Staatliche Berufsschule

My name is Mara Gil Blanco and I am currently working as a teacher in hospitality and tourism at IES La Rosaleda.

From April 23 to 27, I visited The Lichtenfels State Vocational School in Germany. It is an educational center that in Spain would be called integrated, since it includes only VET courses.

Many professions are trained at the state vocational school in Lichtenfels, the State vocational school for technical assistants in computer science and the State vocational school for wickerwork design, which is the only one of its kind in Europe. Here, students can be trained to become state-certified wickerwork designers in three years of full-time instruction.

The center is relatively large and is very well equipped in terms of infrastructure (large classrooms, wide and well indicated corridors), materials (the workshops are enviably large and with state-of-the-art machinery or tools) and technologically, in all classrooms there is a digital whiteboard or projector and a computer (laptop or desktop) with internet connection.

They use active teaching-learning methodologies based on challenges, and connecting what is learned in the classroom with the real world. The school-company relationship is solid and students enjoy the Dual programme. This implies that they only attend the center 1 or 2 days a week and the rest are in the company. The duration of the Berufschule is 2 to 3 years depending on the pace they take and the branch they study. At the end, there are some common exams (from the Bundesland) that the students have to pass in order to obtain their FP title.

The center participates in numerous programs and projects with local companies and entities. The Erasmus program is also running as they have strong relationships with the companies they work for. During my stay there, I have actively participated in the area of Economy & Administration Management and Tourism.

The reception of the center, either by the teachers or the students, has been unbeatable. In addition, they have not been limited to the school environment and have taken care that my stay was complete at all levels. They have shown me their nearby cities and the gastronomy.

As a result of my visit, we have agreed to start the procedures for a possible collaboration between our center for the next academic year within the European ERASMUS+ project: there would be job shadowing for teachers and mobility with students from one center to another.