Adoption of German master craftsman standards

The ICON-INSTITUTE Consulting Group provides master craftsman training in the field of mechatronics for international partners.

iMOVE: What is the name and background of your organisation?

Dr. Dunkel: ICON-INSTITUTE Consulting Group closely works with its clients in the implementation of tailor-made and hand-on solutions in the fields of management and development consulting. We aim to assist our clients by providing them with the knowledge and capacities to ensure long lasting and sustainable results.

iMOVE: Which services do you offer in the field of vocational education and training?

Dr. Dunkel: ICON's services and training concepts range from occupational training courses and train the trainer-seminars to training workshop design. Among the most important network partners of ICON in Germany are universities, chambers of industry, commerce crafts and trade as well as prominent industry enterprises with comprehensive training capacities.

iMOVE: What are your international business experiences?

Dr. Dunkel: With over 35 years of experience, we hold a leading market position in management and development consulting. We manage nearly 25 million Euro in consultancy projects per year. Our clients include international and national development organisations such as the European Union, the Worldbank and other international development bands, bilateral development agencies such as GIZ, KfW, DFID, as well as national and local governmental institutions and private sector companies.

iMOVE: Which key service do you provide for a successful cooperation with international partners?

Dr. Dunkel: The Federation of Malaysian Skills Development Centers has established a partnership with ICON which aims at improving the human resource pool in Malaysia and developing and improving the performance of Malaysian skilled personnel.

With the growing international recognition and impact of the German TVET system, a decision has been made to introduce a training programme that concludes with the certification of Malaysian Meisters, based on the German Meister Diploma. Mechatronics was identified as the initial training sector and the project was designed and implemented as a twinning programme that combines Malaysian and German expertise.

The programme was designed on the basis of the participants' previously acquired know-how and implemented in phases. In phase 1, Malaysian instructors provided some basic training preparing the candidates for phase 2. In the second phase, two German experts performed training in Malaysia. In phase 3, the training in Malaysia continued with distance-monitoring. In phase 4, the trainees received one month of intensive advanced training in a training facility of the Chamber of Crafts and Trade in Aachen. The training was concluded by a final examination and certified by the chamber.