Vocational education and training for people with disabilities
Vocational education and training for people with disabilities takes place on the basis of various statutory stipulations, at different reference levels and at a range of learning venues. One mainstay is dual vocational education and training pursuant to §64–§66 of the Vocational Training Act or §42k–§42n of the Crafts and Trades Regulation Code.
At a national level, the spectrum of VET structures and provision for disabled persons consists of three central pillars.
1. Dual vocational education and training on the basis of the Vocational Training Act and the Crafts and Trades Regulation Code
2. Supported employment
3. Vocational education and training in workshops for disabled persons
The priority given to providing training in recognised “regular” training occupations, the granting of compensation for disadvantage in training and examinations and the instrument of “training regulations”, which facilitate qualified training in professional practitioner occupations in cases where disability is of a particular type and severity, are all key aspects of dual vocational education and training. The BIBB Board has adopted framework provisions and occupationally-specific sample regulations for these professional practitioner occupations. These stipulate uniform national quality standards and structure the VET programmes in such a way so as to provide connectivity with “regular” training schemes. The main elements of the nationally standardised BIBB benchmarks prescribed in law are employability skills, company-based phases of training, a support plan, and additional qualifications for trainers in the field of rehabilitation pedagogy.
The Disabled Persons Committee, whose remit includes advising disabled persons in the area of VET, is based at BIBB.