In today's globalised economy, international experience and knowledge of foreign languages increase in significance for young people embarking on their professional career. However, whereas a semester abroad often is more or less compulsory for students, the larger part of apprentices is not yet given the chance to see the bigger picture.
Only some three per cent of German apprentices are said to benefit from work experience abroad and often enough only, if the enterprise they work for maintains its own branch offices abroad. To change this is the aim of the project "Vocational Training without Borders", funded by the EU and the federal government and involving some 30 chambers of industry, commerce and crafts across the nation. One of these is the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Siegen supporting enterprises in organising work placements abroad by way of its own service point since April 2009.
During information events, Jutta Rathmann, responsible for this project in Siegen, first had to dispel the prejudice frequently encountered in enterprises that this was "expensive and labour intensive". "We usually work with projects organised by educational institutions or foundations, which in addition to the internship placement also award a grant." The funding - for the greater part from the EU programme for lifelong learning - is said to cover an average of 70 to 80 per cent of costs.
"Enterprises, giving their young employees the chance to gather international experience early on, thereby significantly increase their own desirability", says Mr Mockenhaupt, Managing Director of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Siegen, with respect to the mounting competition for skilled labour.
Given this background, the interest in work placements abroad is growing within the chamber's district: The Siegen chamber helped place 76 apprentices to spend a given time abroad in 2011, funded by some 60,000 Euro, compared to only 50 apprentices in 2010.