Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)

Expansion of cooperation between BIBB and the Korean vocational training institute KRIVET

Michael Wiechert

Translated by: Martin Kelsey (Global Sprachteam)

An extension to the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between BIBB and the Korean vocational training institute KRIVET (Korean Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training) agreed in May 2010 during the celebrations to mark BIBB's 40th anniversary has now served as the basis for a reciprocal visit to KRIVET by BIBB. The specific occasion of this visit was the joint drawing up of a "road map" regarding the content of the further cooperation to be pursued by the two institutes.

The vocational education and training systems of Korea and Germany are currently facing similar problem areas which can be broadly defined in terms of such key designations as "demographic change", "the transition from school to employment", "heterogeneous target groups" and "early recognition". As well as visiting companies (Samsung, Hyundai), experts also engaged in the intensive exchange of specialist content within the scope of the workshop "Transition from VET to Work in Korea and Germany", which had already been jointly prepared by both institutes in the run-up to the visit. The trip to Seoul has resulted in highly specific agreements with regard to further cooperation. Alongside plans for a workshop to be held in Germany next year on the topics of "master craftsman training" and "skilled worker training in the field of regenerative energies", further aims are for joint publications to appear in the respective specialist journals of the two institutes and for the exchange of views between vocational education and training experts also to take place on the basis of defined thematic areas. In overall terms, the workshop clearly showed the high degree of interest in the German VET system from the Korean side. Against this background, both parties agreed that the specialist content discussion embarked upon should be further pursued and expanded in a target oriented manner.