Dec. 15, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota Manufacturing & Technology Solutions.

Fourth graders in Germany have a big decision to make.

Before entering the fifth grade, students and their parents decide whether to pursue an education track that will lead them to a university, vocational schooling or an apprenticeship.

“Because of that, there’s earlier involvement with education about career pathways for children and parents alike,” said Morgan Larson, business adviser for South Dakota Manufacturing & Technology Solutions. “If we were going to study manufacturing somewhere, this would be the place,” she said, noting that German leads Europe in manufacturing.

Larson and her MTS counterpart, Kellie Kolb, learned firsthand the German system of workforce development, which revolves around a dual VET, or vocational education and training, system that relies on apprenticeships, during a recent weeklong trip to the country.

“The German apprenticeship program in some form or fashion has been around hundreds of years – and it’s not just used in manufacturing but in many industries,” Kolb said. “Employers are very bought into the system. It’s part of the culture, and they’ve found that there’s very, very low turnover after an apprenticeship. So they are willing to invest in these kids, allowing apprentices to earn while they learn.”

And it’s not just kids – the group met immigrant apprentices training in new careers later in life.

“We were fortunate to speak to a lot of apprentices during our time in Germany, some coming right out of school and some in their 30s,” Larson said. “They all valued their apprenticeships but in different ways and for different reasons.”

The Stronger Together Manufacturing Workforce Mission Trip was organized and administered by America Works, a program of MAGNET: the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network and the American Council on Germany, with generous support from the Transatlantic Program of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany through funds of the European Recovery Program of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

The trip was designed for representatives of U.S. MEP Centers, or Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, and their partner programs. MTS is South Dakota’s MEP Center.

“After learning about the opportunity, we raised our hands and said we’d like to go,” Larson said. “Both Kellie and I work on workforce and training in different capacities, so we knew this would be valuable to our work throughout the state.”

While it’s impossible to replicate the German system here, there are elements the MTS advisers say can be applied, and more education can be done about apprenticeships to area manufacturers.

“We also can look at reaching kids at earlier ages,” Larson said. “We can be that point of contact to bring the industry together with schools, economic development organizations and other entities to bring all the players in the field together and create awareness and exposure to manufacturing career paths earlier. It was eye-opening to me how early that happens in Germany and how we might be able to do more of that here.”

The group also learned that some challenges are shared across the globe.

“We talked with one German manufacturer and asked if it was hard hiring, and they’re going through the same things we are in our country,” Larson said.

“An increasing amount of kids with guidance from their parents are going the four-year university route, and the trades aren’t being picked up as much. So even with apprenticeships, some jobs still need to be filled as baby boomers are retiring. On the other side of the coin, though, we toured a high-tech manufacturer that doesn’t have hiring problems. We found they focused on their employee experience, employer branding and engaging with students while they’re still in school. It shows us helping kids understand there are high-tech possibilities in this industry and leaning into teaching the variety of career paths and opportunities within manufacturing can work.”

Kolb was “really surprised at the level of mentoring and training that goes on at an individual level,” she said. “These students are younger than our high school graduates – often 16 when they begin an apprenticeship. They divide their time between the vocational school and the employer, with more time spent with the employer as they near the end of the apprenticeship. At the end of their three-year apprenticeship, they get to know the employer’s trainer quite well, and they often become like a second parent. The apprenticeship program provides many opportunities to mold these individuals and develop not just skills for the trade but develop the whole person.”

Kolb and Larson also joined representatives of seven other MEP centers in 10 states nationwide, which allowed for valuable information-sharing. This mission trip was the first of its kind, with two additional trips planned for February and June 2023 to expose other MEP centers to the German apprenticeship program and workforce development opportunities.

“Every state is a little different, both in terms of available funding and specific initiatives, but it was interesting to hear about programs and things other MEP centers like us have tried from a workforce perspective,” Larson said. “There were projects and ideas we got from other MEP centers that were invaluable.”

The trip also is the start of a two-way, continuing conversation. The German government supports it “to open up lines of communication,” Larson said.

“They invited us to share changes we make because of the trip and to share suggestions with them based on what we learned about their operations. While we only spent a week there, the applications and relationships will go on for years.”

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