Globally Competitive and Sustainable Qualifications in Vocational Education and Training - Automotive Production / Green Occupations
Bi-National Expert Workshop - facilitated by BIBB
As countries with strong internationally competitive economic, scientific and technological capacities, as well as innovation potential, he United States of America and Germany have a strong strategic interest in the best concepts for qualification. Both countries design education and training based on the economic and societal demands of lifelong-learning which focus on competencies and employability, as well as the promotion of transparent and transferable qualifications and career paths. Challenged by the current global economic crisis and global climate change, Germany and the US are interested in viable competitive models for education and training which adequately address the demands of sustainable economic development.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the US Department of Education (ED) have agreed to an intensified cooperation on the topics of "qualifications standards in automotive production", and "green occupations" as well as "lifelong learning" and "cooperative education" from a cross-education-sector perspective. As a first step, both partners will concentrate on the areas "Automotive Production" and "Green Occupations" during the bi-national expert workshop "Globally Competitive and Sustainable Qualifications in Vocational Education and Training", facilitated by BIBB.
Focusing on these two areas, the workshop will discuss intensively on questions concerning qualification standards and training concept approaches, and their practicability; the design of learning and career paths; the consequences of new technologies (electro-mobility, energy efficiency and renewable energy, etc.); and, last but not least, current education system developments. In addition, questions concerning cooperative education as well as lifelong learning will be discussed, in particular with respect to transparency and transferability of qualifications between initial and continuing education and training, as well as recognition of vocational education within higher education etc.
Education and training experts from the BMBF and the US Dept of Education, as well as from industry and education associations, companies, unions, and education and research institutions from both countries will define the specific areas and objectives of the prospective cooperation, as well as specify the appropriate methods (continued expert dialogue, project cooperation, etc.) to carry this out. Using currently ongoing bi-national expert dialogues and cooperation approaches as a springboard, the expert workshop will promote further development in these areas. The information garnered by both sides on the progress and results of further cooperation will be captured in an appropriate way.
Contact: Dr. Volker Rein, BIBB, 0049/228/1072419, rein@bibb.de
