In an emergency, the district of Munich steps in to provide occupational support

Created: 07/08/2022, 2:30 p.m

By: Charlotte Borst

The district office of Munich.

© Robert Brouczek

The state parliament may not be completely convinced that career entry support is almost indispensable in terms of successful training, but the district is.

District

– 90 students in need of support are currently being supported at middle schools and support centers in the district on their way from school to training.

Kerstin Grillmeier has been working at the Unterschleißheim secondary school for eleven years in career entry support (BerEB).

Most of the students she supported have completed an apprenticeship or switched to the M branch on the way to graduating from secondary school.

"The career entry support is absolutely useful and mostly successful," says the 48-year-old.

Despite this, her job is insecure.

It is unclear whether the support program for middle school students will continue seamlessly and indefinitely.

Online applications not without

The BerEB looks after young people from the eighth grade who have bad grades and are unlikely to find any training.

“You used to write a written application or go to a company with your parents,” says Grillmeier.

“There is now a top-class online application process.

But not everyone has a laptop, scanner and printer at home.”

Disadvantaged families need help

The social pedagogues are guides into the professional world, especially for students from disadvantaged families or with parents who are not familiar with the educational system.

Grillmeier tells of a student who had bad grades and was even excluded from class for two weeks because of a disciplinary procedure.

“But he always got surprisingly good feedback when he did an internship.

It became clear that things are looking very good for him in the working world.” During the BerEb, he found an apprenticeship as a painter and varnisher and got into the job very well.

"A year ago he contacted me if I could help him again with the letter of application and the CV, he wants to attend master school."

In April, the state parliament voted against the program

The BerEB was already hanging by a thread in 2021.

The state parliament wanted to delete the Bavaria-wide program at first, but continued it when there was resistance.

In April, too, a majority in the state parliament voted against the program.

Parents and staff protested, the media reported.

Then Minister of Education Piazolo announced the continuation for 2023.

In a petition, parents and employees are now demanding seamless and indefinite continuation.

Whether the state parliament agrees is still uncertain.

Against the insecurity

The continuing uncertainty is a challenge for employees and freelancers.

At the request of the district parliamentary groups of the Greens, SPD, FDP and ÖDP, the youth welfare committee decided unanimously on Wednesday that the district of Munich would secure career entry support.

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If the Free State does not continue funding in the future, the district will bear the costs for 90 places and apply for 50 percent co-financing from the Federal Employment Agency.

A district-specific concept is already in the drawer: the draft envisages not only individual support for young people in need of support, but also a proportion of class and group support.

This increases the scope of the measure.