NJ Getting a Taste of German Dual Education Apprenticeship Model

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief On Aug 23, 2019

Germany’s successful dual education model, in which an apprentice obtains specific trade skills by working at a host company and attending an institution of higher education, is making inroads in New Jersey with the launch of GACC Apprenticeship NJ.

On the Montclair State University Campus this past week, the German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC), which is the foreign office of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), along with two New Jersey-based manufacturing companies and two community colleges, announced the program, which is being funded, in part, by a New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) GAINS (Growing Apprenticeship in Nontraditional Sectors) grant of $39,000. The grant was registered through the Morris County Chamber of Commerce as GACC’s local partner and representative.

“We are here today because we have an official LWD registered apprenticeship program in which we [GACC] is the sponsor in the field of mechatronics (the combination of mechanical and electrical skills in manufacturing) in New Jersey,” said Matthew Allen, director, careers and education, GACC.

The initial cohort of participating companies includes Towaco-based Baumer of America and Dover-based Arconic. The participating institutions of higher education are County College of Morris and Essex County College.

According to Allen, apprentices will work and study over a three-year period earning an associate’s degree, an LWD apprenticeship certificate and a German apprenticeship certificate. “They will complete a German-style competency exam at the end of the program and their trainers, additionally, will be certified to the German standard of training competency,” he said.

The host companies are responsible for paying apprentice tuition and wages, with the help of the GAINS grant. “One of the requirements of the state is that a minimum wage of $15 be paid to the apprentice during the program and the wage has to increase over the course of the apprenticeship,” Allen explained.

Gov. Phil Murphy was on hand at the event, promoting the state’s many apprenticeship initiatives and announcing: the first-ever grant recipients of the Pre-Apprenticeship in Career Education (PACE) program; and a $3-million notice of grant opportunity for the second GAINS grant and the first-ever Expanding Pre-Apprenticeships in a New Direction (ExPAND) grant (a total of $600,000 to be awarded across North, Central and Southern New Jersey to one country vocational and once comprehensive school district applicant in each region).

Murphy saw the value of Germany’s education model first hand during his years as head of Goldman Sachs’ Frankfurt office and as United States Ambassador to Germany during the Obama administration. At the event, he commented, “I have had the unique ability to witness the German model that has propelled one of the world’s leading industrial economies and grown a stable German middle class. In watching this, I knew there was so much we can bring to the US.

“Even before I was governor, I talked about the need to bring this to New Jersey and have business leaders, government officials and our higher ed community lead the way in growing our middle class and reigniting our innovation economy.

“Our overarching goal is for New Jersey to have the nation’s best apprenticeship program; a model that other states can look to with envy … and make them look towards New Jersey the same way we look towards our friends in Germany.”

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

Related Articles: