Vocational education and training in Germany

© Thinkstock

Tasks
1. Look at the pictures and describe them.
2. Explain what the word “dual” means in “duale Berufsausbildung”.
Vocational education and training (VET) in Germany – brainstorming M2
VET is a combination of learning in a company and at a vocational school. Talk about your
experiences in these places.

colleagues

Company providing training

Vocational school

exams

Tasks

1. Write the following expressions in the correct mind map.

contract1 – colleagues – salary2 – classmates – trainee/apprentice3 – practical work – vocational
school teacher – certificate4 – trainer/instructor5
2. Think of four more words to characterise “a company providing
Info-Box
training” and “vocational school”. Write them in the mind maps.
The majority of young
3. Tell your classmates about your traineeship. Use words from the
people learn in the dual
mind maps.
system. This accounts for
Example: I’ve got ten colleagues in my department and most of them about 60 per cent of
are helpful. students in any one year.

Vocabulary

1 contract: der Vertrag – 2 salary: der Lohn, hier: die Vergütung – 3 trainee/apprentice: der/die Auszubildende –
4 certificate: der Abschluss – 5 trainer/instructor: der/die Ausbilder/in
Let’s talk about your vocational education and training – M3
an interview
Let’s talk with one of your classmates about his or her traineeship.

Task 1
Have a short interview with one of your classmates. Ask him or her the following
questions and write down the answers.

1. What job are you preparing for?

2. What company do you work for?

3. How many employees work in your company/department?

4. How often do you go to vocational school?

5. What are your subjects at school?

6. How many hours do you work per week?

7. How do you travel to work and to school?

Task 2
Marc is doing a
Present your classmate in class by summarising1 his or her answers.
traineeship as …
You can start like this:
He works for … In his
company there are …
Helpful job titles:
• Industrial Management Assistant: der/die Industriekaufmann/-frau
• Management Assistant for Freight Forwarding: der Kaufmann/die Kauffrau für Spedition und
Logistikdienstleitung
• Management Assistant for Tourism: der/die Reiseverkehrskaufmann/-frau
• Management Assistant for Wholesale and Foreign Trade: der Kaufmann/die Kauffrau im Groß-
und Außenhandel

Vocabulary
1 to summarise: zusammenfassen
What does Anna tell us about her traineeship? – A short presentation M4
Anna, a German trainee, talks about her vocational training. Let’s find out what she says.

What kind of Where do

contract do you you work?
have?
© Thinkstock

How do
you get to
work and
I work as a _______________ in the hotel school?
sector. I have a ___________________________ with my
company. My parents had to sign the contract because I’m not
How long
18 yet. The vocational training takes three years. The hotel as How often
does the
vocational well as my ____________________________ are not far away do you
training have
from home so I get there ___________________. I go to school
take? school?
twice a week. Vocational school starts at 8 am and finishes at 4
pm. Some of the _________________________________ are
What
oriented towards job training. But we also have general subjects1 subjects do
like English or politics. We have to pass an interim2 you have?
_______________ and a final examination3 at the vocational
school. If you pass the exams at the end of your job training, you Do you
have good chances of _______________. I work in my have good
chances of
_________________ three days a week and I enjoy the getting a
______________________ very much. The combination of job?
practical work and theory at school is very helpful. I’ve got eight
_________________ in my department and most of them are
quite nice and helpful.
How many colleagues have Info-Box
you got? What is the Some pupils go to school every
relationship with them like? week, others interrupt4 their
company-based training and
Tasks attend5 vocational school
exclusively6 for between eight and
1. Read Anna’s statement and fill in the gaps with the twelve weeks at a time.
following words:

trainee – teaching subjects – employment – practical work – company – colleagues –

fixed-term contract7 – vocational school – examination – by bike

2. Work in groups of three. Talk about your traineeship one after another. Use the structure of
Anna’s text. Tip: The questions in the bubbles will help you.

Vocabulary
1 general subject: das allgemein-bildende Fach – 2 interim: Zwischen- – 3 examination: die Prüfung – 4 to
interrupt: unterbrechen – 5 to attend sth.: besuchen – 6 exclusively: ausschließlich – 7 fixed-term contract:
der befristete Vertrag
Vocational education and training in England M5
Vocational training in England is different from that in Germany. Let’s find out the differences!

In England a 16-year-old has 3 different ways of doing vocational training:

1. Most young people do full time vocational training in a college of further education.
2. It is possible to do on-the-job training in a company combined with theoretical
teaching. This is known as a modern apprenticeship and is comparable1 to
Germany’s dual system of education and training, though such apprenticeships
are not widely offered2. Approximately six per cent of 16–18 year olds do it this
way.
3. The third alternative is for a student to gain on-the-job experience in the form of a part-time
job or a placement/internship3.
It does not matter how, where and over which time period a student gains4 his knowledge, he/she
is allowed to take a vocational examination. There are many different qualifications which consist
of varying5 modules. Normally in England vocational training is completed on acquiring6 a
National Vocational Qualification (NVQ). There are differing levels (1–5) of NVQ.
Nach: www.ba-auslandsvermittlung.de (15.10.2013)
www.bq-portal.de/de/db/berufsbildungssysteme/2168 (15.10.2013)

Vocabulary
1 comparable: vergleichbar – 2 to be widely offered: oft angeboten werden – 3 placement/internship: das
Praktikum – 4 to gain sth.: etw. erwerben – 5 varying: unterschiedlich – 6 to acquire sth.: hier: etw. erwerben

Tasks
1. Read the text and decide whether the following statements are right or wrong.

Statement Right Wrong

1. Further education colleges are for people who already work in a
job, but want to specialise.
2. Most of the students do a modern apprenticeship.
3. There are many types of vocational exams which everybody can
prepare for.
4. Vocational training in a company is called “expert apprenticeship”.
5. The certificate you can get for vocational training is called National
Vocational Qualification.

2. There are two main differences between vocational education in England and in Germany.
Complete the following sentences.
In England most students take full-time vocational courses and in Germany students

.
In England every person has the opportunity to take a vocational examination. In Germany
.
3. Do you think that students are better prepared for their working life in England or in Germany?
Give reasons for your opinion.