For Hans Peter Wollseifer, President of the German Crafts and Skilled Trades Association, the amendment to the Vocational Training Act passed by the Bundestag contains both positive and negative aspects. The ZDH President is particularly critical of the exemption of all trainees from vocational school days and the exemption of volunteer examiners. (Photo: © ZDH/Schuering)
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25 October 2019
The Bundestag has passed the amendment to the Vocational Training Act. The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts sees both positive and negative aspects. The Bundesrat (Federal Council) must now give its approval.
At least on the three newly created additional designations – Vocational Specialist, Bachelor Professional, and Master Professional – the Federal Minister of Education and the President of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts and Trades appear to be in agreement. Anja Karliczek (CDU) speaks of a " noticeable upgrade " of advanced vocational training . Hans Peter Wollseifer describes the new, attractive, and internationally understandable advanced training level designations as an " important milestone " for the equal treatment of academic and vocational education . He says it sends the right signal to young people and their parents. "It will now be clearer to them that, for example, master craftspeople are on par with academic bachelor's degree graduates in terms of their qualification level. This will strengthen vocational education."
Oskar Vogel emphasizes that the established and internationally highly regarded qualification "Master Craftsman" will only be supplemented by the Bachelor Professional and will by no means be replaced . "We expect the state government to support the law and, in particular, the proposed professional titles, and to give its approval in the Bundesrat," demands the Managing Director of the Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Skilled Crafts, referring to the upcoming vote in the upper house of parliament.
Otherwise, from the perspective of the skilled trades, the draft law contains some drawbacks as well as positive aspects, due to the added changes compared to the government's draft. President of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts, Hans Peter Wollseifer, describes it as " annoying and unacceptable " that the changes to the government's draft, decided upon by the coalition parties, will place a further burden on businesses.
The draft legislation also includes a provision granting all trainees time off on vocational school days . "Regulations of the Youth Employment Protection Act, which previously only applied to minors with special protection needs, are being unnecessarily extended to adult trainees," explains Wollseifer. Once a week, young adults will no longer be required to return to their training company after only 3 hours and 45 minutes of vocational school instruction. According to the ZDH president, this will result in the loss of many days of on-the-job learning time per year and will restrict the scope for adequate training quality.
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A further burden will fall on companies whose employees work as volunteer auditors . "In the future, companies will have to release these employees for their auditing duties," said Wollseifer. Given that the legislature is doing nothing to minimize the time auditors spend on audits, this burden is unacceptable for companies. "Furthermore, companies face considerable uncertainty because it is not clearly regulated to what extent they must continue to pay wages despite the release from work ."
In addition to the three newly created supplementary designations, Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek cites the minimum wage for trainees as another important innovation . She sees it as a sign of appreciation. "Trainees are actively involved in their work in companies. They deserve recognition for this , including financial recognition ." The minimum wage also strengthens collective bargaining , "because collective agreements take precedence over the minimum wage."
Furthermore, part-time vocational training will be handled more flexibly. "What was previously only possible for high-achievers, we are now making an option for all trainees ," said Anja Karliczek. This opens up dual vocational training to new target groups, so that more young people could be attracted to this educational path.
The amendment to the Vocational Training Act is a strong package for the Federal Minister of Education. With it, the Bundestag is sending a clear signal about the importance of dual vocational training. "Now it's up to the states in the Bundesrat to ensure that the amendment can enter into force on January 1, 2020."
The IG Metall union welcomes the improvements for trainees. The minimum training allowance has been significantly improved compared to the initial draft . At the initiative of the DGB unions, the existing legal precedent regarding the "appropriateness" of training allowances – which stipulates that the allowance may not fall below the average, industry-standard collectively agreed training allowance by more than 20 percent – has been incorporated into the law . The minimum training allowance will now also apply to off-site training programs , which represents a significant financial improvement for many, often disadvantaged, young people.
The additional reimbursement of costs for specialist literature ensures better teaching and learning materials in vocational training. Youth and trainee representatives and works councils are given a new legal tool to have current, often very expensive specialist literature paid for by the employer in the future.
IG Metall also welcomes the fact that all trainees will now be released from work on vocational school days and on workdays before their written final exams . "The legislature has thus responded to the desire to clear one's head before stressful final exams and also after long days at vocational school. This also improves the quality of training. Our employee representatives in the companies must ensure that the new regulations are implemented accordingly," says Stefanie Holtz, Federal Youth Secretary of IG Metall.
Auditors also benefit from the changes in the law. They now have a legal right to time off for their auditing duties. What's still missing, however, is payment. "IG Metall will continue to advocate for paid time off; that would be a strong sign of appreciation for this voluntary work," says Hans-Jürgen Urban, Executive Board Member of IG Metall.
What's still missing from the new Vocational Training Act (BBiG) are dual-study students . Over 100.000 young people already use this form of training to launch their careers. For them, there are still no legal standards for the practical phases of their apprenticeships . For example, there are no requirements for the qualifications of trainers within companies. Compensation and vacation entitlements will continue to be largely determined by employers. "IG Metall will continue to exert pressure until comprehensive legal protections for dual-study students are included," Urban announced. "And we will also strive for comprehensive collective bargaining solutions to achieve genuine equality between apprentices and dual-study students. The fact that this issue is even relevant, and the successes mentioned at the beginning, are due to the long-standing commitment of our activists, especially the local IG Metall Youth," said Stefanie Holtz.
In professional development , which is gaining in importance, no qualitative improvements are being made. Instead, new qualification titles are being introduced, such as "Certified Professional Specialist," "Bachelor Professional," and "Master Professional." "The new titles create more confusion than anything else and offer no qualitative improvement. IG Metall has proposed introducing framework curricula for professional development, just as they do for initial training. Those interested in professional development would then finally have quality standards to consider when choosing a training provider," says Urban.
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