Workplace Advancements: Insights on Tomorrow's Job Trends
The Downward project, a decade-long school initiative for career orientation, has been a cornerstone at the Cooperative Comprehensive School (KGS) in Schneverdingen. This project, now a mandatory subject, aims to guide students towards successful transitions to vocational training or university.
At the heart of the project is Jobwärts, a secondary school concept that provides intensive support. The cooperation of Jobwärts takes place at the gymnasialzweig (grammar school branch) of Gesamtschule, where each concept is assigned to a specific branch.
The project offers students an intensive insight into various vocational fields taught at the vocational schools in Soltau. Every Monday, the average 30 students travel to Soltau to be introduced to the four major vocational groups: construction, metal, gastronomy, and care.
Following the practical part, there is another hour at KGS for career coaching, job interviews, and career counseling by the employment agency. The teachers aim to enable students to enter practical training more quickly if they are convinced of their training plans.
Tina Stoßel, responsible for career orientation at the Berufsbildende Schule (BBS), and the KGS teachers are pleased with this cooperation. Involving parents in the career orientation of their children is also important, and the school organises a joint counseling session between the career counselor from the employment agency and the students together with their parents.
A new innovation in the cooperation is that students whose inclinations fluctuate between different occupational areas can now switch at the halfway point. Balancing the wishes of the students and the possibilities of the available places at workshops and styling tables is challenging, according to BBS principal Gaby Tinnemeier.
In 2018, the KGS was awarded the "Pro-Berufsorientierung! School-Economy" certificate. The award was given for the school's "outstanding career and study orientation". Today, about half of the secondary school graduates go into apprenticeships and training, compared to an average of two out of 30 students previously.
The close support of teachers from KGS for students at BBS for a whole school year is a significant part of the project's success. A compact seminar at the Jugendhof Idingen is part of the Jobwärts program, although it could not take place during the corona pandemic and was taught on individual days at school instead.
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The project's success is evident in the increased number of students who go into vocational training after grade 9 and the low dropout rate. The teachers are proud of the impact they're making in shaping the future of their students.
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