On 1 August 2004, new classifications and training requirements for occupations in the metalworking sector will come into force in Germany. The revised regulations, replacing provisions adopted in 1987, were drawn up jointly by employer and trade union representatives under the aegis of the Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB).
In response to new demands being placed on the skills and qualifications of skilled workers in the metalworking industry (DE0311106F), updated 'training regulations' (Ausbildungsverordnungen) (DE9704107F) that lay down the vocational requirements for five occupations in industrial metalworking will come come into force on 1 August 2004. These occupations are plant mechanics, industrial mechanics, construction mechanics, machine tool mechanics and milling-machine operators.
Developed by labour and management experts under the aegis of the Federal Institute for Vocational Training (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, BIBB) and announced on 4 June 2004, the new training regulations will replace provisions that were adopted in 1987. The regulations will apply to around 100,000 trainees in the fields concerned - nowadays the largest occupational group receiving vocational training in Germany. The new training regulations will make it possible to deploy skilled workers on a flexible basis within their company. They will allow mobility between occupations, companies, segments and branches in the metalworking industry. The parties involved agreed that the new world of work requires regulations that give firms greater room for manoeuvre in seeking flexible solutions. According to BIBB: 'These continuous processes call for flexible workforces that can adapt quickly to new conditions and respond to the needs of a wide variety of customers. This requires workers with broad technical knowledge, a high level of flexibility, the ability to work as a member of a team, motivation to pursue further training, quality consciousness, international skills and a well-developed focus on customer needs.' The amended course of training will last for three and a half years and, among other changes, the previous 18 fields of specialisation in these five occupations will be eliminated and common skills for all industrial metalworking occupations ('core qualifications') will be taught over a 21-month period of the course.
BIBB, the Employers’ Association for the Metal and Electrical Industry (Gesamtmetall) and the German Metalworkers’ Union (IG Metall) held a conference on the revised training profiles for these occupational classifications in the metalworking sector on 8-9 June 2004 in Bad Godesberg. The conference informed, in particular, companies and providers of vocational training of the key points of the new training requirements. The conference was also an opportunity to discuss the new concepts to be implemented with the experts who were involved in revising the regulations.
According to Hans Werner Busch, the managing director of Gesamtmetall, 'the overhaul was long overdue'. He also noted that, even if all participants wanted to reach a practical solution, the process of developing the revised regulations took rather a long time. 'Occupational requirements must not lag behind reality, but accompany it', he said. Erwin Vitt, a member of the board of IG Metall, states that the new requirements for occupations in the metalworking industry were developed in record time and that: 'They are open to young women and men alike. Currently, young women, accounting for just 5.6%, are only weakly represented in such occupations.' He also appealed to the 23,000 companies in the metalworking industry to grasp the opportunities created by the new occupations and to to open up additional vocational training places.