Today, the work of technical draftsmen is required anytime a new product - be it a hairdryer, automobile or machine tool - has to be conceived, designed or fabricated. However the good, old drawing board is a thing of the past. Instead, modern CAD (computer-aided design) technology and two-dimensional and three-dimensional design have been the standard for some time now.
The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) together with experts from the social partners and representatives of the state governments overhauled the three-year training for the occupation Optician on behalf of the German government.
Vocational training is a promising alternative to university studies, particularly for high-achieving school leavers with university entrance qualification. Approximately one out of every five trainees who signed a new training contract in 2009 was qualified to study at a university in Germany.
In Germany there is a broad consensus among the partners involved regarding stays abroad during the individual's vocational training. Stays abroad are considered the ideal way to acquire the international occupational competence which is needed for many jobs today.
Recognising the qualifications of people who come from other countries to Germany, to live, learn and work among us, is in all of our interests. Action to ease the recognition process and increase the transparency of procedures was long overdue. Now the German government has introduced a draft bill to the Bundestag for an "Act to improve the assessment and recognition of foreign vocational and professional qualifications" - or Recognition Act for short.
44 students of the Richard-von-Weizsaecker vocational college in Luedinghausen (Germany) reaped the fruit of their work which had taken them several weeks. They voluntarily registered to obtain the “foreign language certificate by the Conference of Ministers of Education of the Federal States” (KMK certificate) – and did so successfully. The young men and women received their personal certificates at the end of June.
