Print version Recommend this page Press release
19/ 2011
Bonn, 27.04.2011
Youths with an immigrant background - Equally good when starting conditions are the same
BIBB book "Migration as an Opportunity" offers a new perspective
When the starting conditions are the same, youths with an immigrant background are just as successful in vocational training as young people who do not have an immigrant background, according to a new German-language publication which examines from a different perspective people with an immigrant background who are undergoing vocational training in Germany. Published by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the AG BRN vocational education and training research network, "Migration als Chance. Ein Beitrag der beruflichen Bildung" (Migration as an Opportunity. A Contribution from Vocational Education and Training) offers a different perspective: The focus here is on scientific findings and case studies involving young people's access to vocational training, the shaping of VET, vocational training for adults and the importance of intercultural skills.
The fact that immigration can be seen as an opportunity is substantiated by research findings that show how intercultural skills are already being put to use in real-life situations today. One report illustrates how intercultural learning at part-time vocational school enables learners - not only those with an immigrant background but also those who do not have an immigrant background 0 to reflect on their own cultural roots and on culturally-determined attitudes and behaviour.
However, as the authors of the book point out, this requires the right underlying conditions. The reports show where the potential offered by people with an immigrant background lies (could lie) in vocational training and in the working world. At the same time, the book addresses both favourable and unfavourable conditions for access to initial and continuing vocational education and training, the organisation and shaping of initial and continuing VET, and skill upgrading.
According to Professor Dr Reinhold Weiß, head of research at BIBB and a co-editor of the book, this publication shows that integration in Germany is a task for all of society, a task for which everyone involved 0 nationals and immigrants, the political sector and societal institutions 0 is responsible. "Values, life situations and lifestyles vary not only among people with an immigrant background but also among people who do not have an immigrant background. Consequently, establishing equality of educational opportunity is vital for everyone in society."
For years now, the political sector and the vocational training research community have studied in detail the difficulties involved in making the transition to vocational training 0 particularly for young people with an immigrant background 0 and the prerequisites offered by individuals and society. This compilation contains the latest research findings on the course that vocational training takes for these young people once they have begun their training.
Analyses show that young people with an immigrant background are more likely to undergo vocational training for occupations for which the contract cancellation rate is higher and the likelihood that trainees are hired following completion of their training is lower. They also indicate that, compared to their counterparts who do not have an immigrant background, youths with an immigrant background are less likely to undergo training for their preferred occupation. The analyses in this publication additionally show that youths with an immigrant background are more likely to learn an occupation for which they are more apt to be overqualified than their contemporaries from Germany. They however also reveal that when youths with an immigrant background have the same starting conditions when they commence their vocational training (these conditions include social background, level of school-leaving certificate and, most importantly, conditions for their training), they score equally well on their final examination and have equally good prospects for finding a qualified job.
This publication also points out that there is an enormous need to teach occupation-related German language skills to a greater degree in conjunction with flanking assistance that is provided in connection with continuing vocational training. Doing this would do much to eliminate conditions that have presented a hindrance to date in public sector continuing education measures for persons with an immigrant background.
"Migration als Chance" has been published as AG BFN Volume 9 in the BIBB series "Berichte zur beruflichen Bildung" (Reports on Vocational Education and Training). It can be ordered for €28.90 on the BIBB website (www.bibb.de/veroeffentlichungen) or directly from the W. Bertelsmann Verlag at www.wbv.de (ISBN No. 978-3-7639-1142-4 for the print version or ISBN No. 978-3-7639-1142-3 for the e-book). BIBB takes an open access approach to the publication of its research findings and therefore offers the individual chapters free of charge on its website (www.bibb.de/de/57398.htm ).
Further information on the subject of immigrants in vocational education and training is available at the BIBB theme page www.bibb.de/de/wlk28963.htm and in BIBB REPORT issues No. 15/10 and 04/08 (www.bibb.de/bibbreport). Information on the subject of vocational training in foreign-owned enterprises is available from KAUSA (www.jobstarter.de/de/1917.php ).
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