When the profession is virtually unknown

That is generally a difficult question to answer, explains Thomas Felkl, who is responsible at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training for the introduction of the new occupation Electronics technician for building systems integration. "You can basically say, however, that if the profession is successful and demand is high, then as a graduate you become one of the very first skilled workers and are very much sought after."

According to Felkl it is also an advantage when training can be designed without taking existing training content into account. In this case, he explains, the training offers the greatest possible scope for adaptation to fields of activity where innovation is occurring. What is also positive is being able to gain an official qualification in an area you have always been interested in.

On the other hand, not all new training professions are successful. "If something is new, it's not always certain whether it will be accepted by the market," explains the vocational education and training (VET) expert. Vocational schools also first have to find a way to appropriately structure their teaching arrangements, which depends on trends in training numbers.

Those starting out on training which has only recently been introduced also have to bear in mind that not everybody will be aware of the new qualification. And businesses have to offer the training in the first place. "However, this is also an opportunity to actively enquire with businesses, and actually create the possibility of a company providing training in this profession," says Felkl.