High-ranking delegates from Ethiopia visit the Odenwald district on a VET fact-finding mission

A group of senior representatives of the Ethiopian educational system spent two days finding out about the vocational education and training (VET) system in the Odenwald district of Hesse. Everyone agreed that the area was a destination well worth visiting for a study trip.

At the district council offices in Erbach, the delegation received an official welcome from Oliver Grobeis, senior council member with responsibility for education. The group had earlier been on a tour of the Odenwald District Vocational School Centre in Michelstadt. These two stop-offs and a visit to the company Koziol completed an itinerary in Germany that had extended over several days. Previous destinations for the representatives had included the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Bonn, the Cologne Chamber of Crafts and Trades, and two firms in the Münsterland area of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The delegation, which comprised representatives from the Ethiopian National Vocational Education and Training Agency and from several VET organisations operating at a regional level, received information from Mister Grobeis on the school system in the Odenwald district, on the various educational tasks undertaken by the council and by the Federal State of Hesse, and on cooperation between the council and the Vocational School Centre.

"It is important for us to have a vocational school here in our local government area," said Mister Grobeis. "We want to facilitate training in the area." He went on to stress the significant role played by the only middle school in the council district, the Theodor Litt School in Michelstadt, which assisted with pupils' vocational orientation at an early stage. "This is a good approach to adopt."

At the Odenwald District Vocational School Centre, for example, the guests were able to discover how the dual training system in Germany operates in practical terms and how the centre cooperates closely with companies providing training in the region. Because the centre encompasses twelve different types of school and teaching in 38 dual system training occupations, the visitors were also able to gain an impression of the sheer diversity of vocational education and training and qualifications.

School Director Wilfried Schulz felt that the arrival of the delegation from Ethiopia reflected the centre's "internationally aligned" profile. "We seek cooperation and cultural exchange," said Mister Schulz. He pointed out that the Vocational School Centre had enjoyed the status of a "European School" since 2002 and that a cooperation agreement was in place with a further education college in southern Tanzania. Pupils were also heavily involved in this.

"One of our particular focuses of interest was to see the degree of autonomy with which training centres work and how they are linked with other institutions," said Ebissa Assefa during the visit to the district council offices. Mister Assefa, who led the delegation, is a Departmental Director at the Ethiopian National Vocational Education and Training Agency. "We also wanted to find out which prior qualifications trainees need to have and how examinations are organised in Germany." He stated that the delegation had learned a lot and would now pass on the knowledge they had acquired with a view to implementation in Ethiopia.

The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) is working on behalf of the German Federal Government to support the Ethiopian government in improving and expanding vocational and university training.

The term of the programme embarked upon runs from 2012 to 2018. One focus has been on improving the training of vocational school teachers. According to the GIZ, more than 6,100 teachers had already benefited from this scheme by the end of 2016. Contacts between educational institutions and local companies are also being enhanced. The GIZ states that 12 companies have been "actively integrated into vocational education and Training" thus far. In addition to this, examination centres are being set up in key regions in order to "ensure independent quality assurance of VET Standards".