Birmingham gets new European vocational training college

Citation

(2001), "Birmingham gets new European vocational training college", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 25 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.2001.00325aab.001

Birmingham gets new European vocational training college

Birmingham gets new European vocational training college

Keywords: Europe, Vocational training, Further education, Colleges

The European Vocational College in Birmingham has been launched at a ceremony by Councillor Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council and German Ambassador Dr Hans-Friedrich von Ploetz.

The setting up of the college is seen as an act of faith in the city and in the West Midlands by the German and French business communities. The college launched its activities in the autumn and, for the initial phase, will be a co-operative project between the European Vocational College London and the Matthew Boulton College in Birmingham.

A number of German and French companies are to nominate two apprentices each to take part in the part-time European Vocational College (EVC) courses over a period of two years at the Matthew Boulton College. The courses will cover business administration, management and German, French and Spanish language instruction. Participants will go on to develop international skills through work placements in Germany and France.

The employers will put forward the young people who are to take part and pay their fees, with additional funding coming from the Training and Enterprise Council (TEC).

Participants can aim for three types of qualification:

1. 1.

   Higher National Diploma (HND), awarded by Matthew Boulton College;

2. 2.

   German "Kaufmann" diploma, awarded by the European Vocational College, London;

3. 3.

   NVQ Levels III and IV, awarded by the European Vocational College, London.

Talks are under way to offer an equivalent French qualification.

The intention is to develop the pilot phase into a specific "Birmingham model", which will seek to achieve accreditation of these EVC studies towards a bachelor's degree at Aston University, and to bring in engineering courses as well.

At the ceremony, Ambassador von Ploetz said: "I hope many companies in Birmingham and the West Midlands will make use of this excellent new training opportunity. I encourage you to do so. This is a proven model, endorsed by such blue-chips as British Airways, Vauxhall, Siemens and Deutsche Bank. It combines elements of the UK and the German (continental) training systems. The key is that it is driven by the demands of business and therefore will provide those skills that companies are really looking for."