HOORAY FOR THE GREEN AND YELLOW!!!!

What a wonderful day....John Deere here we come....an early night after a great meal. A calm morning and a short rainy drive to Mannheim straight to the John Deere Factory. We talked and visited with Apprentices who knew their subject well and their path on the Dual Vocational Education program. Our understanding of the German "educational pathways to success" has greatly improved. All of the students were impressive.

We over spent our time here as well. It was very exciting to be in this place with dynamic young people who are establishing themselves on a solid career path.

In the afternoon we headed back to Heidelberg and an afternoon of pulling our thoughts together in preparation for our early evening debrief discussion and farewell dinner. 

Heidelberg at its best

   

Our hotel Today                                and            Our hotel 100 years ago

We hope all our TOP Team have a safe journey home and continue the lifelong learning they have started on this trip.

As a part of the Washington State Apprentice Program, I offer you the following information as stated by our SBCTC Staff.

 The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries maintains an online data base that will allow you to search all registered apprenticeships in the state of Washington.  Note: not all state apprenticeships are delivered through the community & technical college system.  The L & I apprenticeship list can be refined by those currently active, a county location, the required programs and standards, or federal programs.  You may access additional detail via:  http://www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Apprenticeship/Programs/default.asp

Some points to consider (from a recent brief provided by Labor & Industries):

·        Apprenticeship is the “Earn while you Learn” program making a living wage while learning a career with the average starting wage of $18.49 per hour with benefits.

·        Studies have shown that of all education programs that Apprenticeship has the highest wages and job placement rate.  Graduates are already in the job and earn an average of $64,000 per year with benefits.

·        Over 250 different occupations to pick from.

·        Over 8000 different Employers sponsoring apprenticeship in the State (union, non-union, small, and large business).

·        Military experience can be used to direct-enter some programs and get advanced standing in others.

·        14,778  Apprentices were registered since 2010, 1,434 were Veterans of those 797 that are Veterans have now completed the program and are working full time earning wages and benefits.

As part of our program detail we maintain a list of all colleges offering apprenticeship programs and their enrollment.

From the State of Washington and from the State Board for Community Colleges we appreciate the opportunity to meet everyone and to share such important information.

With deep appreciation, 

Elizabeth Willis

Chair, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and State Board Workforce Staff

State of Washington

"You Can Get Coke Here!"

A beautiful 2 hour train ride from Stuttgart to Frankfurt. 

Frankfurt am Main is the largest city in this section of Germany. Our travels through it today were great.

A quick tour of Frankfurt including the Goethe House and a delight lunch in a Sushi restaurant set us for a VERY interesting afternoon with Deutsche Bundesbank.

We met with a number of people at Deutsche Bank today. Greeted by Ms Corinna Fernando who gave a history lesson and art tour. Then Ms Edith Purschel who presented the social position of the bank (Corporate citizenship) and Mr Oliver Stoisiek representing the Dual Vocational Training at the bank. We especially enjoyed meeting two young women who are in the program. Many questions and discussions followed.

Deutsche Bank's new GREEN building

All of the exhausted TOP team boarded the bus for Heidelberg, our hotel and well deserved rest.

Doing the Bosa Nova with Bosch!

Our beautiful hotel looks out onto the beautiful Stuttgart park!

We traveled less than an hour to the Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation whose modern offices and meeting center belie the beautiful setting and the fabulous view. We spent the morning meeting with Foundation representatives and members from the Ministry of Education.

In the afternoon, we traveled to the Bosch Feuerbach factory and Dual Vocational Education training center. We had an full afternoon discussion on Bosch practices in training and visiting the facility.

Hitting the Road in a Merry Mercedes!

Carl-Benz-Schule

Gaggenau, Germany

A great bus ride to the Black Forest and the town of  Gaggenau to visit the Daimler Training Center, Mercedes Benz Factory and the Carl Benz Schule. Another successful example of Dual Education between classroom and technical application. 

We observed students apprentice's in a classroom and on the factory floor working on projects. We had the opportunity to speak to the students and to their instructors. Dr Falk Hartmann from the school and a representative from Daimler, Gerwin Kohlbecker
Manager, Vocational Training, spent the day with us discussing their education program and curriculum. It was exciting, stimulating, and created many questions from our TOP group. 

The Black Forest and Guggenau

Bill, one of our TOP members, with his machine at the school.

Onward and Upward to Siemens

 From Munich we traveled via train to Nuenberg where we boarded a bus and drove to Erlangen.

Town of Nuenberg

Siemens

Our first plant visit to the town of Erlangen to Siemens Headquarters. A dynamite town full of Siemens employees. We were greeted by Manfred Kraft of the Healthcare Department of Siemens and given a briefing on the company. Then Christina Sauer presented the Dual Education System Apprentice program that is conducted at Siemens. There was such a lively discussion that Christina did not get to finish her report and we were late moving on to the next event which was to meet a number of the apprentices and to have a tour of the MRI factory. We enjoyed meeting the students and talking with them about their work. This was our first introduction to the German "pathways to success".

View from Siemens 14th Floor Dining Room

Then off we head for a 3.5 hour drive to Stuttgart. Jetlag has finally set in. I think most of us slept part of the way to Stuttgart and our marvelous hotel Schlossgarten which is across the street from the famous Stuttgart Train Station. We drove pass the beautiful Porsche Museum.

Train Station in Stuttgart

Vineyards, beautiful castles, lines and lines of trucks on the autobaun, naps and networking. Learning lots.

Munich and a Festive October Celebration

We arrived in Munich all during the day. The last ones which included me arrived about 1:30pm. By the time we were at the hotel and checked in we had about an hour for introductions (WOW what a great sounding group!). Jet lag has already set in so we know our evening will be fun but with an early closing.

After the introductions and instructions, we then took the underground to the famous closing of the Octoberfest of Munich. 

It was arranged that we sit in special VIP seating away from the madding crowd but well within viewing of the singing, dancing and enjoyment of the attendees.

We had a great time getting to know each other and our hosts. The food was terrific and the viewing fabulous!

 Our first group photo!