One of the stark facts about to-
day’s economic crisis is its terrible
effects on young Canadians. Not
only do young people 14-25 years
of age bear the heaviest brint of
unemployment and its miseries,
but the toll taken in smashed
dreams, personal and long-lasting
frustration is hard to measure.

Opportunities for youth to train
and pursue a meaningful -career,
trade or profession are narrow in-
deed with an economy in deep
trouble throughout the capitalist
world.

The Tribune has often pointed to
' the socialist world economy which
continues to grow, free of major
crisis. We publish here some facts
on vocational training and oppor-
tunities for youth in the German
Democratic Republic. It shows not
only the training system, but the
guarantees given to the young gen-
eration to build productive, crea-
tive lives, plan their futures and
contribute to society.

* * *

Choosing an occupation is an
important event in the lives of
young people in the German
Democratic Republic.

The 1976-1980 Five Year plan
for the development of the GDR’s
economy foresees the training of
one million young men and
women as skilled workers. and
each can be certain to actually do
the job trained for. The same
principle applies to graduates
from training colleges and univer-
sities. In fact, a contract of
apprenticeship can be turned into
an unemployment contract at the
apprentice’s request. Men and
women have equal vocational-op-
portunity, choice and pay scales.

PART OF AN INTEGRATED
SYSTEM

The construction of a socialist
society is inconceivable without a
comprehensive education for all
members of society. For that
reason the people’s education and
training is considered to be a vital
issue in the socialist countries.

Just as all other socialist coun-
tries, the GDR has a clear,
humanistic approach toward edu-
cation of her citizens. This con-
cept was given legal force with the
‘*Law on the Integrated Socialist
Educational System’’ adopted by
Parliament in 1965 outlining the
development of the educational
system in line with current and
future requirements of the
society.

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Education in the GDR is secu-
lar, unified and free of charge.

The integrated socialist educa-
tional system comprises pre-
school education, 10-year
polytechnical education, voca-
tional training for apprentices,
specialized education at colleges
and universities, and training and
advanced training for adults.

The structure and organization
of the educational system guaran-
tees an uninterrupted education
from the lowest to the highest level
and rules out any ‘“‘blind.alleys’’ in
education.

GUARANTEED RIGHT TO
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
The GDR has set up a state-

‘controlled integrated system of

vocational training, which makes
all conditions available for realiz-
ing the fundamental right to edu-
cation and work. A high level of
general education goes along with
an adequate vocational training
which enables working people to
make their creative contribution
to the further development of the
socialist society.

Anextensive and differentiated
system of vocational training has
been set up for the practical reali-
zation of the right to vocational
training fixed in article 25 of the
constitution of the German Dem-
ocratic Republic. In the main, it
comprises

e vocational schools, appren-

tice workshops and training

places at factories and public in-
stitutions;

e institutions for the training of

teachers for all branches of voc-

ational training;

ea system of vocational gui-

dance, reaching from state-run

guidance centres to teachers for
vocational guidance at ten-class
polytechnical schools;

e the leading bodies for voca-
tional training and the scientific
institutions for vocational train-
ing research.

Young people having passed a
ten-year polytechnical school, as
92% of all school pupils do, have
two options in vocational train-
ing:

e vocational training, usually

lasting two years, providing for

a skilled worker’s certificate

and for technical college entr-

ance qualification; .

ethree years of vocational
training providipg for a skilled
worker’s certificate and univer-
sity entrance qualification
(known as vocational training
plus matriculation). In the

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the nationally-owned “Simson” factory at Suh! (the only producer
of mopeds in the GDR) during classroom instruction in a
physics laboratory.
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JANUARY 13, 1978—Page 4

period from 1976 to 1980,

10,000 young. people will

choose this way of vocational

education.

The fairly limited number of
pupils leaving school after the
eighth grade undergo three years
of vocational training in about 70
basic trades, with lessons being
continued in the main subjects of
general education.

LAWS PROTECTING
WORKING YOUTH

Factories and institutions of
vocational training have the task
of preparing each apprentice in
time for his actual job after the
termination of his apprenticeship.
Each apprentice takes up work at
his future place of work two to
three months before he terminates
his vocational training in order to
manage quickly the full transition
from apprenticeship into indus-
trial life.

The task of vocational training
in the GDR are laid down in vari-
ous laws.

Article 25 of the GDR Constitu- .

tion says:

* ... general 10-year secon-
dary schooling is compulsory;
this is provided by the 10-year
general polytechnical secon-
dary school. In certain cases
the secondary schooling may
be completed within the
framework of vocational train-
ing or the further education of
the working people. All young
people have the right and the
duty to learn a vocation.”’

The Law on the Integrated
Socialist Education System out-
lines the tasks and the contents of
vocational training as follows:

“All young people in the ...

have the right to vocational

“training.

‘*Vocational training is carried

out in line with unified, state-

controlled principles. The
heads of state and economic
bodies, of factories and other
institutions are responsible for
the planning and management
of vocational training within
their sphere of competence,
and they have to guarantee the

necessary prerequisites for a

proper vocational training.

“The contents of vocational
training is determined by the
development of the socialist
society, by the technical rev-
olution and by the long-term
aims of socialist production.”
Further extensive measures are
included both in the National
Youth Act and the country’s
Labor Code setting out duties and
responsibilities of enterprises and
management concerning young
workers and their particular
needs.

HOW APPRENTICES
ARE TRAINED

Today the network of institu-
tions for training skilled workers
comprises 979 vocational schools
and several thousand appren-
tices’ training workshops and
other training facilities. There are
two fundamental types
schools, factory-based vocational
schools and vocational schools at
municipal level.

Factory Vocational Schools

There are 980 factory voca-
tional schools which give theoret-
ical and practical instruction to

of -

industrial life.”

64% of all apprentices. Many of
them have apprentices’ hostels.

Their size varies. There are
schools with over 1,000 at large
factories in the chemical industry,
metallurgy, and heavy engineer-
ing, others have only 150 to 200
apprentices. —

Factory vocational schools
have above all the following ad-
vantages:

e direct, permanent, intensive

and mutual connections be-

tween theoretical lessons and
practical work;

edirect and permanent in-

fluence of the factory workers

on the apprentices;

e young people have direct.

contacts with the efforts made

by the workers for mastering

their tasks:

e apprentices benefit from the

modern material and technical

basis (plant and machinery) at
the factory for their vocational
training.

Factories which have to train
only a few apprentices send their
trainees to vocational schools of
other factories for basic training.
This permits the better use of ex-
perience and equipment:

At some factory schools
30-40% of apprentices come from
other enterprises and usually the
factories concerned pool their ef:
forts into training associations.

Factory vocational schools are
state-run establishments and they
train apprentices according to of-
ficial curricula, guaranteeing a
unified level of vocational train-
ing. They are part of the factory,
their educational and technical
staff are members of the factory
staff.

Some factory vocational
schools link vocational training
with university entrance quali-
fication. This training takes three
years. The majority of young skil-
led workers having acquired uni-
versity entrance qualifications
prefer to enroll at engineers’ train-
ing colleges granting university
degree.

Vocational Schools on
Municipal Level

They are the second fiindamen-
tal type of vocational schools in
the GDR. At present there are 289
schools of that kind. They train
apprentices from small industrial
enterprises, service industries,
institutions of state bodies, banks
and. other financial institutions,
and other fields. Grouped accord-
ing to their trade and terms of ap-
prenticeship, the apprentices take

“Each apprentice is the GDR takes up work at his future place 0
work two to three months before he terminates his vocational training!
order to manage quickly the full transition from apprenticeship into

theoretical lessons on two days 4 —
week: Their theoretical training
follows official curricula.

a special form which give theoret
ical training to apprentices in
fairly rare trades, permitting th
establishment of only one central
school for all apprentices in thai
particular trade.

schools in the GDR train about
500,000 apprentices.

tice workshops employ 15,000
teachers for theoretical training
30,000teachers for practical train=
ing and 4,500 educationalists aS
tutors in apprentices’ hostels.

by over 100,000 skilled workers —
and officials for vocational train-
ing: These are generally exper-
ienced skilled workers, foremen,
economists, engineers, who, in
addition to their actual jobs, look”
after the apprentices when these
enter special vocational training.
Many of these tutors have taken
special courses in pedagogics and
psychology. :
* * *

clearly sees the vital importance
of utilizing the skills and potential —
talents of its young generation. It —
provides. the fullest facilities, —
teachers and instruction every —
step along the road to technical ~
and theoretical excellence and its -
planned economy guarantees a —
secure and challenging future for
all.

Central Vocational Schools
Central vocational schools are~

At present the vocational

Vocational schools and appren

These teachers are supported

The socialist German state —

Men and women in the GDR a

have equal vocational opportuni-
ty, choice and pay scales.