Vocational institution resumes teaching mechanical engineering courses following a week-long hiatus
The State Vocational School Sonneberg is facing a significant change, as the Ministry of Education has decided to discontinue the two-year training program for "State-certified Technicians in Mechanical Engineering." This decision, made in accordance with the Thuringian School Act, has left nine students affected, with three more expected to join in September.
The school authorities are now seeking alternatives for these students to ensure their educational journey continues uninterrupted. However, the specifics of who will be responsible for finding these alternatives remain unclear.
The discontinuation of the program is due to an insufficient number of students. Only 16 applications were received by spring, and at least 20 female and male students are needed to form a class. This shortage is a concern not only for Sonneberg but also for other vocational schools across Thuringia.
Meanwhile, progress in apprenticeships has been noted in the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in eastern Thuringia. Many companies in the region are gaining more apprentices this year compared to 15 years ago. However, this growth does not seem to extend to the mechanical engineering sector, as the industry struggles with a lack of local interest.
Interestingly, the situation appears to be quite different in the hotel and catering sector, where 70% of apprentices in Thuringia come from abroad. Germans are increasingly less likely to enter this industry as apprentices.
The discontinuation of the mechanical engineering technician training program has caused disappointment and anger among the affected students, who face the prospect of a potentially longer school journey. They have a claim to another school place in their chosen educational path until the third week of lessons.
Understaffed classes are a concern across Thuringia, given the teacher shortage and lesson cancellations. This is also evident in a comprehensive school in Bad Salzungen, where grade 5 now has only 20 lessons per week.
In a positive note, six apprentices from Thuringia were honored as top apprentices in Germany in Berlin. Fabian Weyrich, a construction and agricultural machinery mechatronics engineer from Mellingen, is one of these honorees.
These developments underscore the need for continued efforts to address the challenges in vocational education and apprenticeships in Thuringia.
