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Vocational training programmes that include the option to earn additional qualifications are more popular than ever

Earning additional qualifications is becoming increasingly popular among trainees according to an analysis of the AusbildungPlus database. More than 81,000 trainees are currently participating in such programmes.

Read more AusbildungPlus

New incentive programme of the Federal Government

Christine Noske

Prof. Dr., Reinhold Weiß, Deputy President and Head of Research at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Bonn

Many bright spots - but shadows too

The quality of dual vocational training from the trainees' point of view

Ursula Beicht, Andreas Krewerth, Verena Eberhard, Mona Granato

The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) at the FICCI "Global Skills Summit" in India 19 - 21 August 2009 - Germany a strong partner of India in VET
Monika Muylkens
The German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) conducted a workshop jointly with the Indian Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoL&E) on National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) - "Transparency of Qualifications - Recent developments of National Qualification Frameworks and the story behind them" - Wednesday 19 August 2009 in Delhi. This workshop was kindly hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers and Industries (FICCI) as pre-conference workshop ahead of the FICCI "Global Skills Summit" which took place 20/21 August in Delhi.
http://www.bibb.de/en/52104.htm

Workshops on commercial occupations in Europe
Benedikt Peppinghaus
Current developments in vocational training for commercial occupations will be presented and discussed during these workshops. The focus of this set of workshops will be on a scientific exchange with vocational training researchers from Germany and abroad.
http://www.bibb.de/en/wlk51738.htm

AEROVET
Philipp Grollmann
The European aeronautics industry is an outstanding example of intensive transnational collaboration in the production and maintenance of aircraft. Although European agreements concerning requirements and standards for successful skilled work already exist (EASA certification system, uniform quality standards), they have had only a slight impact on vocational training to date.
http://www.bibb.de/en/wlk51656.htm

BIBB and Chinese partners generate new impetus for collaboration in applied vocational training research
Julia Schmidt, Gert Zinke
http://www.bibb.de/en/51845.htm

4th eLearning Africa conference in Dakar
Michael Härtel
Providing a platform for an exchange of information and views on issues concerning the development, modernisation and expansion of national (vocational training and) education systems in Africa is the concept behind the eLearning Africa conference that is held every year in Africa. The 4th eLearning Africa conference was held in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, in May 2009. It was attended by 1,400 participants from 83 countries.
http://www.bibb.de/en/52068.htm

German-Hungarian talks on examination concepts
Representatives of the Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and NSZFI, its Hungarian partner institute, met in Györ and Budapest from 25-27 May 2009 for talks that revolved around examinations and training modules. The meeting was held in connection with the cooperation agreement signed by BIBB and NSZFI in 2007.
http://www.bibb.de/en/52022.htm

16 September 2009 | Bonn
Mobility for Learning Purposes in the EU
The mobility of learners and instructors is the core element of European co-operation in the area of education and vocational training. In July 2009, the European Commission published the green paper "Promoting the learning mobility of young people" and called a public consultation in order to set into motion a debate on this subject.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research will hold a conference on this subject at the Gustav Stresemann Institute in Bonn on 16 September 2009. The conference will be conducted with assistance from the Education for Europe - National Agency at BIBB. Its aim will be to offer interested experts a platform for an exchange of views on the core questions raised by the green paper and thus foster Germany's wide-scale participation in the consultation.

17 - 18 September 2009 | Nuremberg
AG BFN workshop Examinations and Certification in Vocational Education and Training: Requirements - Instruments - Need for Research
AG BFN workshop Examinations and Certification in Vocational Education and Training: Requirements - Instruments - Need for ResearchExaminations in the vocational education and training field decide the individual's access to the employment system and advanced education. Examination certificates are supposed to provide reliable information about the graduate's vocational knowledge and skills. They should follow standards and enable a comparison of training results.

This workshop is being conducted by the AG BFN vocational education and training research network and will focus on examinations and certification in vocational education and training, with an exposition of current research work and open research questions from these areas.

In this connection, examination and assessment methods, means for recognizing informally-acquired skills and competences, and difficulties involved in international mobility because of purely national examination and certification systems will be discussed

22 September 2009 | Bremen
Blocked future?
This conference will focus on young adults in the transition system and vocational training system, their social circumstances and educational experience, their skills and ability to be educated and their baseline motivation for catching-up processes. The conditions that give rise to a fragmented scholastic career will be addressed from a variety of perspectives.

22 September 2009 | Bonn
DEQA-VET Kick-off conference
This kick-off conference is being held to introduce the National Reference Point to the VET trade public. It will also give VET players on the ground (instructors, quality managers, chambers, vocational schools, continuing training providers, state committees for vocational education and training, etc.) an opportunity to exchange views on current challenges in quality assurance and to identify the "added value" of the National Reference for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (DEQA-VET) for the respective target groups.

22 September 2009 | Cologne
77th German Congress for Education Controlling
Once again, this congress will focus on portraying current developments in education controlling in conceptual and practical ways. This year's edition will feature a number of noted speakers. As in the past, the primary aim will be: "From practitioners - for practitioners. With a plan!"

23 - 24 September 2009 | Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Bonn
The Training Decision of Firms - Economic Research and Analyses

German enterprises continue to attach great importance to providing in-company vocational training for young people. However, the reasons why an enterprise provides vocational training for youths can vary. Numerous scientific studies have been conducted in recent years regarding the decision to provide in-company vocational training. Important themes in this connection include the provision of in-company vocational training on the basis of investment or production considerations, the costs and benefits of vocational training by international comparison and the influence institutions have on an enterprise's willingness to provide in-company vocational training. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) has also examined these issues for many years. For this reason, BIBB is holding the conference Enterprises' Decision to Provide In-company Vocational Training - Economic Research and Analyses in Bonn on 23 and 24 September 2009 as part of the Costs and Benefits of In-company Vocational Training research project. The conference is aimed at VET researchers and experts from Germany and abroad. New research will be presented and discussed. Papers will be held in German and in English. Simultaneous interpretating will be provided.

30 September 2009 | Nuremberg
f-bb conference on Tapping Potential - Strategies for Ensuring the Skilled Labour Base of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
At the conference Tapping Potential - Strategies for Ensuring the Skilled Labour Base of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, we want to discuss with representatives from trade, industry, the political sector and research the question of which innovative initial and continuing training strategies are suited to ensuring a skilled labour base even in times of crisis.

19 -20 October 2009 | Berlin
2009 ZWH - Education Conference
Education is the most important resource that Germany - a country with few resources - has to offer. This has also been made clear by the global economic crisis. The reason: German industry needs qualified skilled workers now more than ever if it is to remain competitive and innovative. Education is the fuel for tomorrow's industry. Education is Germany's future.

23. Oktober 2009 | Brüssel
FamCompass: Assessing and validating family competences
The conference of Friday 23rd October 2009 will launch the FamCompass instrument. The main goal of this meeting is to convince representatives of the educational system, employers, experts in APL, as well as policy makers responsible for the validation of prior learning, of the importance of the acknowledgment of family related learning. The conference will motivate them to use the FamCompass to assess and validate family competences. It will show how the FamCompass can help to lower the barriers to lifelong learning programs for target groups that currently face a low participation in formal schooling programs, for example women, elder citizens and immigrants, and increase their employability and career opportunities.

During the morning session several experts will elaborate on the difficulties and opportunities in recognizing and validating APL in different settings. The debate in the afternoon will focus on the difficulties and opportunities of the validation of family competences in particular. From each country participating in the project, two experts will be invited.

28. - 29. Oktober 2009 | Bonn
New young people? New vocational training? Findings from youth and education research
The BIBB/DJI conference will examine the impact current societal and economic changes are having on the personality development and career planning of youths; the transition from secondary school to vocational training; and the influence had by the quality of dual vocational training. Based on selected studies conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), the German Youth Institute (DJI) and other research institutes, the conference will discuss the consequences that arise from this for the vocational training system and the resultant tasks for trade, industry, the political sector and persons responsible for education and training.

28 - 29 October 2009 | Bielefeld
Educational Management Perspectives - successfully establishing networks between companies and local government
The 6th specialist conference staged by the W. Bertelsmann publishing house will take place in Bielefeld on 28 and 29 October 2009. The event is entitled "Educational Management Perspectives". Stakeholders from academic research and practice will join policymakers in debating successful educational management strategies which will be of benefit to regional and human resources development, employment promotion and educational guidance.