The TVET Summer School shows:
Dual vocational training in Germany is a synergy of well-adjusted engine where every item has its ultimate purpose.
Since decades the technical vocational education and training (TVET) is common practise in Germany but it also has high potential for many other countries.
From 9-13 September 2019, 16 experts from 12 different countries participated in the first TVET Summer School - Professional Development Programme for international TVET specialists - in Hamburg.
The objective of the TVET Summer School was to provide a comprehensive insight into the German dual vocational training system. The programme brought together participants from 4 continents – such as ministerial officials, industry specialists, TVET researches and educational managers.
The programme consisted of expert meetings and site visits to TVET authorities, institutions and learning venues being in charge of vocational education development and implementation in Hamburg.
The highlights of the programme were seminars held in HIBB, the Chamber of Commerce, the TVET school of hi-tech industries (BS19), the Competence Centre for Electro mobility, the Hamburg port and transport logistics enterprise (HHLA), the Hamburg Teacher Training Institute and Hamburg Institute for Monitoring and Evaluation of Quality in Education, unfolding different roles and responsibilities of major players in implementing dual TVET.
To accommodate some specific requests of participants, an additional visit to DEULA - an educational centre for further education in the agricultural sector - was added to the programme.
As a whole, the TVET Summer School enabled participants to acquire in-depth knowledge about the system’s conceptual background, regulatory framework, didactical approach, financial mechanisms, learning venues, teacher training and quality management.
“I am so much impressed with what we learned,” concludes Claude Bizimana from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources in Rwanda. “I had already known about some essential features of dual TVET before. But only thanks to this programme I realized how many partners are involved, and how crucial and interdependent the role of each of them is. It is a well-adjusted engine where every item has its ultimate purpose.”
Recapitulating the week, Irayda Ruiz, team leader in the project PROEDUC V in Guatemala, mentions: “What I take with me from this course - there are many particular elements of dual training to bring to my country. I take a lot of enthusiasm back home and share all what I learned with my colleagues.”
By the end of the TVET Summer School week in Hamburg, the organisers and participating experts were certain: This professional development programme was a success with a high learning outcome.
The participants will bring home not only their certificates awarded upon successful completion of the programme, but also a network of new international colleagues, exciting memories of Hamburg, and what particularly counts – lessons learned with a clear vision on the applicability of some high-potential elements of the dual TVET in their own countries.
The next step is to convert the high motivation and enthusiasm of all experts into a continued learning process and implementation agenda through further collaboration and professional growth in the future.
