Promoting traineeship exchanges

 

Germany and Israel are close partners in vocational training. Trainee exchange is the most recent addition to their programme

 

Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor (MOITAL) and its successor Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEC) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) have worked together for 45 years in the field of vocational training. This partnership has promoted exchanges among experts, research projects and political discussion. A new thrust is the channeling of support to young people starting out on their professional careers.  Launched in 2012 was the “German-Israeli Program for Cooperation in Vocational Training”, which facilitates exchanges among German and Israeli trainees.

 

“Fourteen young people from each of the two countries travel to their partner country,  in which they are provided with three weeks of specialized and on-the-job training at companies and other institutions. This training is tailored to meet the needs of the students, and to boost their careers,” explains Dr. Monique Nijsten, who is in charge of the Israel Program of the National Agency for Education for Europe (NA) at the Federal Institute of Vocational Training (BIBB). “The idea of this is  for the youngsters to get practical experience, and for them to immerse themselves in a foreign culture. This means that intercultural aspects are about as important as professional skills,” she adds.

In March 2014, 14 Israelis  (aged 
16–18) receiving vocational training  in the metal and electrical industries spent three weeks in Cologne. This acquainted them with the German vocational training system.

 

Hemdat Sagi, Commercial Attaché of the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, visited the young people while they were in Germany. “The exchange of vocational trainees between Germany and Israel constitutes one of the main thrusts of the working relationship  between our two countries,” she states.

The exchange featured plenty of enjoyable intercultural experiences, she notes. The trainees were given a tour of Cologne, cruised the Rhine, visited Maastricht (the city in the Netherlands famed for its EU treaty), went to Bonn's Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany, and attended a football match in Cologne. They also had plenty of opportunities to get together with their German counterparts, whose return visit took place in May.

 

“In Israel there is great demand for qualified staff and better training. Germany’s dual education system works very well. Its concept is well-thought out,” says Monique 
Nijsten.  The approach enables young vocational trainees to get both on-the-job training and the requisite, in-class knowledge.  This approach has been widely acclaimed in many countries, especially as it helps curtail unemployment among the young. “When it comes to inclusion, however, the Germans can learn a lot from the Israelis,” Monique Nijsten notes. “In Israel integrating different social and professional backgrounds is part of everyday life.”

 

In September the NA will host a German-Israeli workshop on “permeability between vocational training and higher education”. This will be staged in conjunction with the BIBB Congress 2014 in Berlin. Participants will discuss practical solutions developed in the two countries. This is part of efforts  to make higher education more accessible to young professionals. “We can definitely say that both countries benefit from this vocational and educational partnership of many years,” Monique Nijsten says, summarizing their efforts. “This partnership has provided each country with opportunities to share proprietary expertise and the other's experiences.”

 

Backgrounder

 

The working relationship of the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Israel in the area of vocational education started in 1969. This was under the auspices of the German-Israeli Program. In June 2011, Germany and Israel signed a governmental agreement. It  covers their bilateral working relationship in the areas of commercially-driven research and development , and of vocational training. Objective is the development of systems of vocational education in the two countries. This is to be achieved through transfers of expertise and experiences, and through the development of education programs and materials. This goal is also to be attained through the joint staging of projects, workshops, on-site vocational training in the other country, seminars and conferences. To handle this, a German-Israeli working group was constituted. Partner organizations in this field are Germany's Ministry of Education and Research and Israel's MoEc (Ministry of Economic Affairs), set up in 2013 to be the successor to the country's MOITAL (Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor).

In June 2013 Germany's Ministry of Education and Research commissioned Germany's National Agency for Education in Europe (NA) at the BIBB  with the conducting of the Israel program. The Ministry and Israel's Ministry of Economic Affairs convened a number of forums. These set the thrusts of the working relationship. These encompass the staging of bilateral conferences, study tours, workshop and projects. Their implementation is facilitated by the NA.

 

BIBB