Non-teaching staff at schools

Full-day schools, schools with full-day offers and schools with a care offer employ pedagogic staff (pädagogische Fachkräfte), educators or Sozialpädagogen (graduate youth and community workers), social workers and honorary staff such as artists or volunteers, depending on the size of the school and the extent of the extra-curricular activities. Especially for all-day schools, the professionalisation of teams consisting of teachers, other pedagogic staff and extra-curricular staff is of great importance.

At all schools, non-teaching staff are usually employed in the school secretariats and in the building administration.

Other staff at special schools

Special needs education staff are employed in the course of inclusion at general education schools as well as at special needs education institutions. These are teachers and other specialised staff. Sozialpädagogen, graduate youth and community workers, and pedagogic staff (Pädagogische Fachkräfte), for example, carry out remedial work, assist the special teacher in artistic and technical lessons and are responsible for leisure activities. Physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists provide treatment in their respective fields. Other employees can provide complementary therapy in the areas of occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy.

Instructors in the dual system of vocational education and training

Within the duales System (dual system) of vocational training, both the teaching staff in the Berufsschulen themselves and particularly the instructors in the partner companies are responsible for the vocational training of the students. The following remarks refer to the training of in-company instructors.

Legislative framework

Conditions governing the training of in-company instructors are stipulated in federal law. The statutory provisions (Section 28 of the Vocational Training Act – Berufsbildungsgesetz – BBiG, Section 22 of the Crafts and Trades Regulation Code – Handwerksordnung – HwO) stipulate that the instructors must have the necessary personal and technical skills, knowledge and qualifications for training young people. Their professional qualifications are used to judge whether they have the necessary technical skills. Furthermore, instructors must provide evidence of the required pedagogical knowledge of professional and work-related issues by means of a particular qualification certificate.

Contents of the training

The content of training is laid down in general terms in the Ordinance on Trainer Aptitude (Ausbilder-Eignungsverordnung – AusbEignV). Training is usually provided in courses taken alongside full-time employment with a total duration of 115 hours. Participation in these courses as a means of preparing for the instructor aptitude examination is not, however, compulsory.

Professional and pedagogical skills include the ability to plan, implement and control vocational training unaided in the following fields of action:

• Assess vocational training requirements and plan training,
• Prepare training and participate in trainee recruitment,
• Conduct training and
• Conclude training.

Assessment of performance and leaving certificates

The examination assignments are determined by the bodies responsible (e.g. chambers of industry and commerce), which also set up an examining board.

The examination comprises a written test and a practical component consisting of a presentation and a technical discussion lasting up to thirty minutes. On passing the examination a certificate is issued confirming the required professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills and competences.

Responsibility for the examination

Responsibility for the examination of in-company instructors lies with the bodies responsible within the dual system of vocational training, such as, for example, industry's self-governing institutions (chambers of industry and commerce, chambers of handicrafts, chambers of agriculture). These institutions are responsible for adopting Prüfungsordnungen (examination regulations) and setting up examining boards to conduct aptitude examinations for instructors.