Der Leiter der Wirtschaftsabteilung der Deutschen Botschaft, Hendrik Barkeling, besuchte Ohio im Rahmen der Skills Initiative. Die Initiative ist ein Programm, das von der Deutschen Botschaft im Jahr 2012 als Reaktion auf den wachsenden Bedarf an Fachkräften in den USA entwickelt wurde.
The Skills Initiative Makes a Stop in Licking County, Ohio
The Head of the Economic Section at the German Embassy, Hendrik Barkeling,
visited Ohio last week on the invitation of Heath Mayor Mark Johns; Licking
County Commissioner Tim Bubb; Port Authority Executive Director Rick Platt and
Grow Licking County Director Dan Evers.
Barkeling visited Ohio
as part of the Skills Initiative, a program that was developed by the German
Embassy in 2012 in response to the growing need for skilled workers in the
United States. Since then, the Ambassador and embassy staff have arranged
trilateral meetings between businesses, community colleges and government
officials with the goal of setting up skills training programs for American
workers.
Barkeling spent two days in Licking County Ohio doing
just that. He arrived on Wednesday and spoke with local business leaders about
the German dual training program. In Germany, businesses often offer skills
training in exchange for full time employment. Students work part time at
manufacturing facilities and attend part time vocational schools. This
combination of education and employment has been successful in all manufacturing
sectors in Germany.
Licking County businesses are considering
taking the best practices of the German model and adapting them to fit their
needs. "They're trying to help us," said County Commissioner Tim Bub on
Barkeling's visit. "They have a great apprenticeship program, like we used to in
this country. In the last few decades, we've sort of de-emphasized
manufacturing. Let's make things in this country again."
In
addition to meetings with policy makers in Licking County, Barkeling was invited
to visit Central Ohio Technical College and C-TEC, Career and Technology
Education Centers Licking County. He toured the extensive training facilities,
where workers are trained for dozens of companies in the area, including German
companies Bayer Material and Hirschvogel. He also took time to visit a few local
manufacturing facilities, starting with Owen's Cornering and German automotive
supplier Xperion, a new German investment.
In the Licking County
community, manufacturing jobs, especially those that provide training, are very
desirable. "Everybody needs skilled technicians. Everybody," Kelly Wallace,
director of Adult Workforce Education at C-TEC, told the Newark Advocate. "I get
ten calls for every one (training program) I produce." If local businesses band
together, as they do in Germany, they can share the cost of training their
employees and everyone will benefit.