Strengthening pedagogical training of training staff

The two-day conference held on 4 and 5 September with international experts from ministries, institutions and Vocational Education and Training (VET) practice focused on pilot projects for the pedagogical continuing training of training personnel in companies from Portugal, Italy and Greece.

The Peer Learning Activity (PLA) at the Federal Institute für Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) on 4 and 5 September 2017 underlined the strategic importance of in-company trainers for the quality of company-based training. This applies not only to countries with a dual system of vocational education and training, but also in particular those countries that have introduced reforms aimed at increasing the practical component of VET within their respective system.

In fact, in-company trainers play a key role in implementing the reforms. Therefore, they must be supported by all relevant stakeholders in VET, both in terms of their qualifications and the appreciation for their valuable work.

PLA in Bonn has made an important contribution to this. The two-day conference, which was attended by around 30 international experts from ministries, institutions and VET practice, focused on pilot projects for the pedagogical continuing training of in-company trainers in companies from Portugal, Italy and Greece. The projects were developed and implemented in cooperation with BIBB, the projects in Italy and Greece with the support of the Erasmus+ programme.

All three examples made it clear that in-company trainers face similar pedagogical challenges on the one hand, and on the other hand are confronted with specific challenges resulting from the different framework conditions in the individual countries. The measures developed in the cooperation projects have shown a way to meet the different demands in-company trainers need to fulfill with a corresponding qualification offer.

The EU Commission is very pleased that in recent years measures supporting continuing training of in-company trainers have been implemented in some European countries. This process must now be continued in a sustainable manner and will be supported by the Commission.

Vocational training personnel play a key role in implementing VET reforms. Qualification of school teachers and in-company trainers is therefore one of the priorities of European VET policy. In order promote exchange and cooperation in this field, the EU Commission asked BIBB to establish a "Peer Learning Activity" (PLA) in collaboration with the BMBF. PLAs are an instrument of the "Open Method of Coordination" (OMC) in European (vocational) education policy.

Within the scope of multi-day working meetings with relevant stakeholders from member states, the aim is to support "learning from each other" in central subject areas.