Ensuring successful apprenticeships

Almost a quarter of all apprenticeship contracts are terminated before completion of the full training - a rate that alarms all affected parties.

This is exactly what the innovative service provision by the Berufsbildungswerk Südhessen (bbw - Vocational Training Centre South Hessen) addresses: in future, the "neue akademie für berufliche Bildung des bbw Südhessen" (bbw Südhessen new academy for vocational training) will support businesses throughout all stages of the vocational education and training programme, starting with the professional matching of apprentices to meet the needs of the business, over optimal support for apprentices and trainers and finally to the successful completion of the apprenticeship.

The programme not only helps businesses to avoid apprenticeship drop-outs, but also to counteract the future skilled labour shortage.

"Given the skilled labour shortage, the demand for qualified young talent increases", explains Renée Seehof, Managing Director of bbw Südhessen. "Also against this background, it becomes increasingly important for businesses providing vocational training to try and bring every apprenticeship to its successful conclusion."

Successful vocational training begins with choosing the right apprentices for the business, not only from a professional point of view, but also with respect to their personality. This is why the new academy provides support as early as at this stage.

Apprentices often display a lack of social skills. Frequent complaints include deficient perseverance and frustration tolerance. However, these key qualifications can be learnt and practised, just like team work, customer-oriented behaviour and the basic rules of good communication. The same applies to the topic of exam preparation: at the new academy, the budding professionals are taught effective learning methods, time management and the capability to concentrate.

The new academy is open not only to apprentices, but also to trainers, for their didactic and methodological repertoire decisively contributes to successful vocational education and training. Also, competences for special educational needs are increasingly in demand - catchword "inclusive vocational education and training".

Here, the academy offers the option of booking a chamber of industry and commerce certified rehab-educational additional training course or just individual modules of this course. The new academy's service includes personal counselling regarding packages for specific businesses. Businesses can ask for proposals that are designed to meet the current situation within the company and individual needs.