Learnings from Germany’s Vocational Institute

By: Abhijeet Jhala, Smith MBA Candidate, 2018

One of the unique aspects of German education structure is its emphasis on vocational training and apprenticeship.   Most Germans are education within the state funded public system of education, which is divided into three general levels:  elementary school, secondary and higher education.

Our first stop was Brillat Savarin, a vocational institute focused on culinary & gastronomy.

Brillat Savarin’s program relies on wo parties coming together to make this program work– German Chamber of Commerce (which administers the board) and Companies (which provides apprenticeship) The school is designed to help students get perspective into professional young with emphasis on hands on learning, combined with industry experience.  The school offers dual vocational program, where students spend 1 week on campus and 3 week on company campus. We got a “taste” of the school by interacting with teachers and students, and we were pretty impressed with how the system works – especially the emphasis on practical learning aspect. We also felt that the state funded education program reduces the stress and pressure (especially financially) on German students and makes it a better transition into adulthood.