Inclusion in vocational orientation and vocational training preparation
Vocational orientation involves looking at young people’s own wishes, interests and competencies in conjunction with the requirements of the world of work and society.
One of the important tasks of general schools is to offer opportunities for vocational orientation and to support pupils in their career decisions. Vocational orientation encompasses provision which invites young people to examine their own desires, interests and competencies whilst also encouraging them to undertake an active consideration of the needs and demands of the world of work and of society. Young people do not merely examine their own competencies via practice-oriented activities. Such a process also includes supplementary competence assessment procedures and analyses of potential.
Vocational education and training preparation imparts foundations for the acquisition of employability skills to young people who have completed compulsory schooling but have not succeeded in obtaining a place on the training or labour market.
Vocational preparation provision and training is currently largely aligned in a target-group specific manner. A differentiation in this regard needs to be drawn between provision and support opportunities for disadvantaged young people and young adults (on the basis of German Social Security Code, SGB, III and XIII and the Vocational Training Act §§ 68–70) and for young people and young adults with a disability (pursuant to SGB IX). In overall terms, the school-based and extra-school possibilities that are in place for young people comprise provision at vocational schools (e.g. career entry year, pre-vocational training year), provision at production schools, introductory training and a range of vocational preparation schemes.
Training modules, which are an established component of vocational preparation schemes, form a major element of vocational preparation provision. Such modules are, however, also offered by vocational schools and at workshops for disabled persons.
Guidance and support services are a key factor in terms of achieving a successful transition. At federal level, these include the following:
- Vocational guidance provided by the employment agencies and advisory services for persons undergoing rehabilitation delivered by specialist teams at the agencies
- Youth employment agencies which offer guidance services from various legal areas (sometimes under the same roof)
- Career entry support (SGB III, § 49)