Approximately 20% of German companies participate in the dual system of vocational training Our school cooperates with nearly 2,900 training companies in the Pinneberg county, who are our most important partners in this section.

Only students who have a training contract with a training company can join the classes for dual vocational training. The training companies have to register these contracts with the local chambers in charge, e. g. the Chamber of Commerce or the Chamber of Crafts, and they also register their trainees / apprentices with the relevant college, i. e. a vocational college that provides tuition for the respective branch of training, usually in the district where the company is located. This means that the training companies decide who becomes a student at our vocational school for dual training.

The contents and structure of practical training in the training companies must follow a set nationwide curriculum to ensure comprehensive high-quality practical training. As it includes some part-time practical work experience, training companies pay a trainee’s salary, depending on the chosen type of profession and increasing with every year of training. It may vary from 550€ in the first year to 950€ in the final third year in retail trade, whereas banking students earn between 1,000€ to 1,200€. This training remuneration is also payable during the periods when trainees attend our vocational school.

Our school offers different schedules for dual vocational training, according to the requirements of the majority of training companies. In banking for example our training companies prefer a block release system, which means that the students have alternating periods of practical training in their training companies for several weeks and periods of school tuition of 4 to 5 weeks a year. For the wholesale sector we offer the part-time release system, so students attend school for 2 days in their first year of training and 1 day in their second and third year. That way our school always tries to adapt to the needs of our dual partners in order to provide as many training opportunities to young people as possible.

The significance of this dual partnership between training companies and vocational colleges also shows in the final examinations, where the examination boards comprise members from both sides with equal voting rights.

In our full-time vocational secondary school our students do an internship of 4 weeks with a company, which is unpaid and should help them to obtain a training contract later.

Our students in social services train at our school for 2 years, some with longer integrated periods of paid internships at social organisations. To complete their training an additional year of practical training is compulsory, and during this time they also receive a training allowance of roughly 1,500€.