Malaysians to become "Deutsche Industriemeister International"
Eckert Schools International • Opportunity for early contact with potential employers
The Eckert Schools are one of the largest private educational institutions in Germany with 30 branches in the South German region. The company carries out international adult education projects in partnership with China, India, several Arab countries, Russia and Turkey, to name a few.
Since the middle of February 2013, Eckert Schools have been providing continuing education for 28 Malaysian metal industry professionals on their campus in Regenstauf in Bavaria for the final qualification of "Deutscher Industriemeister International" (DIMI – German Industry Foreman International). The qualification follows the model of the German occupation of industrial foreman (master craftsman) and was developed by Eckert Schools for international markets.
Industrial foremen work at the interface between planning and production, providing a link between the skilled labour force and the management. They hold three forms of qualification: as a specialist in their given field, as an executive and as a trainer. Their core tasks are in the technical and organisational areas as well as in the areas of management and training of employees.
The training course for "Deutscher Industriemeister International" conveys knowledge in the fields of operational management, legal affairs, technology, organisation and personnel. The continuing education programme comprises 360 hours of interdisciplinary basic qualifications and 600 hours of action-specific qualifications. At the end of the course, the successful participants are awarded a certificate issued by the IHK-Akademie in Ostbayern GmbH (Chamber of Industry and Commerce Academy Eastern Bavaria).
This continuing education programme has been commissioned by the University of Kuala Lumpur. By way of an entry in the digital iMOVE co-operation exchange, it had searched for a German education provider as a partner and found it in the Eckert Schools.
The first training programme in co-operation with the Malaysian contracting authority was a 3-month continuing education course for 14 Malaysian vocational college teachers, which took place in 2011. During their stay in Germany, they gathered information regarding the dual system of vocational education and training, business management and marketing for schools. An important part of this continuing education course were numerous visits to companies in the region.
By now, the University of Kuala Lumpur and Eckert Schools have concluded a co-operation agreement for a term of five years. In addition to the continuing education provision in Regenstauf, the 9-month training course for the Deutscher Industriemeister International includes also 2-month internships in German enterprises with branch offices in Malaysia. This aims at bringing the participants into early contact with potential German employers in their country of origin, for example Malaysia, who have an urgent demand for skilled personnel. For instance, the companies Infineon, Bosch Rexroth and Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen collaborate in this training programme.
Moreover, by end of August 2013, continuing education courses had taken place in the context of a train-the-trainer programme for three more groups in the fields of automotive engineering, motorbike and wood processing.
Information
This sucess story was first published in the iMOVE publication Developing Skills for Employability with German Partners • 8 Success Stories from Southeast Asia. The brochure was published in March 2014.
