With Industry 4.0 in full swing across Germany, on 15 March the country’s employers’ federation Gesamtmetall, the machine-tool federation VDMA, the central electrical-electronic union ZVEI, and the IG Metall union announced they had adapted occupational profiles and work-related training program content to better match the needs of the digital era. Going forward themes including ‘employment digitalization’, and ‘data and information security and protection’ will become part of apprenticeship programs within the metals, electronics, and mechatronics sectors. Apprentices will also be offered supplementary digital related training opportunities. The management committee of Germany’s Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) immediately approved these new metals-sector related apprenticeship directives (Ausbildungsordnungen), which will become effective on 01 August 2018, just ahead of the new annual 2018/2019 apprenticeship period that traditionally starts every September.
Social partners-key role. In Germany, occupational profiles and work-linked training content are not decided by a central administrative body. Instead they are defined by the relevant social partners in close collaboration with the Federal State and the relevant Länder that carry out regular checks to see that they meet the sector’s latest competences needs. “Our goal is to ensure that the training on offer meets current needs,” Martin Leutz, Gesamtmetall spokesperson explained to Planet Labor.
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