Schools

German Delegation Learns of U.S. Vocational Education System

Officials give overview of how students at Passaic County Technical Institute prepare to go into manufacturing and engineering fields.

Representatives from Germany saw a sample of the vocational training American students received on a tour of Passaic County Technical Institute Wednesday.

The men were sent to the school as part of a six-city tour beginning in Georgia Nov. 13. The trip was made in agreement with the German Embassy and the American Council on Germany. The goal is to show the type of technical training and education United States students receive who want to go into a manufacturing vocation.

New Jersey labor representatives and the German visitors met with students after the tour.

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“We are one world. German companies can’t find enough skilled workers to fill all of the jobs there,” said Norvert Fuhrmann, a teacher at the Flex-Fechenbach Berufskolleg des Kreises Lippe, a technical college. “Focus on your technical training. You can find work anywhere with the training you’re receiving here.”

Germany enjoys the lowest unemployment rate in Europe for young people 25 years old and younger.

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Attendees were shown several of the school’s classrooms where students learn how to conduct work using real-world tools, including 3-D printers and tool and dye and milling machines, among others.

Students enrolled in welding courses can graduate with a certificate from the American Welding Society. Automotive repair classes incorporate a progressive curriculum. Students learn how to repair specific components on various kinds of vehicles one at a time.

“We teach our students how to use professional-level programs,” said Sal Gambimo, the school’s supervisor of instruction for engineering and mathematics. “We want them to be able to go someplace after they graduate.”

The guests participated in a roundtable discussion at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Representatives from the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. spoke of how successful their country’s vocational educational programs are.

“There are always job openings in the manufacturing sector and the relationship that apprentices and employers enjoy is a very loyal one,” said William Kraus, director of the New Jersey Office of Apprenticeship with the U.S. Department of Labor. “Companies want to hire people they can trust so they an train them to be the kind of workers they want. They want them to be loyal to them and stay with them a long time. These kids are on a great career path.”

— Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Daniel Hubbard at Daniel.Hubbard@patch.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.


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