Memmingen: Specialist academy for social education celebrates new rooms

Created: 07/12/2022, 07:00

By: Tom Otto

The specialist academy for social pedagogics of the Mindelheim state vocational school, which was founded last year as a branch in Memmingen, celebrated the inauguration of the new rooms on Mindelheimer Straße in Memmingen last week.

© Tom Otto

Memmingen/Mindelheim - The specialist academy for social pedagogy of the Mindelheim state vocational school, which was founded last year as a branch in Memmingen, celebrated the inauguration of the new premises last week.

This means that the students can finally move into their own rooms at the academy.

Since the opening of the academy in August 2021, teaching for prospective social workers has had to start in the rooms of the neighboring vocational school for child care on Mindelheimer Straße.

Gottfried Göppel, headmaster of the Mindelheim vocational school, was delighted with the new, more than 300 square meter rooms, which were tailored to the profession.

Exactly one day before the inauguration ceremony, the last craftsmen left the building and cleared the way for use.

Among other things, there is an integrated teaching kindergarten, kitchen, rooms for art and handicraft education and “everything you need for your future job,” says Göppel.

The Lower Allgäu District Administrator Alex Eder, the Mindelheim school principal Gottfried Göppel, Christine Hefer, Ministerialrätin in the Bavarian Ministry of Education and Memmingen's Lord Mayor Manfred Schilder (from left) were not only happy about the inauguration of the new rooms, but also about the successful cultural program at the celebration.

© Tom Otto

The 24 students who started their training in August 2021 and another 30 students in the new training year starting this autumn are currently being trained here.

Christine Hefer, Ministerialrätin in the Bavarian Ministry of Education, not only came with a lot of praise for the program and the decoration of the celebration, but also underlined the importance of the job profile of social pedagogues.

For some time now, social workers have been the professional group with the most vacancies.

Over 18,000 of them are currently being sought throughout Germany.

The job does not only require looking after children.

Educational processes are initiated here and values ​​are conveyed;

practical knowledge about healthy nutrition and exercise as well as support with language development and help with entering the digital world are also in focus.

Hefer emphasized that professional action in these areas is not possible without well-founded training, which is provided here in the new specialist academy.

Among other things, the students learn how to observe the behavior and well-being of young people, and learn how to look after and promote their physical and mental abilities.

The typical areas of work for the graduates are later in kindergartens, crèches and after-school care centers, in residential and educational homes, in family or addiction counseling, in work with people with disabilities as well as in convalescent and holiday homes.

The Lower Allgäu District Administrator Alex Eder praised the project as proof of the successful cooperation within the educational region plus Memmingen/Unterallgäu.

For the energetic refurbishment of heating, insulation and lighting, costs of around 600,000 euros are expected for the district of Unterallgäu.

Eder advocated not talking about costs here, but about an investment in the education that is urgently needed in the region.

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