Gesamtmetall proposes reforms of education system

In May 2005, the Cologne Institute for Business Research published proposals to reform the German education system drawn up by the employers’ association for the metalworking and electrical industry, Gesamtmetall. Gesamtmetall calls for a fundamentally new direction in education, arguing that attempts by companies in its sectors to employ the next generation of workers are being severely hampered by a lack of appropriate knowledge and skills amongst young people.

On 5 May 2005, the Cologne Institute for Business Research (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, IW) published proposals for school reforms drawn up by the employers' association for the metalworking and and electrical sectors, Gesamtmetall. The suggestions have been put forward by Gesamtmetall under the motto 'More efficiency, more quality, more opportunities'. The association calls for a fundamental change of tack in school education as, in the future, workers with qualifications that are precisely tailored and capable of meeting new demands will become even more important for the metalworking and electrical industry. According to statements by Gesamtmetall, many apprenticeship places remain unfilled every year, because companies cannot find enough suitably qualified applicants (DE0501104F). The president of Gesamtmetall, Martin Kannegiesser, said at the start of April 2005 that it was, therefore, necessary to increase the quality and efficiency of the education system. He added that schooling children earlier is a prerequisite for ensuring that the opportunities open to people when they enter the education system and the world of work are distributed equally. The financing of the education system should also be turned on its head: 'we need', according to Mr Kannegiesser, 'a high degree of state involvement [when children start their schooling and earlier], whilst, later on, when education is reaching an end when careers are about to start, it must become acceptable for students and pupils to pay for their own education'.

The main demands made by Gesamtmetall are summarised below.

Extension of the early-years education system

In order to facilitate equality of opportunity, young children should be given the chance to learn, states Gesamtmetall. This means that childcare facilities should be extended; moreover, kindergartens and similar childcare institutes should be given the task of educating their charges. Children should also, if their stage of development permits this, go to school from the age of five.

Increase in school quality

An increase in the quality of teaching as well as increased competition between schools should be the focus of attention, in the view of Gesamtmetall. This means that schools should be given more freedom in, for example, their budgetary and personnel decisions; schools should also be evaluated regularly. Core elements of the curriculum as well as more precise teaching requirements and increased lessons in mathematical and technical subjects should improve children’s knowledge. It is not the organisation of the education system, but the quality of teaching that largely determines whether or not, first, weaker pupils complete the year successfully, and, second, more able students are stretched intellectually. Demographic developments may, in any case, lead to a situation in which the individual school forms become less and less distinct. Moreover, it is also necessary to offer all-day schooling in every type of school. The status of teachers as civil servants should be abolished. Gesamtmetall has appealed, moreover, for teachers to be present in schools for longer; they should be also obliged to undertake continuous training. Modern leadership and remuneration policies, such as continuous personal development and incentives for teachers to increase their performance, as well as a greater emphasis on the practicalities of teaching, should improve school lessons.

Opening up education and changing finance

By using a 'credit point system', higher educational qualifications should, according to Gesamtmetall, be opened up yet further for those who have successfully completed a vocational training course. Bachelors and masters courses should be increasingly offered on a part-time basis. The financing of the educational system must be fundamentally reformed, according to Gesamtmetall. Schooling for young children should be free; on the other hand, fees should be paid for university studies.

Commentary

As a result of the considerable rise in the provision of apprenticeship places by companies in 2004, the number of such training places increased for the first time in four years. Companies offered approximately 21,700 more apprenticeships than in the previous year, an increase of 4.4%. The number of signed apprenticeship contracts increased, however, by just under 3%, as extra-firm training places were no longer provided. The increase was most marked in eastern Germany. The new federal states had, on average, 7.5% more signed apprenticeship contracts in firms in 2004 than they did in 2003. On average, western federal states increased the number of signed contracts by 3.7%. The industrial vocations in the metalworking and electrical sectors were not excluded from these trends. In 2004, 66,530 new apprenticeship contracts were signed, an increase of 1.6% compared with 2003. Despite these good figures, it is still possible to agree with Gesamtmetall that the increases could have been even greater if the education system were geared more towards vocational needs. The suggestions made by Gesamtmetall should, therefore, become policy as soon as possible. (Lothar Funk, Cologne Institute for Business Research and University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf)