Canada "returns"... employment training and jobs can be "two-way" in this way, apprenticeships in England
Globally, many young people are facing employment bottlenecks, while many companies find it difficult to find suitable junior employees.
To a certain extent, striving to fill the gap between the skill levels of employed young people and the skill requirements of enterprises, narrowing the gap between skill supply and demand through industry-education integration, and increasing the employment rate are the only way for countries to improve their competitive advantages in the global economic integration.
In this environment, the most urgent issue is how to establish and improve a vocational education and skills training system oriented towards market demand.
"By participating in the apprenticeship system, you can earn income from the beginning. In the process, you will continue to learn and apply the skills you have learned to actual work. When you obtain the qualification certificate, the company will give priority to retaining you because they have the opportunity to get to know you deeply during the training process. This is a good thing to kill two birds with one stone." Alex, an apprentice working in a car and motorcycle repair shop in north London, said, "More importantly, you are very confident in the work you are doing."
Alex, 21, is one of the 500,000 workers in the UK car industry.
Data shows that the proportion of skilled jobs in this industry is around 38% on average, far higher than the average proportion of 10% in other industries in the UK. The automotive industry has a long history of cultivating skilled personnel through apprenticeships. With the development of emerging technologies such as electric and hybrid vehicles, the demand for higher-level technical and skilled personnel has exploded, which has also made more young people like Alex optimistic about and enter this industry.
Apprenticeship is a work-based training model, 80% of which is spent in the workplace, and the remaining 20% is provided by local continuing education colleges or professional learning institutions. The continuing education college, the company and the apprentice sign an agreement to ensure that all requirements of the apprenticeship training program are implemented.
"In the UK, there are two ways to become an apprentice," Alex said. One is to pay attention to the websites of colleges, companies or the National Apprenticeship Service Center, where recruiting apprenticeship training positions are regularly announced. The other is that people who are already working can apply to the company for apprenticeship training, and after obtaining permission, they can receive guidance from vocational education institutions that have regular cooperation with the company.
"After completing my A-level qualification, I signed up for an apprenticeship program organized by Campbell Vocational and Technical College and the car company I work for now." He said that he had always loved cars and thought it was cool to be able to repair or even modify them, so he had long wanted to enter the automotive industry. At first, he worked as a weekend temporary worker in a car repair shop during his spare time in high school, and after careful consideration, he decided to become an apprentice.
"I spent more time in the repair shop than in school. Both have different meanings for us and we all cherish them very much." Alex said that some apprenticeship programs adopt a work-study alternation method, such as allowing apprentices to study in the college one day a week for a certain period of time and work in the company for the remaining four days. His apprenticeship program is implemented in a modular form - apprentices study 40 hours a week in the college during the two weeks of full-time study. During this period, they live in a host family near the college, and the company will pay full wages and round-trip transportation expenses during the full-time study period.
The curriculum system studied on campus is certified by the British Institute of the Motor Industry - specific courses are broken down into health and safety, teamwork and working with others, and operational skills, the latter of which includes learning units on engines, transmissions, electrical appliances and chassis.
"The teacher will discuss with our manager what kind of job the apprentice will do in the future, and jointly agree on each learning unit, and also develop new content for specific positions." He said that because his auto repair shop also has motorcycle repair business, the college has also developed a motorcycle module and introduced the most advanced electronic transmission equipment. "The first time I learned about electronic transmission equipment was in the school's training room. When I returned to my job and put it into practice, I got the hang of it faster than my colleagues who had many years of work experience."
What Alex is most satisfied with is that the company provides them with some job opportunities and allows them to solve problems independently instead of following instructions. "This process gives me a sense of accepting challenges, and I feel a sense of accomplishment after completing it," he said.
He was impressed that in addition to theory and technical skills, the apprenticeship system also taught a range of soft skills, such as teamwork, independent problem-solving, self-confidence and how to manage oneself.
Like many apprentices, he believes that gaining relevant professional experience through this path is very important for obtaining good job opportunities.
“My peers who did not go through the apprenticeship system and were employed full-time directly were paid about £10 per hour when they got a job, while as apprentices it was £5 per hour. However, the former may continue to earn this level in their future jobs, while your income will continue to increase, so you will end up earning more than them.” Alex believes that this learning experience has given him “priority” in his future career.
Now, while following the apprenticeship framework, he is taking another training course on new equipment and processes for auto repair, striving to gain chips that are closely related to the future. "The teachers at the college told us that young people with more certificates can earn 10%-15% more than others in the same position." By earning more money from his favorite career, this young man in his early 20s is moving steadily towards his dream.
Canada’s employment training system is also very distinctive, and its “lifelong education” function has become an “ark” for employment for many people.
At present, Canada's higher education institutions are divided into universities, university colleges, community colleges, and vocational and technical colleges. There are more than 300 private vocational and technical colleges in Ontario, with more than 70,000 graduates each year, which is a very important part of the Ontario education system.
Lydia Wilson, who lives in Toronto, started her new career journey at Bosch College, a private vocational and technical college. The 32-year-old started her career as a secretary in a company. Two years ago, the company laid off employees, and she applied to join the government's "Second Career" program in hopes of changing her career.
"Second Career" is an employment training program launched by the Ontario government in 2008. It is a program in which the government provides training funds, vocational colleges are responsible for re-employment training, and laid-off people can study for free. The purpose is to help more people find jobs in high-demand occupations in the province.
The maximum amount provided by the second career is 28,000 Canadian dollars, which guarantees the applicant's tuition and basic living expenses during the training period. For applicants with disabilities or in remote areas, the Ministry of Labor also provides additional disability subsidies, childcare subsidies and transportation subsidies. All the funding received by the applicant is a government welfare allowance and does not need to be returned.
Statistics show that more than 65% of the unemployed who relied on government re-employment training funding to complete further training found a job within three months after completing their training.
Lydia was a little hesitant when choosing a major. She had three options: early childhood education assistant, private nursing, and medical and dental office professional management.
“In fact, the third option is very attractive, and most graduates are able to find full-time medical office management jobs. But considering the aging population in Canada, choosing the second option is the career path I have set for myself,” she said.
The private nursing major of Boshi College is taught in accordance with the unified standards of Canada's NACC. Students will acquire the skills required for this profession within 32 weeks, have clinical internship experience in the field of health care, and learn the communication and problem-solving skills required by caregivers, including all professional content from physical to psychological. The college will also arrange for students to practice in nursing homes and patient care centers to ensure that classroom teaching theories are applied in practice.
"I am a student again at the age of 30. This time, my goal is clearer and I am more motivated to study than when I was a child." Lydia said that after completing the training, her classmates will be employed in retirement centers, nursing homes, care centers, etc., and she herself wants to become a qualified private nurse who can provide services to the elderly at home. The work content includes companionship, support, housekeeping, handling common medical conditions, promoting rehabilitation exercises, etc. She believes that with her professional qualifications and rich experience, she will become more and more popular in this industry in the future.
It is understood that so far tens of thousands of people have had the opportunity to return to school and receive job retraining through this program.
German vocational education has always been hailed by the world as the "secret weapon" of Germany's economic development.
From September 9 to November 30, 2019, Zhang Fan, then deputy dean of the secondary technical school of Shanghai Vocational College of Electronic Information Technology, completed three months of training in Germany as the leader of the capacity improvement class for key teachers in the major category of electronic technology. There, German vocational education experts taught them, and they taught German students, which gave them a deeper experience of German vocational education.
"In addition to institutional guarantees, the implementation of the German dual system also involves very detailed teaching methods," said Zhang Fan.
They are taught by experienced teacher Klem at the Vocational Training and Technology Center in Rohr-Klosters in the district of Meiningen in Thuringia, Germany.
Zhang Fan found that the teaching cases contain a large number of real-life situations, guiding learning in an action-oriented manner. For example, "a circuit diagram was contaminated by spilled coffee, and the key parts were unclear, requiring it to be fully completed and accurately restored based on its functional description."
In Mr. Clem's class, teaching starts with practical cases. One learning scenario is "the hotel manager called to say that the lobby elevator was broken, the escalator broke down after starting, it was normal when connected, and made a noise when working. How to let after-sales service check and solve the problem?"
"We started by understanding the basic parameters of the motor, filling in the work sheets according to the requirements, analyzing the circuit using a star-delta circuit connection, and then each of our students got a junction box. After clarifying the electrical component symbols corresponding to the control circuit, we began to connect the wires. After all the wiring was completed, we began to test the control functions." Zhang Fan still remembers that when the first project was completed, Teacher Clem put forward a new requirement - the customer found that the motor's star-delta controller could not manually switch the time.
After careful analysis and heated discussions, they thoroughly understood the wiring method and principle of the soft starter and started a new round of circuit wiring. In the end, the "hotel elevator operation" problem was completely solved. He realized how learning context plays a role in teaching.
"The training in Germany gave us the opportunity to personally experience the great effectiveness of action-oriented teaching in the teaching process." Zhang Fan said: "Learners in action-oriented teaching go from confusion, perception, cognition to comprehension."
During the last week of the exchange program in Germany, Zhang Fan took to the podium of the 11th grade electronics class at the Siemens National Vocational School in Werner, Cham, and taught German students in English. "The class lasted one hour, and we prepared for a week," said Zhang Fan. Although the communication was not perfect due to language limitations, the action-oriented teaching effect was still good. "The students have strong learning ability, are interested in professional knowledge, and have a sense of belonging to their positions. Such a source of motivation is very valuable."
City Weekly: What successful practices do you think we can learn from overseas in the process of industry-education integration?
Qiao Gang: I think the existing vocational education system should be more open. We can learn from Australia’s practice in this regard.
TAFE higher education diplomas are issued by the Australian government and are equivalent to the higher vocational education level in China. There are 750,000 registered students in ordinary colleges and universities in Australia, and about 1.27 million registered students in the TAFE system, which is 1.7 times the number of students in ordinary colleges and universities in Australia. This is a considerable number for Australia, which has a population of only 18.7 million. TAFE offers thousands of vocational and non-vocational courses every year. Most of these courses are designed according to the needs of social, economic and commercial life development and are very practical. TAFE courses are not only designed by educational decision-making units, but also by the business community. Its biggest feature is the credit system, which is valid for life after registration and has no time limit for learning. Whether before or after employment, people can enjoy the path of improving their professional ability and seeking career changes. For example, I work in a bank. Now the bank is in a recession. I will go to study and study hard to get a few credits. I will take the engineer exam with these credits. After passing the exam, I can get a job in an engineering and technical position. In this way, you can study at any time and adjust your career direction at any time, which is the concept of "big vocational education". At present, our school system is limited. Vocational education is equivalent to a relatively closed school education. There are not only exam thresholds, but also restrictions on academic years. For example, if you are more than five years old, you are no longer a student of our school. Another example is the community college in the United States. Its entry threshold is low, but the exit is well connected. If you want to take the path of academic qualifications, you can transfer to a full-time university. If you want to find a job, you can get various vocational training at the community college. Vocational education is education for everyone, so it should become an important hub of society. In the process of all-round integration of industry and education, it can achieve the integration of pre-employment and post-employment, and the integration of education and employment, and become a ladder for people's learning and development. City Weekly: In the process of industry-education integration, what kind of impetus can the government give? Qiao Gang: To stimulate the internal driving force of enterprises to participate in industry-education integration, the key is to pay attention to what enterprises as the main body can get from it. Many countries use preferential or subsidy policies to encourage enterprises to participate and start a positive cycle. For example, in order to encourage enterprises to deeply participate in industry-education integration, the German government mobilizes the enthusiasm of enterprises through direct subsidies and indirect funding. One is direct subsidies. All German companies have to pay a certain amount of training funds to the state within a certain period of time. The training funds account for 0.6%-9.2% of the total wages of employees in the company. The German government named it the Central Fund. The issuance and distribution of the Central Fund are the responsibility of the state. The Central Fund is only issued to companies participating in vocational education and training in the name of training subsidies. Under normal circumstances, companies participating in vocational education can obtain 50%-80% of their training expenditures. If the professional professional of the company's participation in vocational education and training is in line with the trend of social development and solves the shortage of talents in society, the training subsidy can be as high as 100%. The second is indirect funding - tax relief. The Australian government has formulated an incentive program for companies to participate in vocational education, such as apprenticeship start-up funds: companies c
