Print version Recommend this page Press release
25/ 2009
Bonn, 16.07.2009
Additional qualifications and dual courses of study are 'in' - AusbildungPlus reports record number of participants
Growing numbers of trainees are earning additional qualification to supplement their 'dual' vocational training (which combines part-time vocational schooling with practical work experience) or are starting a dual course of study. According to an analysis of the AusbildungPlus database, some 130,000 trainees and students are currently making use of training programmes of this type which are registered at www.ausbildungplus.de . This represents an increase of more than 6% over the previous year. The report AusbildungPlus in Zahlen 2008/2009 (TrainingPlus in Numbers 2008/2009) documents current trends in the acquisition of additional qualification and in dual courses of study. AusbildungPlus is a project of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB). It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Firms that provide in-house vocational training increased their additional qualification offerings by 5.7% between April 2008 and March 2009. The number of participants rose by 4.3%. A separate analysis for the skilled trades confirms this trend. In the skilled trades sector, the primary providers of training for additional qualifications are firms (43%), followed by chambers of crafts and skilled trades (21%). Vocational schools and other providers account for the remaining 36%. A total of 2,253 additional qualifications are registered in the AusbildungPlus database; 139 of them are specific to occupations in the skilled trades.
By earning additional qualifications, trainees can acquire additional skills, knowledge and competencies that go beyond their regular training. This option not only makes vocational training more attractive, it also makes it possible to mesh initial and continuing vocational training more tightly with one another. The focus of the additional qualifications documented in the AusbildungPlus database is on the areas international, technology, information technology and business administration.
The interest in dual courses of study also continues unabated. The number of offerings in this area grew 3.6% to a total of 712 while the number of students increased by some 11%. The growing involvement of firms is also good news: The number of companies that use dual courses of study to train young skilled workers increased by 6.3%.
Dual courses of study foster mobility and permeability in education because they combine initial or advanced vocational training with university studies. Individuals enrolled in dual courses of study learn not only at a university, vocational school or academy of administration and economics but also in a real firm. Economics, computer science and mechanical engineering top the list of the most popular dual courses of study.
With more than 41,000 vocational training offerings, AusbildungPlus is one of the largest vocational training databases in Germany.
More information in German is available at www.ausbildungplus.de
