Career Path

In Germany, vocational schools — Berufsschulen — have a history stretching back to the 19th century. A German Berufsschule is generally a secondary public school and does not charge tuition fees. Today they are part of the dual education system which combines apprenticeships in a company and vocational training in a school, both taking place over the same period of time on different days of the week or in blocks of several weeks.

As part of the dual education system, the Berufsschule is a part-time school, with students attending 8–12 45-minute lessons a week. Sometimes schooling is arranged in blocks of several weeks, in particular for trades which are only learnt by a small number of people. The rest of the students' time is spent learning at the company where they take their apprenticeship. The whole course lasts 2–-3.5 years depending on the subject taken, with the vast majority of courses lasting 3 years.

Additionally, there are two other types of vocational schools in Germany. The first one is theBerufsfachschule, a full-time secondary vocational school. These schools do not charge any tuition fees either.The course at this type of school lasts 2–3 years. This type of education prepares the students for special job trainigs. Students can also get a higher graduation at the Berufsfachschule: zweijährige Berufsfachschule: Mittlerer Abschluss = equivalent to GCSE, zweijährige höhere Berufsfachschule = Fachabitur = equivalent to BTEC, dreijährige höhere Berufsfachschule or Wirtschaftsgymnasium = Abitur = A-level

The second additional type of German vocational schools is the Fachschule, a full-time or part-time post-secondary vocational school, and also most often a private school (but not in Hessen). Only graduates of a Berufsschule, with a minimum of 1 year work experience after graduation, are permitted to attend this type of school. The course at a Fachschule lasts 2 years for full-time students and 4 years for part-time students, and is comparable in level to the Higher National Diploma in the UK.