Dual vocational training in Germany: Six weeks of training at BHS Corrugated – by Saythong Insarn
Editors’ note: Within the Recruitment and Training Programme of BHS Corrugated with the Lao-German Technical College, the company invited five teachers of the college and two apprentices to an eight-week training course in Weiherhammer (Bavaria, Germany) in July and August 2018. For these seven people three different kinds of training courses were offered, to suit their occupational specializations: Electrical vocational training (Mr Bouthavy Siphonephath, Mr Lumphone Kounglavongsa, Ms Siliphone Arnousavanh), Mechanical vocational training (Mr Somphou Khamphila, Mr Soksai Aphaiyalath), and Administration of Dual Vocational Education and Training (Ms Moukdala Keomixai, Mr Saythong Insarn).
The technical training courses consisted of a total of four weeks’ training in the production and assembly facilities of BHS Corrugated and four weeks’ guided training in the ÜBZO (Überbetriebliches Bildungszentrum in Ostbayern gGmbH – Intercompany Training Center in Eastern Bavaria). The scope of each training was customized to the participants’ needs, so there were different modules offered for the apprentices and the teachers. The administrative training course was mainly conducted in the ÜBZO.
Ms Moukdala Keomixai and Mr Saythong Insarn from the department “Cooperation, Development & IT” at the Lao-German Technical College joined the administrative training course in order to gain insights into the ways training is conducted at BHS Corrugated (and in Germany in general). In this post, Mr Saythong Insarn reports on the experiences the group made during their time in Germany.
Seven Lao people had the best experience at BHS Corrugated Company at Weiherhammer Germany in Bavaria region. We are from Lao-German Technical College (LGTC).
First of on we would like to thank you very much to leaders including BHS Corrugated Company’s staffs and UeBZO’s staffs to give opportunity for us to train at UeBZO Training Center and BHS Corrugated Company assembly hall in the BHS Corrugated Company regarding our training requirement, and also thank you very much Johannes Zeck and Sonja Pruell to response our group until completed training.
We would like to introduce ourselves: Mr Saythong Insarn and Ms Moukdala Keomixay, we worked at Cooperation, Development and IT Section, we participated on the Dual Vocational System and Training course, Mr Bouthavy Siphonephat and Mr Lumphone Kounlavongsa, have participated on the Electrical Trade, they worked at Electrical Electronic Department, Mr Somphou Khamphila, he has participated on the Mechanic Trade, and Two students’ name are Mr Sokxay Aphaivalath, he was majority on Mechanic Trade and Ms Souliphone Anousavanh was Electrical Trade.
We are very proud to have an opportunity to participate in the training in Germany between July and August 2018. It is a project supported by BHS Corrugated Company and the Lao-German Technical College. The training improve knowledge, competency skills and experience to the participants from Laos because Germany is a developed country with updated technology and high industry development.
We went to the training as a group of seven people, two people are students and five people are teachers. We left Vientiane at 20:30pm on June 30th, 2018 and arrived in Germany on 01 July at 9:00 am. We were very happy when we first arrived in Germany. After the immigration check, we walked out and saw a person who picked up us at the airport holding a sign “BHS welcome” at the airport. The man took us to the apartment that we would stay during our training. Then we met Johannes Zeck, and he took us to the company and had lunch in the company’s restaurant.
We started participating the training on Monday July 2nd, 2018. We woke up early and walked to the company, it is around one kilometer from our apartment to the company, and we were very excited to see the BHS Corrugated Company as it is very beautiful, and it is operated with high technology in the first time. At the company, we were warmly welcomed by Johannes Zeck who gave us advice and information of the company. He took us to walk around and see the assembly hall in the company, and we learned that the company has been established about 301 years ago. We were very impressed by the beautiful landscape and ponds in front of the company, and the days after we got a nice bicycle per one of us.
Our training were majored on practical on the UeBZO workshop and paralleled with on job training in the company as especially in the assembly hall, and studied tour to BHS Corrugated Company’s customers companies, we also have learned the way of teaching and learning and how the staffs at UeBZO Center work. We had training from Monday to Friday. On Saturday and Sunday we relaxed, and we had a chance to sightseeing the beautiful nature around our apartment. We had a good time seeing mushrooms, feeding ducks, geese and so on… and we also have an opportunity to learn German culture too.
It could be seen that we had a good time and have learned new experience and knowledge from the training in BHS Corrugated Company in Germany which is supported by a cooperation project between BHS Corrugated Company and Lao-German technical college. We believe that we will share this new experience and knowledge with our colleagues and improved teaching and learning to help our students at Lao-German technical college to be better in the future.
Training Outcome and Achievements
On our training we separated into 3 groups of our straining:
- First group was trained on the Dual Cooperative and Training, this group had 2 persons as well as: Mr Saythong Insarn and Ms Moukdala keomixay, why we were requirement to train this topic Because it was regarding our responsibilities in our college, we responded for creating Dual Vocational Education calendar between LGTC and private sectors, we also tried to adapt from Dual Vocational Education system in Germany and we are coordinators of LGTC and what we achieved from our training at BHS Corrugated Company and UeBZO Training Center.
- Dual Vocational Education system, and we will adapt and improving our Dual Vocational system in LGTC regarding industries needed.
- Orientations for enrollment students from UeBZO Training Center, we will adapt this orientation to prevent our students drop out in LGTC.
- Overview of IHK Standard and what they have done in the UeBZO Training Center
- Coordinator Tasks, Mentoring and Monitoring Tasks for follow up our apprenticeship in the companies
- Second group and third group were trained on the Electrical Trade and Mechanical Trade, they have trained in the UeBZo workshop by trainers from UeBZO Training Center and combined with training in the BHS Corrugated Assembly Hall regarding to the training schedules, they trained base on the practical (On job training) and they got many experiences to enhance their teaching skills on practical ways, they also tried to test the test projects of IHK standard:
Study tour Activities
We visited the customer company of BHS Corrugated Company, they were produced the packaging box for keeping goods, Visited the MANN+HUMMEL Company in Marklkofen and visited the Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Berufsschule 1 in Straubing, this vocational school was very active to cooperate with private sector in the region.
Culture Tour Activities
We visited Munich City, we went to the city tower to see over view of the city, it was very nice view and we visited Johannes Zeck in the Würzburg City, we saw beautiful bridge, river and beautiful Castle, we were very pound to joint traditional festival in Straubing city and visited Weiden City.
We were appreciated to get invitation from Madame Gerlinde Engel with her neighbor,to visit her house, and we have tried German foods and they were very delicious.
And also we have opportunity to fly with very nice pilot, we called him “Mr Jo”, he was working at UeBZO Training Center, he took us to the small airplane to see the BHS Corrugated Company in bird view and sign seeing the city.
Text by S. Insarn
Photos by S. Insarn
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