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New Perspectives for vocational Education

Against the background of the dramatic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on schoolchildren, students and trainees in Germany, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom hosted a joint event with the BVMW Foundation on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable vocational training in Germany in November 2020.

Dr Peter Jeutter, Chairman of the Programme Committee at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, emphasised how urgently we need a new understanding of work and its value. We have to be better at supporting primarily young people, but also older individuals, to optimally exploit their talents and explore their potential! One of the best ways of achieving this is to improve the secondary education infrastructure.

Patrick Meinhardt (Chairman of the BVMW Foundation) emphasised that a solid vocational education provides a strong Foundation higher specialist qualifications, even in the digital age, and is therefore essential to innovation and development opportunities in the small business sector.The panel debate, which was very professionally chaired by education expert Heike Schmoll (FAZ), united political, education, association and business experts, each contributing their own perspectives on and insights into the evening’s central discussion topics.

Roofing apprentice Chiara Monteton provided an authentic account of the realities of being an apprentice and Philipp Arlt (Mut Academy) talked about a praiseworthy initiative to empower young people through vocational education. Their contributions formed the basis for the subsequent discussion between Dr Jens Brandenburg, Bundestag MP, Vocational Education, University Education and Lifelong Learning Spokesperson for the FDP parliamentary party, Jürgen Böhm (Federal Chairman of the Association of German Lower Secondary School Teachers) and Katja Pampus (CEO of Westfälische Drahtindustrie GmbH (WDI).