National Education and Vocational Training Forum 2011: successful German dual VET model meets with great interest in Columbia
Diana Cáceres-Reebs
A BIBB representative took part in the National Education and Vocational Training Forum staged in Bogotá/Columbia from 9 -10 November 2011 at the invitation of the Columbian Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación Nacional).
Picture shows at the front from left to right: Diana Cáceres-Reebs (BIBB), Pater Camilo Bernal (General Director of the National Vocational Training Service SENA), Maria Zuluaga (Deputy Director of the Technological (Training) Institutes of the Federal State of Santander, Gloria Bautista, Dean of the Technical University of Bolívar
The motto of the event, which involved 14 parallel forums and roundtable discussion groups, was "Education with quality: the route to prosperity". The forums and discussions addressed current issues and challenges faced by higher education, vocational education and training and school education from both a national and international perspective.
State President Dr. Juan Manuel Santos and his Minister of Education Dr. Maria Campo were in attendance at the National Education and Vocational Training Forum, which also attracted representatives from the relevant Columbian ministries and educational establishments and invited foreign experts from the USA, Germany, France, Spain, Finland, Australia, the Inter-American Development Bank, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.
State President Juan Manuel Santos
Diana Cáceres-Reebs, an academic researcher in the "Advisory Services and International Cooperation" Section at BIBB, presented the German system of vocational education and training whilst placing particular emphasis on the core elements of dual training. The main focus of her presentation was the close cooperation which takes place between employers, employees, the Federal Government and the federal states in terms of the structuring of German VET. German vocational education and training also enjoys considerable respect in Columbia due to the fact that it is aligned towards real work processes forming part of occupational practice and because it takes place within the spectrum of interest of a large number of stakeholders both at an operative and a control level.
BIBB presentation on dual training in Germany
A cooperation agreement has been in place between BIBB and Columbia since April 2011. This agreement has been concluded with Columbia's National Vocational Training Service "SENA" (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje). One of the main focuses of the cooperation between BIBB and SENA is the topic of "Research in vocational training". The aim is for SENA to establish its own research department and for the BIBB expertise available in the "Sociology and Economics of Vocational Education and Training" Department to play a major part in this process.
