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

Findings from a survey of experts

An interview with Peter Thiele on the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Initiative "Educational chains until the completion of training"

Kirsten Vollmer

Dorothea Schemme, Gisela Westhoff, Dagmar Winzier

Manfred Kremer, President of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Bonn

BIBB Signs Cooperation Agreement with Colombia
Diana Cáceres-Reebs
From 12 to 14 April 2011, a high-level delegation led by the Columbian President, Dr. Juan Manuel Santos made a visit to Germany. In this context a high-level German-Columbian meeting to intensify and expand cooperation in the fields of education, science, research and innovation took place on 13 April in Berlin.
http://www.bibb.de/en/57630.htm

BIBB providing advisory services in India for the establishment of standards in the vocational education and training field
Michael Härtel
An intensification of Indo-German cooperation in the vocational education and training field was the aim of a visit to New Delhi undertaken by a BIBB representative in February of this year. The representative travelled to the Indian capital to attend the National Workshop on the National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF) which the World Bank and ILO were conducting there.
http://www.bibb.de/en/57518.htm

23 - 24 May 2011 | Bonn
Professionalising skilled workers - Challenges in the transition from school to vocational training
Organising and developing paths for the transition from secondary school to vocational training and the working world is not only an education policy challenge but also a pedagogical challenge. Making the necessary changes at the so-called "first threshold" will require not only structuring measures but also concepts for professionalising skilled (pedagogical) personnel who are involved at various institutions in efforts to organise and shape these paths in their area. These activities are aimed at opening up realistic (occupational) prospects with a variety of options for all young people 0 including the growing share of youths with an immigrant background and special target groups 0 who are making the transition from school to the working world. Organised by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the Robert Bosch Foundation, this conference will examine the (preliminary) findings from two projects which deal with this subject from different angles: the BIBB research project Demands on the Professionalism of Education Personnel in the Transition from School to the Working World and the LISA programme for skilled workers Professionalisation for Shaping and Organising Transition Paths to Vocational Training and the Working World which is being conducted by the Robert Bosch Foundation. Titled "Professionalising skilled workers 0 Challenges in the transition from school to vocational training", the conference will offer a forum for a discussion with education authorities who are responsible for education at municipal, state or federal level. The core statements and areas of focus of these two projects will be presented to attending experts in four forums where the shaping and organising of the transition to vocational training and the working world will be presented as a horizontal issue and cross-cutting task, the competences which the skilled (pedagogical) personnel will need for shaping and organising this transition will be named, adapted forms of continuing and advanced training will be presented and the need for regional support structures for professional work will be highlighted. 

The complexity of the activities involved in making the transition to vocational training and the working world places high demands on the professionalism of all skilled (pedagogical) personnel who play a part in the transition process. At the same time, their work will become a "key" in the necessary change processes.

19 - 20 September 2011 | Berlin
6th BIBB Vocational Education and Training Congress 2011
Initial and continuing vocational education and training is currently undergoing deep-seated change. The shortage of skilled workers, demographic development and the value placed on vocational education and training in relation to other educational areas both in Germany as well as in international comparative terms are all future issues in which VET will need to re-position itself. For reasons of social responsibility, every single person will need to be integrated into this process. Nobody must be forgotten. This is why we have decided that the motto for the 6th BIBB Vocational Education and Training Congress will be "Developing competences - opening up opportunities".
We are sure that this congress will offer you an appropriate platform in your capacity as a representative of VET policy, academic research or practice and will provide a vehicle for stimulating debate which will open up perspectives and enable us to work together to find answers to the urgent questions faced by vocational training.

26 october 2011 | Bonn
Quality assurance in in-company vocational training - Impetus for the future
Target groups:
VET experts from the political sector, trade and industry (professional associations, trade unions, chambers and education providers)

Aim of the conference:
Ascertain quality assurance in the in-company segment of vocational education from the perspective of the understanding of quality assurance that has been established in Europe. In addition, the conference aims to foster the quality assurance culture in Germany.