The "American way" of self-made professional advancement has branched out to Germany. At the beginning of this year, the federal government set a much overdue signal as regards the value of vocational training: "In Germany, everybody is given the chance to improve themselves - both by way of academic studies and by vocational training", Federal Education Minister Annette Schavan declared.
In other words: Those wishing to achieve something in their lives, can do so also by way of vocational training and continuing education at vocational schools without the need for attending a university.
"At long last we have clarity as to the true value of degrees obtained within the vocational continuing education system", Wilfried Höhne rejoices. He manages the well-established Vocational School for Building, Economics and Transport in Gotha, that looks back to more than 200 years of experience in the field of vocational training.
The final compromise was preceded by a long debate as regards the value of various educational attainments between those responsible for education, trade associations and unions. The result is a quantum leap, however, it still needs to enter into the awareness of many of the young generation and likewise that of their parents, who so far often pressed their children only towards embarking on the classical path of education featuring university entrance qualification and academic studies.
"But a university entrance qualification does not need to be extorted. Vocational education is equal to an academic career and in addition has the benefit of providing students with practical experience", says Elke Göring-Rasch, Head of the Building Department at the school.
Her experience makes her well aware of the ultimate significance of this alternative. When seeking their first employment, those students with prior experience on building sites have a clear advantage. She says that by now, businesses increasingly directly approach the vocational schools in order to recruit their future employees.
Decision of particular significance
Wilfried Höhne specifies the trend, "By way of vocational continuing education provided by the vocational schools, skilled workers, fully qualified traders and other people with a vocational education degree now can achieve the same level of qualification as A-level graduates embarking on a career involving a university course." In his view, the decision, to attribute equal value to the vocational continuing education attainments of Certified Technician and Business Administrator as well as Master Craftsman on the one hand and the academic Bachelor degree on the other is of particular significance.
According to the scale of the German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning, all these attainments are classified as level 6, only one level below the Master degree (7) and the highest level of PhD (8). Education policy thus acknowledges what vocational school graduates have proven already a thousand times over in their professional practice. "State certified technicians and business administrators demonstrate a degree of knowledge and capabilities equal to that of university certified bachelors", says the Gotha vocational school headmaster.
Yet he regards the status of his institution strengthened not only on grounds of it providing certified technicians and business administrators with a high degree of both professional and social competence, profiting from their own professional experience and the practice-oriented method of teaching employed at the vocational schools.
He is pleased to see equally acknowledged the "highly specialised vocational school teachers, who usually demonstrate a higher degree of professional experience in their respective field of industry". Tying up with this, he says, vocational schools cooperate closely with businesses and industry associations and thereby align their usually highly specialised fields of training and laboratories to follow current demand.
Wilfried Höhne and Elke Göring-Rasch are convinced, "Vocational schools are educational institutions geared for professional advancement because of their specific provisions as regards personnel and technology."