Seven Camosun Fine Furniture and three Carpentry students recently went to Regensburg, Germany to get a glimpse into the world of post-secondary trades overseas.
The students went to Germany as part of the German Apprenticeship Training Exchange (GATE) program, with support from Global Skills Opportunity, which is funded by Employment and Social Development Canada. Four German students came to Camosun through the exchange.
Similar to Canada, German trades programs combine classroom learning and work experience.
“When we were first told about the opportunity to go it was early on in our course,” says Fine Furniture student Trever Joyce. “Then, working through the course and gaining more knowledge and skill, I got more excited to go to Germany, to see how things were done over there, because I know in Germany they’re pretty ahead of the game with innovation and just how they do things.”
The students were able to visit different schools in Germany—while there are similarities in tools and practices, they noticed a difference in the education system. During Grades 5 and 6, students go through a period of orientation and testing to determine which educational track—trades or university—they’ll take. Teachers make recommendations based on academic achievement, self-confidence, and ability to work independently. However, parents have the final say on what track their child takes.
“A lot of the students that we met were early 20s, 21, 22,” says Joyce, “One of the schools we went to, they had 17- and 18-year-olds doing carpentry and furniture. It just seems that things are decided for you at an earlier age over there than they are here.”
The advancement, innovation, and amount of technology that German schools have was an eye-opening experience for students.
“They had rooms set up for you to go into to do the type of work that we’re doing, but then they also had these machines that would basically make our jobs obsolete,” says Joyce. “One of the shops we went to would take a complete raw log, bring it in from outside, strip it, and then make its way through the facility and process it into whatever you needed, basically. It cut joints and joinery to the dimension and shape you need.”
The Camosun students also had the opportunity to do some sightseeing, including seeing the restoration of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Regensburg. Joyce says that it was a wonderful experience to visit other schools, and visit another city, and he hopes there will be more opportunities for students to go on exchange programs in the future. Another benefit to the exchange program was the development of stronger relationships between classmates.
“I think another main reason [for going was] because I got to spend two good weeks with people in class that I didn’t get to with other people [in the class]. So, my relationships with them are definitely stronger than other people in the classroom,” says Joyce. “Which is great, because going out on my own it’s always nice to have people that you can call on and trust to come give you a hand or help you out in situations with this type of work. Relationship building is a huge thing.”