Inter-company education and training centre for Eastern Bavaria receives significant federal subsidy of €138,000. Parliamentary Secretary of State Thomas Rachel delivers the good news in person.
Trainees and their companies have reason to celebrate. New digitally controlled mills, function motors and control relays will soon be available to use for training purposes in the inter-company education and training centre for Eastern Bavaria at the Weiden Chamber of Crafts and Trades.
Thomas Rachel, the Parliamentary Secretary of State from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, travelled to Munich specifically to present notice of the funding award of €138,000 to Albert Vetterl, Vice-President of the Chamber of Crafts and Trades, and to Deputy General Manager Hans Schmidt.
Rachel made reference to the fact that training content is currently changing rapidly and that the switch over to electric cars was an obvious example of this. We must "get training courses into shape for digitalisation" in general, he explained. As an example of this, Rachel referred to 3D printers and virtual simulation equipment for welding technology. Rachel also regards this as the right way to make training in the skill trades attractive and in so doing to reinforce dual training's role as one of the "key pillars in the training system".
Vetterl and Schmidt passed on their thanks for the funding. Vetterl pointed out that "the development of these modern and expensive technologies is outpacing their affordability for many training companies in the skilled trades". He added that trainees were often involved day-to-day in practical work in the company and that it was therefore particularly important that the Chamber's inter-company education and training centre was able to use "specialists" to deliver this process as part of the training. "This enables us to maintain the dual system as an alternative to academisation," stated Vetterl.
Schmidt was of a similar mind, regarding the inter-company education and training centre as "outsourced training workshops" for the skilled crafts companies. He explained that these had enjoyed increasing levels of acceptance among companies in recent years. Albert Rupprecht, member of the German parliament, is also concerned with the funding of vocational education and training. As speaker of his parliamentary group for the area of education and training, he stated, "If vocational education and training is not strengthened, it will fall away". He added that vocational education and training occupied a "prominent position" in the coalition agreement.
Rupprecht therefore demanded a campaign "equivalent to the excellence initiative for universities" for vocational education and training, commenting that he could envisage "ten million euros per region". He explained however, that many things were still in the ideas phase.