>> iMOVE-Trade Mission to Asia: China, Vietnam and Singapore
>> Head of Trade Mission: Andreas Storm, Parliamentary Secretary of State
In November 2007, for the first time, under the leadership of Mr. Andreas Storm, Parliamentary Secretary of State with the Federal Minister of Education and Research (BMBF), a BMBF/iMOVE-delegation was on a one-week trip to conduct governmental and cooperation discussions pertaining to cooperation in vocational training in Beijing, Hanoi and Singapore.
As a result of numerous bilateral discussions at government levels with Ministry Departments and organizations related to training and education, the political flanking provided by Secretary of State Andreas Storm opened the doors for the quality brand "Training - Made in Germany" that much more. In any case, Germany’s practice-oriented vocational training system enjoys a great reputation in these Asian metropolitan centres.
Over the course of many discussions, the more than 20 individuals from nine export-oriented German training providers, as well as professionals from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Institute of Vocational Training (BIBB) could get an idea of the potential of German-Chinese, German-Vietnamese and German-Singaporean cooperation.
In Beijing, high level meetings were held at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour. The strong interest in Chinese-German cooperation in vocational training was evident in the extremely well-attended Cooperation Exchange and the large number of Chinese guests at the evening reception hosted by the German Embassy.
Vietnamese-German cooperation in vocational training has been very good traditionally. This was underscored by the ceremonious signing of a contract between the Federal Ministry of Education and Research [BIBB] and the Research Centre for Vocational Training (RCTV) of the MOLISA (Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs) for continued cooperation within the framework of the conference entitled “The Structure of Vocational Training in Vietnam and Germany - Fit for the Future”.
In Hanoi, the entire delegation garnered a great deal of attention, right up to the Minister of the corresponding Ministerial Department, where Parliamentary Secretary of State Andreas Storm was able to hold direct bilateral talks. In Vietnam, the German companies involved in the delegation agreed unanimously that there is significant potential for continuous cooperation in training and continuing education.
Singapore was completely different because, as an “education-hub“, it is a significant contributor to educational export in the region and beyond. Singapore and Germany have a lot to learn from one another and, in specific areas of vocational qualification, work well together. This was evident during the German-Singaporean Cooperation Exchange as well as during the evening reception at the Embassy.
>> Results of the Trade Mission and perspectives for educational exports
The strategic goal of the Trade Mission was to lend even more prominence and sustainability to the quality brand "Training - Made in Germany" in China, Vietnam and Singapore. Above and beyond this, existing bilateral cooperation was intensified. The high-ranking political accompaniment of Parliamentary Secretary of State Andreas Storm enabled the delegation to have direct contact to Ministries and Institutions in China, Vietnam and Singapore involved in training and education.
The direct cooperation talks with Chinese, Vietnamese and Singaporean companies from industry and commerce, as well as Vocational Training Institutes, provided fantastic platforms for bilateral information exchange, as did the numerous discussions and roundtables with local German businesses and the networking sessions during the evening receptions hosted by the German embassies.
China, Vietnam und Singapore will continue to shape economic development in Asia, in different ways. Without a doubt, socio-economic progress and sustainable economic growth will develop based on the requirements of the labour market and on sufficient and adequately trained skilled labour. At this juncture, there is significant potential for German-Chinese, German-Vietnamese and German-Singaporean cooperation in vocational training and continuing education.
The spectrum here is as diverse as the countries China, Vietnam and Singapore themselves. From consulting services for organizational structure to questions pertaining to certification and industrial-technical training proposals to complex course offerings in the service sector. Over the course of the trip, the German members of the delegation were able to analyze how the demand for Vocational Training and Continuing Education ”Made in Germany” is taking shape in China, Vietnam and Singapore, respectively.
There is a market for demand-oriented, country-specific vocational training and continuing education offerings and modules, developed jointly with local partners. The unanimous feeling of the entire delegation was that these are exceptional conditions for business success in the international education business for Training – Made in Germany!
