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A first step towards a new education and training campus for innovation, transformation, and climate protection – that was the topic of a workshop on 9 December 2022. Companies, social partners, chambers, universities, and departments came together at the invitation of the Senator for Economic Affairs, Labour and Europe. The aim is to enable training and qualification at the highest technical level in one place.
One thing quickly became clear: tomorrow's apprenticeships are fundamentally different from today's everyday life. Training and qualifications will be more open, more flexible, and more integrated into the day-to-day reality of companies.
“We are turning vocational schools on their heads,” announced Daniel de Olano from the Senator for Children and Education. “We want to create more networking and new opportunities to interact with vocational schools. For example, companies could rent rooms if they have special needs.” For example, at the new campus, vocational school students could attend classes in the mornings and companies could train their employees in the afternoons. There will also be offers for the public in the form of demonstrators and events.
It all starts with a vision
But what are the exact needs of the stakeholders involved for a training and further education campus for innovation, transformation, and climate protection? Around 40 representatives discussed this in the CREW Space in Überseestadt Bremen.
The Bremen Senate's resolution of November 15, 2022 on the Climate Protection Strategy 2038 forms the basis for this discussion. It includes the creation of a campus and estimates funds of up to 100 million euros for this purpose.
“We are facing major challenges. We can only tackle climate change if we meet the associated demand for skilled workers and exploit the potential of training and further education,” said State Councillor for Employment Kai Stührenberg at the event. “Today's workshop will enable us to determine an initial idea of the requirements and derive an implementable vision from this.”
Developing supra-regional appeal
Organized by the LABEW Landesagentur für berufliche Weiterbildung, it became clear that not only the acquisition of technical skills will be a central point for the vocational school of tomorrow.
The school of tomorrow must be diverse and thus appeal to all target groups, especially groups that are often still underrepresented in technical professions, such as women.
In order to meet the demands of a fast and dynamic world, further education institutions must also become more open and flexible by enabling interdisciplinary teaching, sharing knowledge and materials, becoming more international, and creating transfer spaces that enable companies and other educational institutions to jointly exploit potential.
They could also assume a showcase function that demonstrates modern, interdisciplinary work and thus act as a think tank. This in turn would have positive effects for Bremen as a location as a whole: the planned campus would ensure the competitiveness of companies and increase the attractiveness of Bremen as a location for innovation.
After all, qualification is a key task for the successful implementation of climate targets, but also for the future viability of companies. “In view of the competition between locations, the new campus can decisively improve the framework conditions for existing companies and be a strong argument for Bremen as a location for companies looking to relocate,” says Stührenberg.
The new offerings are not intended to compete with private training providers, but to complement and network existing offerings. The results of the workshop will now be incorporated into the further planning processes for the training and further education campus.
