Learning Log

Name: Miloš Frelih
Date: 01/14/2015, Wednesday
Organisation: School Centre Kranj
1. Activity description (Summary of what was done that day)

• Training Centre of Deutche Telecom – DT (Mrs. Mirrek)
Organization of dual training / recruitment / support of learners / Cooperation with
vocational college

2. What did I learn from this activity? What insights did this new knowledge to
give me and relation to school / organization, learner and employer?

• In Berlin currently there are 480 participants at the school centre, 43 dual students
receive their scholarship, and additionally they have in their 33 centers across
Germany 12000 students in training.
• They offer 11 types of training, which are roughly divided into:
– Technical Education (application development, system electronics, ..)
– Business Communication (more women)
• The main focus is on personal competences (many individual evaluations). They try to
reply to individual needs.
• They have a 3-member committee, which performs selection. That’s their job.
Candidates have self-presentation, group meetings at which they also present how an
educator who will teach at a later date. Decisions are taken collectively by consensus.
3-member committee is the decision maker.
• On what basis do they choose candidates:
– Fair candidate
– The honor; true desire for work; they must not pretend
– Competencies: not the most important evaluation; teamwork, clear self-
presentation, soft skills; the technical knowledge (not the most important)
– Personal characteristics are very important
– They do not like competition and people ,, protruding ,,
– Emphasis on teamwork and work
• They also have a special program: for single-parent families and one-year program for
those who have quit for example in the dual system (or go then in the 2nd year or to
similar trainings for another year).
• Do you use any tests to measure personality traits?
No, because they rely on an assessment of staff.
• Why are you not looking for those that are different from the average but are rather
mediocre?
They need a lot of staff who are just good workers in customer satisfaction and
nicely integrate into the workplace.
• DT advantage: they offer a wide range of works. Sometimes a candidate does not
know where he is good at and can later be redirected. Not necessary preliminary
reference (but okay), because they rely on their own judgment.
• DT actively leads the process. They cooperate with many schools and teachers to
support these pupils (aged 13,14,15 years) to guide the work in the areas that are
covered at DT needs. Students go at the time of high school for a 3-week practice, and
even then some learners are noticed and advised which college to go to in order to be
later directed to them. DT does not wait but act – is proactive.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

• Does this 3-member committee to receive what the criteria under which accepts
candidates?
– Personal characteristics of the individual
– Teamwork !!
– Very simple work such as making keyrings.
• One group is watched at work, a students is pulled out of the group for 20 minutes and
the response of the group and then the response of the student, who returned to the
group, are observed. The response of group is observed, for example if temporarily the
head of the group has been removed. Artificial barriers are imposed and then the
response of the group is observed. Tasks are technically undemanding.
• In Germany, more force is placed on personal observation rather than psychological
test. Sometimes they also had on-line test by students from home, but that did not
give realistic results.
• Of those who have taken on education very few are void – the result of good admission
procedures.
• Combining the company’s needs and personality of the individual. They appreciate
motivation, diligence, self-organization and further individual work.

TRAINING:

• Organization of the training process:
1. The basics are clearly defined from the economic (commercial) Chamber of
Commerce – legalized framework.
2. The needs of businesses and legal framework are complementary.
• evaluate the competence of the school and the Chamber shall be included in the
agreement. Preparing personal educational plans.
• Student competences are of several types:
– Technical skills
– Methodological skills (thinking)
– Personal (individual) and
– Social competence.

• Who writes the curriculum?
Not school, nor DT; but it is written in the federal law, which is the main document.
– Each profession has a basis in the law of the state where trade unions are also
participating.
– Companies change that framework into the curriculum – they also take into account
the Chamber of Commerce (Final exams in collaboration with CoC).
– Partially adapts to the needs of individual companies
– The school is partially involved: School guarantees that the students passed the final
exam and is not regardless at which company he performed practice.

• OSZ is only one of the partners respectively. Schools whose students are to DT in
training. Participation DT – Chamber of Craft: Director of Training Centre DT and the
OSZ often have meetings – a dynamic process.

• Visiting teachers from the OSZ for students:
– Individual teachers go to visit students
– Also from DT they to go to school (coaches, Director)
– At the end of the school year coaches and teachers from schools are interviewed
about promotions.

• It can be said that strong cooperation between the DT and the OSZ are developed, but
it should be noted that DT is a large company. Smaller companies are more difficult to
find responsible persons to attend these talks because they do not have the time (but
are happy if the school comes into contact with them).

• The DT are currently training 90 students + 60 dual students (DT scholarship at
university level). The role of trade unions in the German educational system is very
strong. The DT have agreed that 2.9% of all employees will take annual training. Not
all employees who are with them are in training – 10% of them take the job.

A little more about the progress of education in DT:

• DT cooperates with 6 professional colleges in Berlin.
• Director of the Training Centre Mrs Mirrek is on the board of the BAS-ROM, which
represents not only employers but DT.
• They are extra closely involved when introducing new content. Cooperation framework
is very flexible (not only participate when there are problems but wider).

• What happens if DT is not satisfied with the work of the BAS (students are not well-
prepared)?
Head of Department in the DT calls the school management. In case of dissatisfaction
with the quality of the school, their students (dual students) are not sent to a
particular school. So DT decides where its students will go to school (if there is
multiple choice).

• Do teachers go from the OSZ to WBL in DT?
There are options, DT also offers workshops, technical seminars for teachers.

• According to Mrs Mirrek cooperation between DT and schools should continue to
increase. Example: system engineer: It takes a lot of cooperation. They have DT
classes and there this is easy. If you have students from DT and 10 other companies,
you have to consider the wishes of other companies too. The framework of the training
should be organized within the company widely enoughfor the student to get broad
enough knowledge to be able to take the final exam. Certain posts in DT are very
narrowly focused. The theoretical instruction in school is sometimes more advanced
than the needs of the workplace in DT. The gap between the potential of the workplace
and the wishes of the school for small businesses becomes even greater (eg. they only
have 6 employees and they can not cover so much knowledge and competences).

• DT provides an extensive training program
• a student may have an impact on the local area where he feels deficit
• Students self-evaluate to know where deficits are. Therefore, DT ensures that students
get to know the content of the training.
• Coach is technically talented. However, this is changing. Nowadays, a coach in addition
to technical skills also has good leadership and organizational skills, pedagogical and
andragogical knowledge, managerial experience – which gives them an advantage over
engineering. (Management, organization and professional knowledge). Their motto is:
the right man in the right place at the right time.
• If you are a student at the BAS and there is something you do not understand, you can
ask a mentor (coach) in the company. Even a teacher in the school needs to know the
work of DT to avoid duplication of material. If students have a deficit DT organize
further seminars.

3. How did I feel about what was Presented to me? What did I find innovative?

    What did I find Difficult or challenging it or to Understand and why?

• It is interesting that in the DT they have a special program for students from single-
parent families and one-year program for those who have interrupted their studies, for
example in the dual system.
• They have a very well-designed selection process and well-trained people who run this
procedure.
• Very good connection with the school
• Interestingly it seems to me that they do not want people to protrude from the
average.
• DT collaborates with many secondary schools and their teachers to guide students in
the areas covered by DT needs.
4. What is working well and could be applied in my organization and why? How
would you go about doing this?

• Cooperation with DT secondary schools (students age 13-15 years), where interest in
the professions DT needs is good. Also with us there is cooperation between School
Center and primary schools. We attend elementary schools in the region and present
occupations for which our school is to educate. We also have information days, the
days of technical workshops, meetings with counselors in elementary schools, ..
• Good relationship of DT with schools. We also collaborate with employers (annual
meetings, teaching adult education training of mentors from the business, WBL for our
teachers for 2 or 8 weeks, …). Similarly, in the field of cooperation with companies we
still have some reserve. With the establishment of an inter-company Training Centre
the cooperation improves.

5. What definitely wouldnt work in my organization and why?

• This well-developed admission procedure for students with us is currently not possible,
because it requires a team of people who would thus be continuously engaged. The
problem is also the finance.
• We don’t have such large enterprises, which have their own training centers, including
both large demand for certain skills. That is because the Slovenian economy is too
small.
• The role of training centers could be undertaken by the inter-company training centers,
if the interest of the economy is large enough – not currently.
• In our system schools choose employers , where students go to the WBL, while in
Germany it is the opposite. The schools are trying to be good, so that employers have
their students (dual system) training with them.

Any Additional comments

Cool methods admission process for students. They believe in a personal assessment of the suitability of candidates prior to written tests.
It would be interesting to visit some smaller company where I could realize what kind of problem WBL encounters due to the lack of mentors and time so that students can master the required skills.