Nachterstedt. Developing ROFI-L for the benefit of the people of the Seeland and the wider rural region – that is the aim of the partners involved in the practice-oriented promotion of individual learning, known as PROFI-L for short. The motto: Learning for life, working together for the region.
“We fully support this,” says District Administrator Markus Bauer. “What the Seelandschule Nachterstedt has developed here in terms of content, and what it offers in partnership with the chambers of commerce and local businesses, is an innovative and extremely exciting project originating from our rural area. This vocational training project serves as a model for the future of secondary education, perhaps across the whole of Germany, and is moving precisely in the direction we, as a district, have been pursuing for years through our future strategy, as a school authority and as an employer. Young people should be able to combine the opportunity to learn, work and stay in their home region with us. That is why the Salzlandkreis is on board with PROFI-L as an institutional structural and development partner.”
To mark the signing of the cooperation agreement as part of the PROFI-L project, the headteacher of Seelandschule, Tim Hase, invited his cooperation partners – who were equally convinced by the concept – to the Novelis plant in Nachterstedt this week. Anke Meyer, head of department for the Salzlandkreis, signed the agreement on behalf of the district. She thanked everyone involved – from the school, the business community and the local administration right up to the State Education Authority – for their commitment.
The network and its initial signatories include the Seelandschule and the Salzlandkreis, alongside the Magdeburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Magdeburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts as lead partners, as well as Novelis, the Schloß Hoym Foundation and the Salzlandsparkasse. The cooperation agreement is initially set for three years, but is intended to ensure long-term success with the help of further supporters.
PROFI-L is the Seelandschule Nachterstedt’s flagship career guidance programme: four days at school, followed by one day of practical training at a company of the student’s choice. This forms part of a continuous, multi-year educational process, rather than being a one-off initiative. School-based learning, practical work experience, reflection and the development of individual skills are systematically integrated.
Secondary school headteacher Tim Hase and his partners aim to develop solutions from the region that can be replicated across Germany. “We see vocational training as a long-distance run, from Year 5 to Year 10,” Hase explains. Key aspects of the project include collaboration with local businesses and training supervisors, aligning achievements with the chambers of commerce, and support from network partners right up to the state level; this would then allow the additional practical examinations, which have just been taken for the first time by Year 9 pupils, to be included in their school reports. “Pupils can show what they’re capable of and what they can achieve in practice.” The teacher emphasises that this is an important form of recognition and an additional source of motivation for many of his pupils.
It is a plea for the role of secondary schools and their importance for the labour market in our country. At the signing of the agreement, everyone endorsed the approach taken by the Seeland School and its partners on how to identify suitable young talent – particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises – and retain them in the region. After all, overcoming today’s challenges requires commitment from society as a whole.