If your mail programme has difficulty displaying this newsletter optimally, please click here.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the first edition of the new English language newsletter issued by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB). The newsletter will be published six times a year in future.

Internationalisation, and the increasing Europeanisation of vocational training in particular, require an intensification of dialogue between national and international organisations and institutions involved in vocational education and training. One of the highest priority projects within this process is the development of European standards to create greater transparency and comparability of qualifications and skills. In its capacity as a centre of expertise for vocational training in Germany, BIBB is materially involved in solving the tasks associated with this and is seeking to use this new, topical and modern instrument of communication as a vehicle for providing international experts with information on the impetuses emerging from BIBB and on the contributions the institute is able to bring to the table.

The sole focus of the new newsletter will not, however, be confined to reporting on the contributions BIBB is making towards the Europeanisation of vocational education and training. It will also provide data and facts on other important issues relating to VET practice and will deal with matters connected to the training market, to the costs and benefits of vocational training and to a multitude of other areas of current relevance to initial and continuing training in Germany.

The newsletter will contain research papers, commentaries on current VET developments, press releases, literature references and other news of interest to an international specialist readership operating within the fields of research, practice or vocational training policy.

You may subscribe to this newsletter by visiting www.bibb.de/newsletter-en. All issues will also be archived on BIBB's homepage.

The newsletter's editorial team hopes that this publication will excite your interest and that BIBB's research and results will provide you with stimulation for your work in many areas.

Joachim Gerd Ulrich, Simone Flemming, Ralf-Olaf Granath, Elisabeth M. Krekel

This year sees the ninth conferment of the "Prize for Innovation in Continuing Education and Training" (WIP), awarded by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) to recognise innovative and forward looking ideas in continuing vocational training/in-company continuing training. The "WIP 2009" carries a cash prize of 2,500 EUR and was presented to each of the five winners by Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs of the State of Lower Saxony Elisabeth Heister-Neumann and President of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training Manfred Kremer.

Read more Prize for Innovation in Continuing Education and Training" (WIP)

Prof. Dr. Reinhold Weiß, Vice-President of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training and Director of Research, Bonn

Facts and figures from the supplementary national survey to CVTS3

Dick Moraal, Barbara Lorig, Daniel Schreiber, Ulrike Azeez

EU Workshop on vocational training personnel
Instruction and training personnel in the vocational education and training field was the focus of a workshop which drew European vocational training experts to Bonn on 22-23 January 2009. Experts from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg and Germany attended the workshop.
http://www.bibb.de/en/50837.htm

edvance markets German vocational education and training internationally
The vocational training market has been one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide for years now. Aiming to strengthen German vocational training's position in this market, the German government launched the edvance initiative and introduced it to the public in 2008.
http://www.bibb.de/en/50705.htm

Trans-European Qualifications Framework Development (TransEQFrame) concluded
The TransEQFrame Project conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) formed part of the implementation of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and was concluded at the end of 2008. The project ran for a term of two years, its function being to test the validity of the EQF within the context of National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) either already in existence or under development.
http://www.bibb.de/en/50671.htm

Worlddidac 2008
Described by its organisers as "Vietnam's International Exhibition on Education Materials and Professional Training", the first Worlddidac Asia was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 3 - 5 December 2008.
http://www.bibb.de/en/50791.htm

22 - 23 April 2009 | Stadthalle Bonn - Bad Godesberg
Potential for Flexibility in Initial and Continuing Vocational Training
Manifold findings for the use of innovative vocational training regulations in small and medium-sized enterprises have been generated by 28 economic model experiments that were conducted nationwide under the Potential for Flexibility in Initial and Continuing Vocational Training programme which was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The impact that these findings will have, the interest they are drawing and their transfer into day-to-day VET practice, policy and research in various fields of vocational education and training is currently being examined on a systematic basis by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training. A conference with participants from throughout Germany and European experts will be held on 22 - 23 April 2009 in Bonn-Bad Godesberg where findings and objectives that have been reached will be presented and discussed with experts from day-to-day practice, research and the political sector. Taking a look at the projects "from the outside" will open up new perspectives and points of view as well as intensify and ensure the transfer of project findings. The conference will help make the findings and changes that have been achieved available to a broader public beyond the programme and associated projects.

26 - 27 March 2009 | München
2009 Continuing Education Munich
The Weiterbildung München 2009 fair will offer an overview of the many continuing vocational training options and providers available. This fair offers exhibitors and visitors an ideal forum for information.

25 - 27 March 2009
Effectiveness of Learning and Efficiency in VET Systems
Interdisciplinary Congress on Research in Vocational Education and  Training. This congress will be an opportunity not only to present your own research issues with other colleagues in the field.
Deadline for paper submission: 15 September, 2008

13 - 15 March 2009 | Giessen
Chance 2009, Trade Fair for Vocational Training and University Study, Continuing Vocational Training and Personnel, Start-Ups and Business Development
The broad spectrum covered by Chance 2009 is unique in the region, making this fair attractive to pupils and students, persons interested in continuing vocational training, entrepreneurs and franchisees. Employees and employers have direct opportunities for one-on-one talks. Personal trainers and coaches will demonstrate their skills.

more Activities