# EU Citizen - Dual training in Germany



## oconnell90 (Jan 17, 2014)

Hello
I am interested in moving to Germany in order to do a dual training apprenticeship. I hope to gain an apprenticeship in metal working or some form of mechanical engineering. 
I am a 23 year old Irish citizen with no knowledge of the German language. 
I have been told that the German dual training system offers over 300 various apprenticeships, yet I can't seem to find a list of them online in English. I wonder could someone direct me to such a website?
Also I am unsure how to apply for such a position. Would I need to apply directly to a company? 
Any information is greatly appreciated.


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

oconnell90 said:


> Hello
> I am interested in moving to Germany in order to do a dual training apprenticeship. I hope to gain an apprenticeship in metal working or some form of mechanical engineering.
> I am a 23 year old Irish citizen with no knowledge of the German language.
> I have been told that the German dual training system offers over 300 various apprenticeships, yet I can't seem to find a list of them online in English. I wonder could someone direct me to such a website?
> ...


Apprenticeships are basically jobs with a structured training programme and either 1-2 days a week college courses or something like 11 months work/1 month full time college per year.

Have a look here:

Home

And these might also be of interest:

http://www.international-business-academy.co.uk/

Germany's Dual Vocational Education System - Young Germany

Vocational Training in Germany - Make it in Germany

You normally apply directly to a company. The big global players all offer apprenticeships but so do most of medium and smaller companies.

It would be good to find out the exact title of the occupation you want to apprentice in and possibly also narrow it down geographically at least a bit.

I could not find a list of occupations in English, either. The best I can offer is a list in German. 

Liste von Ausbildungsberufen â€“ Wikipedia

Have a look at the occupations below the title "Metallberufe" and copy-paste them one-by-one into an online dictionary to get the English equivalent.

This is what I got looking for "metal" apprenticeships in all of Germany on the German Jobcentre web site:

JOBBÖRSE - Meine erweiterte Suche nach Stellenangeboten

They can only show up to 200 listings at once, so narrowing it down to teh right occupation would help tremendously. 

Local guilds can help with addresses of prospective employers, too.

Starting to learn German ASAP would also be a good thing to do. 

Good luck and let us know how you get on!


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

oconnell90 said:


> Hello
> I am interested in moving to Germany in order to do a dual training apprenticeship. I hope to gain an apprenticeship in metal working or some form of mechanical engineering.
> I am a 23 year old Irish citizen with no knowledge of the German language.
> I have been told that the German dual training system offers over 300 various apprenticeships, yet I can't seem to find a list of them online in English. I wonder could someone direct me to such a website?
> ...


Another thing:

Applications in Germany work a bit different from Ireland.

You need as many written references from former employers (on letter head!) as possible (if you have any), copies of your last school report/school leaving certificate, certificates of language courses, copies of anything that you think might be useful in showing that you have an aptitude for the apprenticeship you are applying for.

Your CV should ideally be no longer than one page and have a good application picture (think mini portrait/yearbook picture) in its right upper corner.

All the details that you would normally put into your CV such as objectives, summary, responsibilities in your former jobs, etc. go into your cover letter. A good cover letter stating why you want to do this particular apprenticeship, why you want to do it at this particular company and why in Germany is what will get you an interview!


----------



## oconnell90 (Jan 17, 2014)

Hi ALKB
Thank you for your reply. All this info is really helpful. I will need some time to thrawl through all those occupations, but I do love how the German system is so specialised.
I will be starting my German lessons next week. Hopefully I'll be up to scratch for this August.
I wonder if you know roughly when these interviews take place? Are they conducted in the German language only? I intend to have a basic understanding of German by August but I'm not so confident I'll be able for an interview.
Again, thank you for your help.


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

oconnell90 said:


> Hi ALKB
> Thank you for your reply. All this info is really helpful. I will need some time to thrawl through all those occupations, but I do love how the German system is so specialised.
> I will be starting my German lessons next week. Hopefully I'll be up to scratch for this August.
> I wonder if you know roughly when these interviews take place? Are they conducted in the German language only? I intend to have a basic understanding of German by August but I'm not so confident I'll be able for an interview.
> Again, thank you for your help.


The ZAV (international department of German Jobcentre) has a pretty good programme that helps you with language courses in your home country and throughout your training. Sounds pretty good to me. They might be able to narrow down the best occupations for you:

... for Trainees

I know that Siemens takes several hundred (or was it 2000? can't find it anymore...) EU apprentices each year.

Usually job interviews are in German (if a foreign language is required for the job they might spring a conversation in that language on you but that won't really apply to metal professions) but if an employer participates in the ZAV programme, they will know about your level of German and I imagine that the application process would be altered accordingly. 

Interviews take place up to a year before starting but there are always also vacant apprenticeship places that are filled within August/September or even a few weeks after college has started. There is another start date in January/February but ZAV does not seem to have a winter intake for this programme.

EDIT: Ha! http://www.thejobofmylife.de/en/dual-vocational-training/top-jobs.html


----------

