Print version Recommend this page Press release
22/ 2007
Bonn, 10.05.2007
Between market forces and subsidization - Vocational training in Germany's eastern states
Only about four per cent of all trainees in Germany's western states learn an occupation at an external training provider rather than directly at a company that provides in-house training in combination with practical work experience. By contrast, this figure is some 30 per cent in Germany's eastern states where the lion's share of external training of this type is financed through the 'East' training place programme. Government-financed traineeships at external education providers are an indispensable element of Germany's 'dual' vocational training system that combines part-time vocational schooling with practical work experience. However, the education provider landscape in the country's eastern states is on the verge of radical change due to the current demographic trend in that section of the country. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training ('BIBB') and the Zentrum für Sozialforschung social research centre in Halle (zsh) have separately conducted research on this situation and have now summed up their findings in the joint German-language publication "Zwischen Markt und Förderung - Wirksamkeit und Zukunft von Ausbildungsstrukturen in Ostdeutschland" (Between Market Forces and Subsidization - The Effectiveness and Future of Vocational Training Structures in Eastern Germany).
According to the findings from the BIBB research, one out of every ten training places in the eastern states is financed by an East training place programme The federal government and the eastern states spend some € 160 million annually to ensure the placement of unplaced traineeship applicants. These trainees learn an occupation 'on a collaborative basis with local firms' - in other words, usually in firms that offer internships and industrial placements. However, it is external education providers that are responsible for the individual's training.
Nearly one out of every two trainees who undergo this type of collaborative training (46%) says he or she would rather undergo 'real' in-company vocational training. But in fact however, two thirds of the individuals surveyed upon completion of their training said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the training they received. More than half of the respondents (58%) reported that the interplay between the training they received in the firm providing their internship or industrial placement and the external training facilities worked (very) well. The number of individuals with this type of training who passed their final examinations (80%) is also in line with the average for Germany's eastern states. The types of collaborative training with their new structures and learning venue combinations which were developed through East training place programmes are therefore not to be considered 'second-class' training. On the contrary, they foster innovation that can be used to progressively develop and refine Germany's 'dual' vocational training system.
However, demand for training places in Germany's eastern states is about to drop off sharply due to demographic developments in this region. This will place increasing pressure on publicly-funded training programmes. According to a study conducted by zsh and financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, four out of five education providers in the eastern section of the country expect the demand for services in the area of initial vocational training to decline noticeably in the next few years. Seventy per cent also expect cuts in government funding for training.
More than half of them (53%) therefore plan to step up their collaboration with partners from the private sector, and more than one third (35%) have shifted their strategic focus to providing services for vocational training that receives no public funding. Education providers in the eastern states see their future as 'modern service providers' who offer a closely meshed range of training and consultation services.
The findings of the BIBB and zsh studies on the future development of the vocational training system and the education provider landscape in Germany's eastern states are summarized in the publication:
- Klaus Berger, Holle Grünert (Ed.)
Zwischen Markt und Förderung - Wirksamkeit und Zukunft von Ausbildungsplatzstrukturen in Ostdeutschland. Bonn/Bielefeld 2007.
Publisher's address:
W. Bertelsmann Verlag Gmbh & Co. KG
Postfach 10 06 33
33506 Bielefeld
Tel.: +49 (0) 9521 / 9 11 01-11
Fax: Fax: +49 (0) 521 / 9 11 01-19
E-mail: service@wbv.de
Internet: http://www.wbv.de/
ISBN: 3-7639-1092-1
Order code.: 110.483
Price: € 19.80
Further information on this subject is available in German at the BIBB homepage at www.bibb.de/de/wlk8305.htm and the zsh homepage at http://www.zsh-online.de/
Points of contact at BIBB and zsh for further information:
- Klaus Berger (BIBB), Tel.: +49 (0) 228 / 107-1320, E-mail: berger@bibb.de
- Dr. Holle Grünert (zsh), Tel.: +49 (0) 345 / 55266-11, E-mail: gruenert@zsh.uni-halle.de
