education-investment

Why do so many Germans prefer to invest in new cars over business administration degrees?

They see the short-term joy of new cars, but not the medium- to long-term benefits of education. They assume that education at the beginning of life is forever sufficient, but when it comes to cars, they understand how it starts to rust and is no longer up to date. We need to understand education as a further fundamental investment in life. Everyone, including the state, employer, and individual, must contribute to this.

The state is currently involved in a new education bonus. What contribution can a company make?

Money is only on one side, on the other side. Companies must create the necessary flexibility in terms of time for further training, and of course, receive more training and be content with the initiative. Employees often believe that they must apologize for their absence from continuing education during the pandemic. Further training needs to be a rule, but unfortunately, that is still a rare exception.

 

Germans have little further training in international comparisons. Did you miss the trend?

Is too late, so attention was paid to the extent to which the labor market is changing towards professional services and how rapidly the half-life of knowledge is currently declining. Our training centers are recognized around the world, especially in the field of dual training. However, it is easy to overlook the fact that initial training needs to be open to additional training units, attention must be paid to connectivity options, and colleges and universities also need to contribute quickly. For employees, this means taking a block of education after the employment or out-of-work learning stage.

 

Are the requirements met?

No, there are still a lot of changes. For example, a mother who first worked and then gave up parenting wants to add a master’s degree to her bachelor’s degree at the age of 35. However, at this time, she has little support from any Foundation program because of her age. This should not be the case.

 

For many, a “good” job means having a full-time employee and a stable income …

Again, we need to rethink. A lifelong job with one employer is passé. Linear income also increases. We have to adapt to fluctuations in income. For example, in Japan, at the age of 60, with a 25-year office and a 10-year self-employed kiosk owner, you might be thinking about something completely different. In many countries, this has long been the order of the day.

 

Why do employers still find it very difficult to change CVs?

In Germany, people think too rigorously, but employers and employees still have a complete resume in mind. But if employees move professionally, sometimes self-employed, and use the gap for further training, isn’t that a sign of flexibility? I don’t want to make my professional biographical break easy, I’m familiar with biographical fears. But we can’t go any further in a culture that protects existing rights. It is not possible to achieve the longer working life required by the social security system. It is also socially unfair to those who find it difficult to gain a foothold in the labor market.