized occupations. Ten of these occupations account for the majority of girls and young women undergoing dual vocational training.1 Girls and young women generally choose typical "women's occupations" 0 primarily office occupations, commercial occupations and personal service occupations such as doctor's receptionist / consulting-room assistant. By contrast, the number of girls and young women in technical and technology-related occupations is still too small 0 partly because they often do not know about or are unfamiliar with these occupations. But it is precisely in these fields that a marked shortage of skilled workers is beginning to develop. "By choosing typical women's occupations, young women are limiting their training and career prospects too much. And it is exactly in this area that Girls' Day can help," explained Manfred Kremer.
In keeping with the spirit of Girls' Day, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training pursues research, development and advisory activities that tap into important issues involving young women's training and career prospects. "Girls in Industrial and Technical Occupations", "Technology with Women in the Future " and "IT Skills and Gender Mainstreaming in Initial and Continuing Vocational Training" are recent examples of practical guides generated by BIBB pilot projects with the aim of improving the career prospects of girls and young women.
Further information is available in German at www.bibb.de/girlsday and www.girls-day.de
Point of contact at BIBB for Girls' Day is
- Angelika Puhlmann, Tel.: +49 (0)228 - 107 1119, Fax: +49 (0)228 - 107 2988, E-mail: puhlmann@bibb.de
