For me it was interesting that this learning center DT has a special programme for students who come from single-parent families, a programme for dropouts and a programme for foreigners. So, they take care for the education of the population, which has special education needs and requirements. Among other criteria the role playing in an authentic work situation with imaginary obstacles for the selection of suitable candidates seems interesting to me.

Even schools in Slovenia are increasingly integrating with companies. Companies provide professional training and retraining for teachers, if they are interested enough.

1. Activity description (Summary of what was done that day)
   Training Centre of Deutche Telekom – DTG Training Centre (organization of dual training/ recruitment/support of learners/evaluation of training at company level/coopoeration with vocational college
2. What did I learn from this activity? What insights did this new knowledge give to me in relation to school/organisation, learner and employer?The entire Training Centre of Deutsche Telekom (DT) has 12,000 students and 33 training centers throughout Germany. DT training center in Berlin has 480 students. 43 of them are included in the dual system (those are their grantees). The center has 11 different types of training programs.In the first year they have the same programme (depending on the education field: IT, telephony, economics, …) after that they go to the real workplaces in the companies. They have agreement to take on the education 2.9% of the total number of DT employees. Number of registered candidates considerably exceeds the number of available training places, therefore, selection is based primarily on personal judgment of the responsible persons.

   They also have a special programme for students who come from single-parent families and aprogramme for dropouts and for foreigners.

   The three-member Commission in the training center performs a selection with different tools and techniques, f.e. interviews role play etc. They do not carry out psychological tests nor check technical skills and school ratings are less important. It is particularly personal attributes and developed key competencies (soft skills) suitable for certain jobs in their company are particularly relevant.
   They have 20 minute interviews with the candidates and it is important how the candidates turn out in the role play in an authentic situation with the set imaginary obstacles. Candidates are selected according to personal judgment.
   Ability to participate in the teamwork and clear public presentation are very important as well. They do not like people who stand out or competitive ones.
   The commission seeks to combine the needs of the company with the personal characteristics and competencies of the candidate.
   Companies are aware that they need a variety of employees to solve complex issues and to work out with simpler routine work.
   Needs of the company and the official national framework of education are complementary.
   The companies prepare a personal educational plans for each candidate. Their goal is developmentthe four skills: technical, methodological, personal and social; all should be evenly covered.
   About 10% of students who are trained in the training center are employed in the company.

   Schools adapt their curriculum according to the needs of businesses and work with them.

   • Evaluation Conference at the end of the school year with teachers and employers.
   • Teachers visit students at practical training and trainers from DT visits school. For smaller companies it is more difficult to cooperate with the school.
   • If the company is not satisfied with the college it terminates the contract with it
   • Companies enable professional training for teachers (conducted workshops, professional seminars, etc.)
   • Coach (mentor in Training center) should have organizational, pedagogical, androgogical and managerial ability. These characteristics are generally more important than technical skills.

   Teachers should be familiar with the contents of the training in the DT to adapt their curriculum and not duplicate it.

3. How did I feel about what was presented to me? What did I find innovative? What did I find difficult or challenging to do or understand and why?For me it was interesting that this learning center DT has a special programme for students who come from single-parent families, a programme for dropouts and a programme for foreigners. So, they take care for the education of the population, which has special education needs and requirements. Among other criteria the role playing in an authentic work situation with imaginary obstacles for the selection of suitable candidates seems interesting to me.Even schools in Slovenia are increasingly integrating with companies. Companies provide professional training and retraining for teachers, if they are interested enough.

4. What is working well and could be applied in my organisation and why? How would you go about doing this?In my opinion, training-teaching centers of large companies work well as a private school of practical training. They trained many candidates and then they could choose for themselves only those who are customized to their business.In my estimation, we should pay more attention to the development of personality and student’s core competencies. This could be implemented in schools and in companies with modern pedagogical approaches. Also, we could form professional connections between all teachers of professional modules and employers, and not only the organizer of practical training.
5. What definitely would not work in my organisation and why?In Slovenia we do not have big companies with their own learning/training centers as we had in the past. But we have inter-company training centers within the school centers where candidates can acquire specific practical skills and develop professional competencies. In Slovenia our schools choose employers to which they could deploy studentsfor the practical training and not vice versa. 

Any additional comments

It is interesting to mention that many students do not come with the assumption of who will teach them something, but they will have conditions in which they can learn.