Board and committees
The Board is the executive body of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training and also the German government's statutory advisory body in fundamental matters regarding vocational education and training. Representatives of employers, trade unions, Germany's federal states and the federal government work together on the Board, with each group having an equal share of votes. Each of these four "benches" has eight votes, regardless how many members it has. The federal government's five representatives always cast their vote unanimously. A representative of the Federal Employment Agency and a representative of municipal government associations that are active at national level may also take part in decisions in an advisory capacity.
The Board adopts the Institute's medium-term research programmes and annual research programmes, establishes its budget, gives formal approval to the actions of the president, makes recommendations for fostering and progressively developing vocational education and training, and may issue written opinions on the German government's annual vocational training report. In addition, it publishes written opinions on all training regulations and statutory instruments issued by the federal government in connection with advanced training examinations.
A standing committee comprised of 16 members of the Board - four per bench - prepares the meetings of the Board and conducts the Board's business between meetings. Two other committees were set up for vocational training research at BIBB and for the annual consultations on the draft of the government's vocational training report and the BIBB budget.
The Disabled Persons Committee is a statutory Board committee. It advises BIBB regarding its responsibilities in the area of vocational education and training for persons with disabilities (Section 92 of the Vocational Training Act). This committee works to ensure that the special needs of disabled persons are provided for in connection with vocational education and training. The Disabled Persons Committee consists of 17 persons.
In addition, the Board has working groups which prepare Board decisions on individual subjects.
The Research Council advises both of BIBB's executive bodies - the Board and the president - by issuing written opinions on and recommendations for BIBB's research work, particularly with respect to its research programmes, BIBB's collaboration with institutions of higher education and other research institutes, and regarding the annual reports on the results of research that BIBB conducts (Section 94 of the Vocational Training Act). The Research Council assesses the scientific quality of research projects and the scientific soundness of BIBB's research programmes. The Research Council is comprised of seven recognized experts in the field of vocational training research from Germany and abroad.
