[kictanet] GERMANY SECRET WEAPON

[Andrea Bohnstedt]

Charles, could you send me the data source for that percentage that two
thirds of German students work as apprentices? I think that highly
unlikely, not the least because you typically finish A levels (the German
Abitur) at age 19, and university studies take around five years (I haven't
lived in Germany for ten years, but at least back then, there were few
universities that offered the anglophone division of undergraduate and
postgraduate studies, so you usually go the whole distance).

Some university students may undergo other vocational training (one of my
friends trained as a carpenter before she studied to become an architect),
but I doubt it's two thirds.

It's not correct to say that the government arranges apprenticeships. What
Germany does have is a relatively well developed vocational training system
that is a combination of on-the-job training and parallel classroom
training - and this can be anything from banking to carpentry to car
mechanics etc.

Germans like to regulate things, so the whole system is very regulated.

The German university system has actually often been accused of producing
students that are academically overqualified and of not much use in
practical issues. In the anglophone system, in contrast, you can pick up
the academic basicsin your undergraduate years and then gain practical
experience - unless you do want an academic focus, in which case you
continue studying.

I think the takeaway for Kenya would be not to keep proliferating
universities, but to focus more on creating a parallel system of vocational
training and maybe polytechnics with a far more practical focus. That way,
you could harness the energy and skills in the jua kali sector. Mind you, I
don't think this is an either-or - for a diversified economy, you need both
the high-end academic and research sector and also the vocational training
sector.


Andrea

On 14 March 2013 08:15, charles nduati <charlesnduati2002 at yahoo.co.uk>wrote:

> Hi Listers,
>
> I don't know if you are aware that Germany is the only country in Europe
> that hasn't so far experienced economic meltdown. There trick is that two
> thirds of Germany University students work as apprentices which
> are arranged by the government. In other words, their education policy is
> that you acquire skills first then sharpen them with degrees later.
>
> For me, all I want is whichever coalition that can implement these kind of
> policies that are already tried and tested.
>
> me two cents
>
>
>
> CHARLES N. NDUATI
> DIRECTOR,
> REVENUE GENERATION AND ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT -KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
> MOBILE:254-722728815
> EMIAL:charlesnduati2002 at yahoo.co.uk,cnduati at gmail.com,
>
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-- 
Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
Publisher

www.ratio-magazine.com
www.africa-assets.com
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