The title of Rothe’s study by is “Professional education in Germany. The Lisbon 2000 EU reform program as a challenge for the design of new approaches to professional qualification in life-long learning”. Major contents of the study will now be presented by Georg Rothe, Professor (emeritus) of Professional Pedagogics at the Universität Karlsruhe.
The press conference will take place on Wednesday, July 09, 13:30 hrs, at the Neuer Senatssaal (Kaiserstraße 12, building no. 10.11).
In Germany, young people and in particular secondary general school graduates are facing considerable problems when looking for a vocational training position. Alarming news about the high number of applicants having graduated several years ago as well as about the increase in substitute offers for persons looking for a vocational training position are published now and again. However, a sustainable solution is not in sight, says Rothe. Even economic growth that makes the number of training positions increase slightly cannot hide the fundamental problems. On the other hand, economic upturn makes the lack of qualified workers in various key areas even more noticeable. Proposals as to how to eliminate these grievances are made by Rothe’s study that will be published by the Universitätsverlag.
The study was prepared by Rothe’s project group on “Comparative professional education research” in cooperation with
the Inter-Faculty Institute for Entrepreneurship of the Universität Karlsruhe headed by Professor Götz W. Werner and
the Society for Training Research and Professional Development (GAB), Munich, headed by Professor Dr. Michael Brater.
At the press conference, information will be provided by:
Dr. Rudolf Strohmeier, Director General of the EU Commission on Information Society and Media, Brussels,
Professor Götz W. Werner, head of the Inter-Faculty Institute for Entrepreneurship of the Universität Karlsruhe (TH), and
Professor Dr. Dietmar Waterkamp, Professor of Comparative Education Science at the Technical University of Dresden, former chairman of the International and Intercultural Section on Comparative Education Science of the German Society of Education Science
In his study, Rothe analyzes professional qualification and advanced training in Germany and compares them with the objective of the EU to establish a mobility-promoting, transparent European education area. This objective was formulated by the EU at the Lisbon conference in 2000 and defined in detail by a number of successive decisions. The EU expects education and professional qualification to contribute decisively to establishing a high-performance, knowledge-based economic area.
The study first starts with a comparison of vocational training in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Great Britain. This introduction is followed by the EU conceptions for the reform of education and vocational training taking into account life-long learning. Interactions between the education system and economic development serve as a background for a detailed analysis of the status of vocational and advanced training in Germany and its comparison with the objectives defined by the EU. The deficiencies identified by Rothe in particular include the lack of a state authority responsible for general and vocational education, the problem of lacking qualified workers that decelerates economic growth as well as the economic consequences of costly substitute offers for young people without any vocational training position. On this basis, the study presents proposals to overcome the weaknesses of the German system and to maintain parallel vocational training in industry and at a vocational training school as part of the clearly structured and tiered overall education system.
Please register for the press conference by completing the form and sending it to the Public Relations and Marketing Department by Monday, July 7, fax: +49 721 608-5681.
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is the merger of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, member of the Helmholtz Association, and the Universität Karlsruhe. This merger will give rise to an institution of internationally excellent research and teaching in natural and engineering sciences. In total, the KIT has 8000 employees and an annual budget of 700 million Euros. The KIT focuses on the knowledge triangle of research – teaching – innovation.
The Karlsruhe institution is a leading European energy research center and plays a visible role in nanosciences worldwide. KIT sets new standards in teaching and promotion of young scientists and attracts top scientists from all over the world. Moreover, KIT is a leading cooperation partner of industry.
le, 30.06.2008