Innovative training format from Hamburg impresses jury

The experts received a total of 176 applications including the HIBB project created in cooperation with the Hamburg University of Cooperative Education. The concept from Hamburg includes the development of a quality management system for innovative training formats. It is to be funded over a term of four years.

Rainer Schulz, state councillor for education commented: "The success with the InnoVET competition confirms that we are moving in the right direction in terms of vocational education and training in Hamburg and the recently established university of cooperative education. The systematic integration of vocational and academic education and training requires ongoing quality management. With this, our aim in particular is to focus on and further develop cooperation between the three learning locations - each on an equal footing - of company, vocational school and university. In this way the benefits of the innovative training provision will develop for companies and for learners."

InnoVET support concepts for excellence in vocational education and training

The innovation competition "InnoVET" is part of the German federal government's national continuing education strategy. At the start of 2019, the Ministry of Education called on vocational education and training (VET) stakeholders to apply with ideas for innovative vocational training and continuing education. 176 applications were received from which the jury selected the most promising ideas, including the concepts for quality assurance of training with integrated study at the Hamburg University of Cooperative Education (Berufliche Hochschule Hamburg, BHH). The BHH courses combine the best of three worlds: high-level skills from practice at the training company, broad-based knowledge across the entire occupational field at the vocational school, and academic competencies and scientific methods at the university. In its application, the Hamburg Institute for Vocational Education and Training focused on creating quality assured structures at three learning locations with the BHH as a project partner. These should enable the new training degree to become established in the market over the long term and also to be transferred into other federal states and to other universities.

Quality management training with integrated study at three learning locations

The support from InnoVET will enable comprehensive quality management (QM) to be created together with the Hamburg University of Cooperative Education. It will be possible to use the QM system in other forms of organisation. The aim is to make it possible to use the QM concept nationwide for the implementation of training formats with integrated study. The focus is on three areas: cooperation between the learning locations of company, university and vocational school, personal guidance provided to students completing training, and examinations. Tools and instruments need to be developed and used together. In this way, for example, quality circles can be established, and teaching methods, examination procedures and digital forms of learning can be developed. Teaching staff can also check common quality standards for teaching provision at the BHH and revise these where required.