5th Arab-German Education and Vocational Training Forum

Strategy recommendations for practical implementation

Jochen Renger (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit - GIZ) and his guests looked at vocational training and continuing occupational education as a holistic approach to pave the way for industrial and academic research. The presenter enquired after education perspectives, the potential gap between science and practice and strategy recommendations resulting from experiences made so far.

Professor Dr Wassilios E. Fthenakis, President of the Didacta Association, called for a reform of the existing education systems with the goal of nurturing children from as early as immediately after birth by way of targeted interaction and thereby newly defining learning processes. "Co-construction" with its emphasis on the strengths of the child is intended to individualise and differentiate learning processes in a new didactic approach.

Daniel Brown from the Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic (SESP) spoke about a new education institution in Saudi Arabia, where since 2012 430 apprentices per year complete a two-and-a-half-year engineering programme in the electricity sector. The practice-oriented courses, which are carried out partly at specifically designed workshops, partly at enterprises within the industry, conclude with the attainment of a diploma, which is intended to become the standard in the entire Gulf region.

Professor Dr Rainer Würslin, Dean at the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, talked about the proximity to the industry that is a feature of the engineering courses at his educational institution and about the necessity of integrating teaching and learning content regarding cyber-physical production systems (industry 4.0) and smart factories into the curriculum. In this context, he demanded new norms and standards as well as security standards for cloud computing and storage.

Subsequent audience questions in the first line targeted details of early childhood learning, the accreditation of vocational education and training programmes in Saudi Arabia and the potential future decentralisation of the energy supply in that country.

Measures for increasing attractiveness

Presenter Nadia Rinawi from the RAK Free Trade Zone Authority in the United Arab Emirates ushered in the third session by introducing the following speakers. [RAK: Ras Al Khaimah]

Christiana Schümmer from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) presented to the audience the German federal government's current strategy for international co-operation in the field of vocational education and training. She highlighted the MENA region as an important market and pointed out that, already, vocational training and occupational continuing education constitute a central topic in the bilateral dialogue. [MENA: Middle East and North Africa]

By way of numerous examples (posters, films, slogans), Alexander Legowski from the Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH – German Confederation of Skilled Crafts) presented the most important aspects of the current image campaign of the skilled crafts in Germany. Success monitoring proves that the attractiveness of occupations in the crafts could be increased in the target group of young people, who were addressed on the (online) channels they tend to prefer. To this end, 50 million Euro were expended during the first five years; a continuation of the campaign is planned.

According to Haji Al Balushi from the Ministry of Manpower in Oman, his country with its Strategy 2020 aims for the quantitative and qualitative expansion of the skilled labour basis by way of various diploma programmes, vocational education and training and short-term programmes. In choosing and developing the programmes, the successful programmes in Asian emerging countries provided a model.

Dr Gert Loose from the University of Bremen summarised the positive and optimistic development of vocational education and training in Oman over the course of the past 15 years. While immense successes were achieved with regards to standards and curricula as well as the involvement of the private sector in the vocational training provision, this development is continued with great efforts as regards training the training staff – also with German support. He recommended also for other countries the establishment of an organisation for the planning and success monitoring of vocational education and training reforms; such an organisation has been successfully implemented in Oman.

During the subsequent discussion it became clear that Oman in particular places emphasis on improved options for recognition and – in this context – on better pay for increasing the attractiveness of vocational education and training.

Framework conditions in selected states

In the concluding plenary session, Markus Milwa (iMOVE) welcomed in addition to a representative from the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) also three representatives from Yemen, Algeria and Sudan, respectively, who spoke about the conditions and framework conditions of vocational education and training with great authenticity.

Jan Ebben from the BIBB spoke about the constitution and the interrelations of the Federal Institute under consideration of its international contacts. He moreover told about a project targeting the modularisation of eleven vocational education and training professions, which, in respectively adapted form, could provide an interesting model also for international interested parties.

In her presentation, Lamya Yahya Al-Eryani from the Yemeni Education Ministry focused on the qualification options open to girls and women, who are also of strategic importance in combating poverty in her country. On a large scale, her ministry supports projects to train women also in non-traditional sectors such as information technology and graphic design.

Nouar Bourouba from the Vocational Education and Training Ministry in Algeria made a case for the improved integration of vocational education and occupational continuing education into the education system of his country. Moreover, he said that vocational education and training requires improved standards in order to satisfy the demands of the economy. He added that the long-standing Algerian-German co-operation in the field of vocational education and training is exceptionally successful and must be continued.

Professor Mubarak Mohamed Ali Magzoub, Secretary General of the Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils in Sudan, once more highlighted the low degree of social prestige associated with vocational education and training in the Arab countries, which prevents the dissemination of corresponding measures and programmes. For example, by opening up well-respected posts in public administration for graduates of technical occupations, the state could actively contribute to increasing the attractiveness of vocational education and training.

The concluding discussion illustrated clearly that, since some years ago, people seeking employment in the Arab world are undergoing a change of awareness: because numerous university graduates cannot find work, more and more complete an additional technical vocational education course in order to obtain training in line with market requirements and to find employment. However, even good training does not guarantee a chance for finding employment if corresponding jobs are simply not available.

Therefore, it remains a challenge both in the Arab countries and in Germany to win over a sufficient number of young people – sufficient in the eyes of the economy – to choose vocational education and training as their career path.

Several experts emphasise that in the Arab countries the social recognition of an occupation plays a prominent role when choosing a profession. In turn, the choice of profession is linked to the financial income that can be achieved by working in that profession. According to the experts, it is therefore absolutely necessary to provide more attractive remuneration for qualified work in those professions not requiring academic training. This is also more likely to lead to a choice of profession that follows the individual's own preferences and strengths.

With regards to vocational education and training measures for girls and women, it is moreover important to take into consideration that major basic reservations against entering into an occupation remain in particular within the families.

This part is only available in English.