How to deal with an "ice-solated" situation in the field of Vocational Education - Part 2 - The case of a VET school and more experiences

About the landscape of Iceland, there is a joke told by the Icelanders themselves. "If you get lost in a forest in Iceland, just stand up and you can see where to go." This because the plantings of leafy trees for reforestation are still so young and slow growing that it is very easy to get a view if you stand up.

This characterizes quite well the consequences of the massive deforestation that took place in Iceland during the times of the Vikings and whose consequences can still be seen today. Nevertheless, at least in Reykjavik, one can already find reforestations that deserve the name coniferous forest, if one thinks of the hill on which Perlan - a multifunctional hot water tank with integrated museum and cafe - stands. But Icelandic wood remains a rare commodity for the present. This is not so problematic for the construction of houses, which is mainly done in concrete due to earthquake resistance, but it is for carpenters and interior design and wooden floors.

Since heating the houses turns out to be trouble-free and very cheap due to the many hot springs, the lack of wood is not really an existential problem in this context. Hot water is so abundant that not only do all public swimming pools have hot baths and that in the open air, but some sidewalks, especially immediately around apartment buildings are underlaid with warm water pipes, so that even in winter walking there is very safe. However, this also shows that Iceland must have a high level of qualified skilled workers, especially in technical areas, in order to create such technologically sophisticated solutions.

I was able to see how this happens in practice during a visit to Taekniskolinn in Reykjavik under the direction of its principal Hildur Ingvarsdottir . She had received me and in a very informal conversation over lunch at the school it became clear that she, like many Icelanders, has an interesting professional career. She arrived at her new role as school principal via a degree in engineering, a one-year teacher training course and brief periods of practical experience, initially in charge of the municipal energy and water supply. This is not atypical, as my guide to the sights of nature and Pingvellir, pictured above, was previously a pilot and manager of a large dance club in Reykjavik before taking an interest in more regular working hours and another job for the sake of the family.

For this to be possible, flexible qualification systems are necessary, as well as good self-management of one's own professional development and one's own openness to change. That some then also have several "professions" at the same time is something I also know on the Alands and also from other islanders who have to cope with diverse tasks with a small community

?

Back to Hildur. In the school, it quickly becomes clear that the classrooms for frontal teaching, so familiar in Germany, are almost nowhere to be found. They have been replaced by much more spacious rooms (walls have been removed from the building) that allow for round tables, comfortable seating and collaboration, and the creation of communicative workshops. Project-based teaching is commonplace here, even in the courses that prepare students for academic studies.

"If you want someone who makes decisions from the top alone,
you'll have to find someone else!"        

The fact that a school community exists here at eye level also has to do with Hildur, who said when she took the job, "If you want someone who makes decisions from the top alone and you can then talk about their effects behind their backs, you'll have to find someone else!" This style is noticeable in her communication with students and teachers.

She knows the school and vice versa and isn't above picking up a throw away paper once in a while, inwardly noting that an air conditioner is humming and needs to be taken care of, or even giving up the privileges of reserved parking spaces and a large office. Instead, the resulting space benefits those who really need it, because teachers can't call their students because they're still looking for a parking spot - she, on the other hand, can contact the appointment, so what's the point of a reserved parking spot at all school sites that remains mostly vacant.

Also, special students with attention disorders, etc., rather need their own manageable space for learning and development, as well as a shared smaller space for a family-style lunch. The school ensures this as well, and tries everything to make a transition to the work force possible for all.

I had already noticed this at the university in the environment of my workplace, because people with disabilities accompanied by assistants are in regular employment there as a matter of course. They are part of it and undoubtedly improve the working atmoshere

But now for the last surprises from the German point of view.

• Not all students who are currently being trained as carpenters, silversmiths, hairdressers, electricians, etc. have an apprenticeship contract. They are partly only in temporary internships in companies and need a sufficient time there and also a training contract at the end to also take the exam. This is sometimes a problem, because graduation is not certain from the very beginning.

At the same time, however, it also creates a very integrative system, because the training decision is not initially solely in the hands of the private sector, and in some cases only a few modules can be taken by the learners, who may then disver that they are heading for university or vice versa. How well this actually works will be one of the questions for my further visits to other schools.

A related question: How well, and on what basis, do schools manage to offer only enough apprenticeships to ensure that students also have a good chance of graduating and subsequently working in the field? Does this matter at all, or is it more financial decisions that limit the intake of student:s?

?

• The second surprise - there is no vocational training (anymore) in the entire field of commercial professions, services and administration. This used to be different more than 20 years ago. Now there are only private providers offering certain advanced courses. As a result, people who work in these areas either have a business degree with a BA or MA, or work in the field without any relevant qualifications. The latter is especially true in the tourism and hotel industry and in restaurant service, which is why the proportion of people from other countries is comparatively very high here.

That is why there is hardly any well-founded advice on purchasing from specialized personnel and one encounters many jobbing students there. The private University of Reykjavik, which in the meantime has also risen to a university, has its origins right here in a commercial school, as which it was once founded. Is this really a sensible way to go?

?

The journey continues and I'm curious to see what new insights an education service provider opens up in the next few days, what the union's view is and whether the schools in the more rural areas or those for electronics technicians differ.

?

I would like to close with a few questions and ask for comments:

• What do you think of the eye-level leadership and strong participation orientation at the vocational school?
• Have you had similar experiences? What do you think about meeting rooms that can be shared and booked and spacious meeting rooms at the price of small offices?
• ?Should vocational training in commercial professions be dropped because, after all, it's not about skill and practical abilities, but about communication and cognitive requirements that can also be developed in academic settings?
• What do they see as the strengths and weaknesses of the Icelandic system compared to the conditions in their country?