Whenever the topic of volunteering in vocational education and training (VET) is being discussed, thoughts mostly turn to the examination system. But there are further stakeholders who volunteer in areas such as mentoring, out-of-school educational activities, as well as in the field of self-governance in the craft trades. At the same time, civic engagement is becoming an increasingly significant element of VET. Learning via the commitment of others imparts important core skills which extend beyond the occupational context. This issue of BWP showcases this diverse picture and highlights the potential offered by volunteering both for the individual and for the system.
Dr Sandra Garbade became President of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) on 1 August 2026. Dr Garbade originally qualified as a bank clerk and then worked as a vocational school teacher before going on to obtain a PhD in business education. To this extent, her CV is quite typical for the BIBB. She also brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table from other varied professional roles. In this interview, Dr Garbade looks at the current challenges facing vocational education and training and explains how she is seeking to join forces with all stakeholders in order to shape the sector and to enhance its profile further.
Volunteer involvement in vocational education and training is of rising structural significance. Volunteering secures functional areas within the system and also serves a societal purpose by helping to bolster public services and democracy. However, the systematic recording of such engagement is still insufficient. This means that a VET backbone of great importance remains largely invisible. For this reason, the authors call for greater visibility, an improved database and knowledge pool, and the deeper institutional establishment of volunteer commitment as an object of education and learning.
Arbeitsgruppe "Mentoring und Berufsausbildungsverläufe" des Netzwerks "Educational Inequality across the Life Span" (EQUALNET)
Volunteer commitment is a central pillar of social cohesion. More and more mentoring partnerships have been set up in the area of education and training. These provide young people with individual support and thus facilitate transitions within the system. The national programme VerAplus, which is offered by the Senior Expert Service organisation and integrated into the Educational Chains initiative, is one such example. This article uses data from the programme to investigate which senior experts volunteer as mentors and to look at how these assistance measures are scheduled.
The VerAplus Initiative uses a network of volunteers to support young people. Its goal is to obtain more successful training outcomes. 5,000 retired professionals from all over Germany are involved in the scheme as mentors. Around 80 volunteer regional coordinators play a crucial role in the organisation of local provision. Their remit is to establish VerAplus in their own region and to acquire and support Senior Experts. Alfred Greis takes the Konstanz region as an example to explain how this can be achieved.
Volunteer mentoring can supplement institutional support services by providing further useful assistance to socially disadvantaged young people in training. However, resources and carefully designed programme structures are needed if a volunteer-based approach is to be effective. To this end, the ROCK YOUR LIFE! programme is built on four main pillars. These comprise criteria-led selection and matching of pairs, well-founded training and ongoing support for the mentors, and a culture of recognition which clearly highlights the commitment shown. This article offers insights into how all of this is implemented in the programme.
Volunteer involvement forms the human resources foundation for self-governance in the craft trades and thus ensures the practical relevance and legitimacy of vocational education and training in the sector. This article explains the function performed by voluntary participation in self-governance within the craft trades whilst also highlighting the increasing pressure to which this structure is being exposed as a result of changes to underlying motives and to general prevailing conditions. It concludes by presenting results from expert workshops which indicate the approaches which may be suitable for securing the future viability of this system.
How much time do volunteer examiners dedicate to the commitment they have entered into, and when are personal maximum budgets exceeded? This article uses a 2024 survey of the activities of examiners to respond to these questions and shows the groups and task profiles for which time limits are particularly likely to be reached or exceeded. The results it makes available regarding the expenditure of effort and time limits of examiners in dual vocational education and training may deliver important indications for the further debate surrounding the acquisition and retention of those performing this voluntary role.
Updating procedures for initial and advanced training regulations depend on the involvement of so-called experts who give their time freely in order to perform this function. The aim of this article is to draw attention to an area of voluntary participation in VET which has been accorded very little consideration in the past. It uses the requirements profile and tasks of company-based experts to illustrate the significance of volunteer engagement in updating procedures and explores the motives behind such commitment.
Alongside the remit of imparting professional competencies, vocational schools are also charged with equipping young people to assume responsibility at work and within society as a whole. This article presents a pilot project called “Service learning – strengthening democratic citizenship skills at vocational schools”, which combines professional learning with community service to create an action-oriented approach to education for democratic citizenship.
There have been calls for many years for vocational education and training to place a greater emphasis on cross-cutting competencies, social responsibility and democratic participation. The Open Up! project allows trainees to work for a limited period within a controlled educational framework in social institutions, where they are able to gain experience of social diversity, social inequality and responsibility.
Adults with a low level of basic competencies rarely take part in continuing training. The AlphaDekade Initiative has reacted to this by launching various projects aimed at removing barriers to learning for adults with poor literacy skills, through the involvement of volunteers. This article pools the experiences which have emerged from projects funded by the Federal Ministry for Education.
Training satisfaction is considered to be a key factor for the retention of trainee nurses and for their subsequent entry into the profession. This article presents the results of a national panel survey of trainee general nurses. These provide an insight into the aspects which shape the degree of satisfaction experienced in a practical learning environment throughout the course of the training. Adaptable training conditions and individual characteristics are both taken into account.
In Switzerland, the two-year vocational education and training programme leading to a “Federal VET Certificate” is seen as aimed at young people who have had difficulties at school. However, the results of the study presented in this article paint a rather more differentiated picture. Companies take the view that the Federal VET Certificate is directed at a significantly more heterogeneous target group and thus forms an important element of their skilled worker strategy. It opens up new recruitment opportunities, takes various levels of prior learning into account, and creates long-term development prospects for companies and learners alike.
Conveying the complex behaviour of wastewater treatment systems is a challenge for initial and continuing training in technical environmental occupations. Computer simulations may be able to offer assistance in this regard. They facilitate the analysis of standard scenarios and abnormal incidents and provide an insight into process statuses which would otherwise be inaccessible. This article presents a digital learning and simulation environment and uses one of its learning units as an example to show how a tool of this nature can enrich training.
Examinations translate the occupational requirements set out in training regulations into verifiable performance. Examination regulations are nationally standardised and must be legally robust, professionally appropriate and feasible for examination practice. They should also ensure the comparability of examination outcomes. The new Board Recommendation 186 stipulates guidelines in this regard. This article sets out the most important updates for regulatory practice and for the conducting of examinations.
Orthopaedic technicians working in the craft trades support people with physical disabilities by providing customised aids such as prostheses, insoles and wheelchairs. This profile offers an insight into the tasks and activities which are typical of the occupation. It also states figures relating to training and presents a project showing how the sector is helping war invalids in Ukraine.
The summer Board Meeting was chaired by employer representative Dr Thomas Koppe. Two main topics were addressed. Federal Minister for Education Karin Prien attended the meeting to discuss educational policy. There were also consultations on how regulatory procedures can be accelerated and on how superfluous bureaucracy can be reduced.