GERMANS HAVE SKILL STANDARDS AND TEST FOR MANY APPRENTICESHIP
INDUSTRIES BUT YOU CAN HIRE WHO YOU WANT
<a href="../98/10/germskill.txt">\doc\web\98\10\germskill.txt</a>
Roland Wolf Germany


Hey thanks, that's a big help. I'm just going through the British NVQ
system. In the US some industries have developed credentials, and of
course Microsoft is peddling "microsoft certification" which means
you studied for and passed a test, and hopefully it means you can
program or admininster an NT system or such. But there is nothing
comprehensive across the entire labor force as is envsioned by the
reform movement.


From:           	"Roland & Christine Wolf" <roland.wolf@hamburg.netsurf.de>
To:             	<arthurhu@halcyon.com>
Subject:        	Re: National Skill Standards
Date sent:      	Wed, 16 Dec 1998 09:53:21 +0100


> 
> > 
> > Hello again, I've got another question. Over here, they're trying to 
> > nationalize federal standards for "skill standards". You won't be 
> > able  to get a skilled job unless you meet federal standards for job
> > qualifications. Currently,every employer lists their jobs 
> > requirements, and decides if the employee meets their 
> > qualifications without any federal standards, they simply trust what
> > the applicant puts on his resume. But there is no standard for 
> > software engineer, tester, tech support operator, or whatever except
> > in a few licenced trades such as hair dresser, or restaurant worker.
> > 
> > The following paper says that this movement is based on looking at 
> > the German dual education system. To what extent does Germany 
> > have comprehensive skills standards, and you have to pass a test 
> > to get a job in any industry?
> 
> <snip>
> 
   At present, and in the forseeable future, the German system
   works like this:
  
  The Berufsschulen, which are completly seperate from the standard
  schools, work our standards for their training with the  chambers
  of comerce, which represent the employees. They also work out a 
  division of the training, i.e. what skills are thought by the
  "Berufsschulen"
  and what is thought by the employer. During the  2-3.5 years every
  trainee spends in his training, they try to teach him. The Berufsschulen
  take interim tests to see whether the students are learning to standard,
  while the degree of practical training shows up in the quality of work
  the trainee does.
  At the end of the training ("Lehre") there is a two part exam:
  
  The theoretical part is done at the Berufsschule, where you are given a
  multiple choice test from the chamber of commerce. You have to reach
  50 % to pass.
  A couple of weeks later the trainee is invited to a company similar to
  his own where he has to show his pratical skills to an employer in the
  same field of buisiness as his own.
  If you pass both tests you are given an paper, like the "Kaufmannsgehilfen-
  brief" (Certificate of proficiency as a salesperson/clerk) stating that
  you sucessfully completed your training. This certificate is enclosed to 
  your resumees and companies usually offer jobs to the sets of
  qualifications
  set by this system ("We are searching for a Kaufmann im Gross- u. Aussen-
  handel" We are looking for a clerk specialised in wholesale, Im/Export)
  There was talk of replacing the certificates with a smart card, but nothing
  
  came of it. There wasn`t anything about putting the resume on the same
  card.
  For the employers this is a convenient way to hire people, since they know
  that applicants have certain skills. But of course every employer is free
  to
  hire anybody he wants to, regardless of his/her training. This is done
  especially
  in jobs so new that there are no training courses for them yet.
  If you want to train trainees as an employer you have to get an additional
  qualification. To obtain it you have to take a course in the evening
  lasting
  6 weeks, mostly about trainees rights, training methods and the like.
  In many blue collar jobs, like construction or car repair, you have to take
  a masters degree (Meisterbrief) in order to operate such a buisiness. If
  the
  owner doesn`t have such a degree, he/she is required to hire a "Meister".
  To qualify for "Meister" you have to have taken the formal training in your
  job (Lehre), worked for a couple of years and then visit a special school.
  "Meisterschule". This is a holdover of medivial times and is there to
  ensure
  the quality of work and training. It is  a stronly discussed item these
  days
  and may fall in the next years.
  
  In short:
  
  To get a standard job, you don`t have to have taken the training, your 
  employer may hire you as he/she pleases. There are exceptions of course,
  like nurses, paramedics and the like. Given the tight job market we
  have at the moment an employer will nearly always hire a trained
  applicant.
  There are a lot of jobs falling out of this scheme, from both ends of
  the spectrum. Some jobs require no training at all since they are so
  simple (like cleaning) or since a academical degree is required for them
  
  Hope that helps,
  Roland Wolf