Germany: ‘Stays abroad in training’ – new portal promotes mobility in VET

Promoting mobility in VET to stakeholders involved in apprenticeship

The Vocational Training Act (§ 2 Paragraph 3 BBiG) allows apprentices to take part in a learning stay abroad for a limited period of time, during which they continue receiving their remuneration. However, a stay abroad requires the consent of the training companies and the vocational school involved, which do not always agree. The new portal Stays abroad in training targets these groups and offers information and advisory services to trainers and training companies, teachers at vocational schools, as well as the employers’ associations. Reports on the advantages for companies in the areas of apprenticeship marketing, employer branding and the possibilities of strategically integrating stays abroad aim to convince them to agree to mobility requests coming from their learners.

In five steps, the stakeholders involved are guided through the most important phases of a mobility stay abroad, from initial planning to the stay itself, to the return. The portal also provides all information needed about the relevant legal framework, possible formats of stays and financial support.

As the financial aspects are often decisive in determining whether a stay abroad is feasible, information on all funding programmes are accessible on this portal, with direct access to the option of applying for scholarships. The main funding programmes for mobility of VET learners are Erasmus+ of the European Commission and AusbildungWeltweit of the education ministry (BMBF); some smaller bilateral funding programmes also exist. The National Agency at the German Federal Institute for VET (NA at BIBB) pools the expertise available on stays abroad.

Since trainers and teachers are also given an opportunity to spend time abroad, the portal also contains helpful information for them. The NA at BIBB is available to answer individual questions.

International mobility as a political goal

Mobility studies by the NA-BIBB estimated in 2019 that 7% of all VET graduates had realised a learning stay abroad as part of their apprenticeship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a considerable slump in stays abroad in VET in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, only 0.7% of IVET learners in Germany profited from mobility abroad (Cedefop, European VET policy dashboard). In 2022, the demand rose again to 70% of the pre-pandemic levels. In an attempt to combat the shortage of skilled workers, strengthening foreign mobility – and thus the attractiveness of vocational training – is a specific goal of national VET policy. The BMBF Excellence Initiative on VET is currently examining the extent to which a ‘German Vocational Exchange Service’ (Deutscher beruflicher Austauschdienst, DBAD) could contribute to strengthening the mobility of apprentices abroad. In line with the Council Recommendation on VET (2020), the aim is to increase mobility to 8% by 2025.

Read more

• New portal for VET trainers and teachers: Beratugsservice für Auslandsaufenthalte in der Ausbildung [Counselling service for stays abroad during training].
• Portal for apprentices: Mein Auslandspraktikum [My apprenticeship abroad]
• Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Duales Ausbildungssystem weltweit gefragt [Dual training system in demand worldwide]
• NABIBB. Blick nach vorne: Empfehlungen zur Stärkung der Auslandsmobilität in der Berufsbildung [Looking ahead: Recommendations for strengthening foreign mobility in vocational education and training].
• BIBB. Datenrepot 2023 [Data Report 2023]. It provides information on the current status of mobility in VET (page 453 onwards).