Cooperative Training at Coal Sites in North Rhine Westphalia

The Cooperative Training at Coal Sites programme has been run by the Ministry for Labour, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany since 2008. The aim of the training programme is to support the employment of youth in German coal mining regions. It provides young people in the region with the skills needed to find a company apprenticeship or training opportunity. It encourages companies to invest internally to provide jobs to young people as well as fosters cooperation between training providers, local employment authorities and local companies to jointly offer initial training to young people. Specifically, state-owned company GIB (German Assessment Institution) supports the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia by facilitating cooperation between training providers and small and medium-sized enterprises. Meanwhile, young people are given an external training, after which they can be taken on for a second year of apprenticeship under a company programme. In doing so, the programme especially targets young people experiencing difficulties securing a training position upon completion of school. The programme has received EUR 500 000 per year from the state government of North RhineWestphalia, co-financed by the European Social Fund. Since September 2016, up to 20 young people per year have undertaken out-of-school training under the programme, in preparation for in-company training. The programme was implemented in four cities by local educational institutions, in close cooperation with local companies and the state’s employment agency. 

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