Ceremony for graduates of the cross-border vocational education and training

Minister President Tobias Hans hosted a ceremony dedicated to cross-border vocational education and training.

Together with Nicole Muller-Becker, Vice-President of the Grand Est Regional Council and representing Jean Rottner, President of the Regional Council, he paid tribute to the first graduates, training companies and vocational training centres who had contributed significantly to the success of this cross-border training project. After four years, the pilot phase based on the agreement between the Saarland and the Grand Est region has now come to an end.

The overall outcomes are very positive. There has been a continued increase in the number of training contracts as well as a gradual, ongoing development and improvement in the general conditions for trainees, companies and vocational schools. A project evaluation confirmed the added value of this form of two-state training arrangement for all participants and for German-French relations. It also highlighted recommendations for further action to ensure the future viability of cross-border training in the Saarland and in Grand Est.

"Innovative German-French projects depend for their very existence on visions and pioneers, on a special level of commitment, on courage and on confidence and most certainly cannot be regarded as foregone conclusions; particularly in cases where two very different systems need to be harmonised, as was the case for vocational education and training in Germany and France. This model of cooperation between the Saarland and in the Grand Est region has shown that this can be successful. The young graduates now have outstanding professional opportunities on both sides of the border.

What has now been possible for some time in the case of the Abitur (the higher education entrance qualification in Germany) with the "Abi-Bac", and with the double degrees from the Franco-German university network (DFH) is expected to eventually also become the norm in vocational education and training. The time has now arrived to take the next step in cross-border education and training and to arrive at a genuine, integrated vocational double qualification in the pilot region of Saarland-Grand Est," explained Minister President Tobias Hans.

"Due to the imminent amendments to the Élysée treaty, the general conditions in this respect have rarely been more favourable. The Saarland federal state government is calling for the integrated vocational double qualification to also be enshrined within this. Together with our French partners, we are striving to achieve a new level of quality in Franco-German vocational education and training", commented Vice-President Nicole Muller-Becker, providing assurance of support from the Grand Est Regional Council.

"Cross-border vocational education and training helps to ensure the mobility of young people between Germany and France. They are able to complete their vocational education training in the neighbouring country and in doing so fine-tune their language skills. This represents a real mark of quality in terms of labour market integration. Cross-border training enables graduates to expand their occupational horizons, really strengthen their curriculum vitae and subsequently gain a high-quality job. I am extremely delighted with the success of this project, a project which has only been possible thanks to the joint commitment of the Grand Est region and of our Saarland partners," explained Nicole Muller-Becker, Vice-President of the Grand Est Regional Council with responsibility for cross border collaboration and the development of multilingualism.


Source: regio-journal.info (information service for the Federal State of Saarland), revised by iMOVE, September 2018