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48/ 2011
Bonn, 02.11.2011
Few prospects for the recognized occupation Motor Vehicle Service Mechanic
The recognized occupation Motor Vehicle Service Mechanic which requires completion of a two-year training programme was created in 2004. According to an evaluation which the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) conducted together with the Institute Technology and Education (ITB) of the University of Bremen and the Berufsbildungsinstitut Arbeit und Technik (BIAT) of the University of Flensburg, enterprises in this sector report that this occupation has few prospects for the future. Consequently it should not be offered as a separate recognized occupation in the future but rather incorporated into the three-and-one-half-year training for the occupation Motor Vehicle Mechatronics Technician.
According to the study, enterprises which could in principle imagine employing motor vehicle service mechanics emphasize that in their opinion a two-year training programme in the motor vehicle field is not enough for the 'high-tech product' that cars are today. In addition, the study did not reveal any appreciable need for workers who are qualified motor vehicle service mechanics. Rather, the study's findings point to a need for higher-level qualifications. It noted that it would therefore be sensible to restructure the occupation Motor Vehicle Mechatronics Technician by, for example, incorporating into the training regulations a service variant in the form of a specialization or field of application. The final decision on any adjustments to the training for the recognized occupation Motor Vehicle Mechatronics Technician lies with the relevant federal ministries and the social partners.
The trial phase for the two-year vocational training for the occupation Motor Vehicle Service Mechanic is scheduled to run until July 2013. This occupation was launched with the aim of offering youths who are more practically-oriented an additional training option in the motor vehicle field. As of 31 December 2009, approximately 3,400 youths were undergoing training for the occupation Motor Vehicle Service Mechanic. A comparatively large share 0 some 44% 0 of the training places for this training were at extra-company training facilities. Some 79% of the youths undergoing training for this occupation had completed lower secondary school at most. No more than 36% of the youths who complete the training for the occupation Motor Vehicle Service Mechanic continue their training with a three-year or three-and-a-half-year programme for a recognized occupation.
The automotive industry is very important for the 'dual' vocational training system in Germany (dual vocational training combines part-time vocational schooling with practical work experience). Together, these two automotive occupations account for some 70,000 trainees.
A summary of the evaluation is available in German on the BIBB website at www.bibb.de/evaluation-kfz-servicemechaniker.
Point of contact at BIBB: Bärbel Bertram
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