The German company Volkswagen Coaching has started a project to increase the number of training opportunities for under-performing youths with the help of educational measures for SMEs.
The best apprentices in each profession have been honored for their outstanding achievements by Hans Heinrich Driftmann, president of the Federation of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), and Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. Among the best were 135 young men and 78 young women. This reflects the proportion of male and female apprentices in dual training - the ratio is 60 to 40 per cent.
Further education becomes more and more important also in advanced stages of professional life. In December 2008, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research first established the education bonus. It constitutes a financial support for exployees with a low income who wish to receive further training. The bonus is a huge success: Minister Annette Schavan already consigned over 50,000 bonuses.
In the course of the last few years new jobs have been created which only afford two years of training instead of the standard three years. According to a recent study of the Federation of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) young practice-oriented people find these jobs increasingly attractive.
On the occasion of the performance competition of the German skilled crafts, Bavaria's prime minister Horst Seehofer has emphasized the significant value of the dual training system for prosperity and employment in Germany.
The Technical University (TU) Dortmund is designing an e-learning programme for young people that works equally well for apprentices with disabilities. The plan will bring e-learning to apprentices with visual, cognitive, motor and auditory disabilities and others in vocational training in the transport and warehousing sectors of German industry. Barrier-free training will comply with German and international laws and standards.
The German federal government aims at emerging more competitive and stronger from the economic crisis by achieving its education and research policies. According to the coalition treaty the investments in educcation and research will be raised by an additional 12 billion euros within four years. The German government hopes to thus optimize the framework for the promotion of societal potentials.
361,000 young German people receive more financial support in the context of their apprenticeship. These funds are for apprentices who do not earn enough or whose parents do not earn enough to make a living. The increase of the funds adds up to 30.7 million euros.
