Paul Stackhouse - Burnley College

It was excellent to view in the workings of a private training provider in Germany and also interesting to understand the importance employers pay to the vocational training programme as well as hearing the role the job centre plays in the Germany education system. It was also great to visit and speak with the mayor of Hellersdorf and interesting to listen to the state’s view on reducing young unemployment. On a personal note, the experiences and knowledge gained gave me an insight to the value employers put into the apprenticeship programme, a better understanding of the Germany education system, the value education providers pay towards the Leonardo Exchange Programmes as well as the equal parity for apprentices and ‘A’ level learner financial support. The intention of this visit along with my colleagues from Burnley College will be to present our findings from the study trip and to look at adopting some of the Germany strategy on apprenticeship within our own delivery model.