Print version Recommend this page Press release
20/ 2011
Bonn, 02.05.2011
Professor Dr Friedrich Hubert Esser new president of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training
A new man has taken over the helm at BIBB in Bonn: Professor Dr Friedrich Hubert Esser has assumed office as the new president of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training as of 1 May 2011.
Federal Minister of Education and Research Professor Dr Annette Schavan installed BIBB's new president in office during a ceremony held in Bonn today which was attended by more than 300 invited guests from the political sector, trade and industry, the research community and society. "I am pleased that with you, BIBB will be headed by a proven expert for both national and international vocational education and training systems," Minister Schavan said, addressing Professor Esser directly. "You stand up for your convictions and do so with passion. This is precisely what we need in connection with the subject of education."
Before installing Professor Esser in office, Minister Schavan spoke words of recognition for BIBB's former president, Manfred Kremer, upon his retirement. "Mr Kremer has shaped BIBB on a lasting basis through his expertise, his personality and his enormous dedication. I thank him very much for all this," Schavan emphasised. Manfred Kremer had been president of the institute since 1 July 2005.
BIBB's new head, Professor Dr Friedrich Hubert Esser, is a recognised expert for vocational education and training. He was in charge of the Vocational Education and Training Department at the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) in Berlin since November 2004. Professor Esser is additionally familiar with BIBB through his many years of direct participation in various BIBB bodies. For example, he has been a member of the BIBB Board, the institute's highest body, since 2005.
Professor Esser was born in the Rhineland (Grevenbroich) in 1959; he is married and has two children. Before working for the ZDH he was employed for 13 years at the Research Institute for Vocational education and Training in the Crafts (FBH) at the University of Cologne, where he advanced to the position of deputy director. He was made an honorary professor by the University of Cologne in 2005. Professor Esser did his doctorate at the University of Cologne in 1997.
The 52-year-old professor learned his trade "from the ground up". After completing an apprenticeship in the baker's trade in Grevenbroich, Professor Esser continued his education via the "second educational pathway", earning an upper secondary school leaving certificate which qualifies the holder to enter university. He subsequently studied business administration and economic and business education in Braunschweig and Cologne from 1983 to 1989.
Professor Esser's research and work focus particularly on occupational and qualifications research, European vocational education and training, the German Qualifications Framework (GQF) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), and the subject of entrepreneurship. Professor Esser is also author and editor of numerous scholarly publications involving the skilled trades.
A photograph of Professor Esser is available on the BIBB website at www.bibb.de/pressefotos
Further information regarding Professor Esser's curriculum vitae is available at http://www.bibb.de/en/praesident.htm
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