"Vocational Education Ace 2011" elected at Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology

The "Ausbildungs-Ass" ("Vocational Education Ace") award is granted for the fifteenth time already this year and goes to a total of twelve enterprises and vocational training initiatives. The aim of the award is to provide recognition of outstanding commitment in preparing young people for their professional life.

The Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology (BMWi), Hans-Joachim Otto, "the award honours enterprises showing extraordinary commitment in the field of vocational education and which in doing so also adopt new and creative ideas. Likewise honoured were initiatives and schools, which with dedication pursue the goal of creating new placements for vocational training and which assist young people in finding their way to launch themselves in a professional career. By thus honouring the awardees, their outstanding performance and ideas are highlighted as exemplary."

The "Ausbildungs-Ass" is granted by the Wirtschaftsjunioren Deutschland (German member association of the Junior Chamber International) and the Junioren des Handwerks (Junior Chamber of Crafts) in cooperation with the INTER insurance group, which funds the award with 15,000 Euro, and the Wirtschaftskurier monthly newspaper. The jury selected the finalists from out of 168 applications and in doing so assessed creativity, quality and quantity of the vocational training activities.

In his ceremonial address, the Parliamentary State Secretary Otto stressed that "safeguarding the demand for skilled labour is of great significance for our small and medium-sized businesses. We therefore accompany the efforts on part of the German industry with appropriate framework conditions."