Content
Education
Content
Vocational Training: New Opportunities and Perspectives
Within the context of German development cooperation, vocational training is regarded as one stage in the life-long learning process. In general terms, it teaches and maintains the skills people need to find work and to remain in work, it secures their livelihoods and serves as the basis for their participation in society. Career guidance, careers advice and placement services help to make the transition between training and work as smooth as possible. The availability of a skilled and qualified workforce makes a country or region a more attractive place to do business or invest in.
The "Vocational Training and the Labour Market in Development Cooperation" sector strategy paper, published by the BMZ in 2005, combines vocational training with pro-active labour market policy tools. Measures initiated as part of this strategy aim to improve access for job seekers, especially young people, to the employment market by providing advisory services and training, and to facilitate the recruitment of workers.
In its development cooperation measures, Germany aims to combine what is on offer in the field of vocational training with the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises. Vocational training policy and planning programmes are often integrated into the priority area of "Sustainable Economic Development".
Establishing a vocational training system
Germany advises partner countries in the process of establishing vocational training systems. Every country must devise the combination of education, training and development opportunities that is right for its needs. In 2007 the BMZ made some 77 million euros available to projects in the field of vocational training.
All public and private institutions which are directly or indirectly involved in vocational training are involved in the planning process. The aim is to gear vocational training towards the needs of the local economy. The interests and needs of the economy and the state must therefore be aligned.
Development of training centres, teacher training and qualification
In addition to providing policy advice to partner countries, Germany supports the establishment and development of training centres such as schools, workshops and laboratories. This support includes providing advice for executing agencies, training staff and supplying equipment for the centres. Germany assists in the development of teaching materials and trains teaching staff in the effective use of these materials.
Where there are staff shortages, German specialists in vocational training are employed as integrated experts in developing countries and support training in the formal system or in small businesses.
Training and development for specialists and managers
Different types of training opportunities – seminars, conferences, workshops or long-term training programmes in Germany or partner countries – are used as part of German development cooperation each year to train around 5,000 specialists and managers from more than 100 developing countries. The courses are very practical. Topics include environmental and resource management, infrastructure development, information technology (IT), production management, technology partnerships and international marketing. Dialogue and know-how transfer aim to give positive impetus to the private sector in developing countries.
Opportunities for informal-sector workers
Many workers in the informal sector are socially, culturally and economically disadvantaged. They often have no access to formal education. German development cooperation supports the provision of training services tailored specifically to this target group.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and small and micro-enterprises, for example, are involved in helping to establish local networks to support the informal sector. These networks develop their own rules on apprenticeships; they determine the length of the training and the obligations the apprentices and enterprises are under. One such project in the province of Masvingo in Zimbabwe was extremely successful: 54 per cent of those who finished a course of training went on to found their own businesses, 22 per cent are employed in existing businesses.
Information
External links
- GIZ's Cooperation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training
A GIZ publication
(PDF 1.1 MB) - Innovative and participative learning-teaching approaches within a project based training framework
A GIZ publication
(PDF 211 KB) - Selecting and Structuring Vocational Training Contents
A GIZ publication
(PDF 213 KB) - Training and work: Tradition and activity focused teaching
A GIZ publication
(PDF 206 KB)
