When someone pays for a service, they want to know whether the quality is acceptable, preferably before agreeing on the purchase. It is easy to determine in the shopping process whether a lettuce is fresh or a television screen provides good image quality. Yet how is one to go about it with respect to services in the field of education?
A new quality network for continuing vocational education is to provide improved orientation as regards seminars and training courses: Already, some 30 providers of continuing education have joined this network during the founding meeting.
The network has been created following an initiative by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Aachen. The member trainers and teachers actively support the development of quality criteria. The new network is open to all providers of continuing education with headquarters in the chamber's Aachen district.
The providers of continuing education commit themselves to adhering to previously agreed quality criteria and to submitting themselves to examinations by the Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce. This includes comprehensible terms of contract, well-equipped class rooms and well-trained teachers. Those fulfilling these prerequisites are allowed to display the corresponding seal of quality.
Heike Krier, Acting Chamber of Industry and Commerce Manager for the Continuing Education Department, said that "comprehensible quality criteria increase trust and therefore are to the benefit of both parties, both the enterprises and the providers of continuing education".
Moreover, the quality network supports cooperation amongst the providers of continuing education. To this end, a platform is being instituted, where members can, for example, search for specialised partners for more comprehensive continuing education measures. What makes this so special? Regional aspects play a significant role in the whole undertaking. Providers from the Dutch and Belgian part of the Euregio region can apply for guest membership in the quality network.
The Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce provides up-to-date information on the Quality Network Continuing Vocational Education under www.aachen.ihk.de/qv.