Fostering the culture of apprenticeship

A German friend of mine, Paul Schaefer, recently passed away. Thanks to him and the Hans Seidel Stiftung, the German foundation he headed for more than 20 years, a good part of Philippine industry has seen the inculcation of the very healthy culture called dualvoc (work-study) which is the German approach to the apprenticeship system. Tens of thousands of young workers, the great majority of them coming from the poorest families all over the Philippines, have acquired the necessary qualifications that have made them very employable in leading manufacturing and services enterprises requiring high-level technical skills, whether mechanical, electrical, or electronics. To cite just one notable example, many of them were absorbed by Lufthansa Technik in the maintenance and repair of some of the most technologically sophisticated airplanes, not only for Lufthansa but for other international and national airlines. These graduates of the dualvoc system (called dual tech in the Philippines) earn wages much above the minimum wage even when they are still in their early twenties.

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By Dr. Bernardo M. Villegas

Source: https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/08/fostering-the-culture-of-apprenticeship/