Attracting coating technology specialists through partial post-qualification

Process mechanics for coating technology are urgently needed in the industry. In order to recruit new qualified specialists, a post-qualification program for existing employees is available with funding from the German Federal Employment Agency.

Often there are proven employees in coating companies who do not have a vocational qualification as a process mechanic for coating technology, but who do their job excellently. These employees can be qualified as skilled workers, which is an excellent way to recruit skilled workers from within the company's own workforce and to retain employees. The Federal Employment Agency promotes suitable employees in accordance with the Qualification Opportunities Act (§ 81 SGB 3).

Have you ever read anything on the subject of qualification as a process mechanic for coating technology? Yes, an article on this type of employee qualification was already published on Oberfläche-Online in July 2023 and presented the measure in detail. Despite exclusively positive feedback, which the provider Arvaport received both to its webinars, publications, contributions in the social networks, and in conversations, it has not yet succeeded in starting a qualification measure. The required number of participants has not yet been reached because very few companies have registered employees for it so far.

A (non-representative) survey by Markus Vüllers on LinkedIn came to the conclusion that 50 percent of the companies do not want any further training for their employees and 17 percent consider a Chamber of Industry and Commerce qualification to be unimportant This is hard to believe because in other industries exactly the opposite occurs. Is it possibly also due to the fact that employees are tied into the measure for a relatively long period of time? There is a solution for this as well, which we would like to present here.

Another excellent option for leading employees employed at the assistant level to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) qualification of process mechanic for coating technology are partial qualifications (TQ) that can be added to the vocational qualification. This is a form of qualification that prepares employees for the external final examination and the vocational qualification in parts that systematically build on one another (the TQ). The training contents cover the entire occupational profile one after the other.

The partial qualifications are delimited and standardized units within the overall structure of a training occupation, the completion of which should ensure the acquisition of a vocational qualification. The partial qualifications must cover all positions of an occupational profile; the respective training regulations, training frameworks and framework curricula of the vocational schools are the basis. The partial qualifications are intended to establish occupational competence.

The duration of the TQs should be adapted to the target group of low-skilled workers. The minimum duration of a partial qualification is two months, the maximum duration of a partial qualification is six months. The number of partial qualifications per occupation is five to eight, the total duration of all partial qualifications can be based on the duration of the initial training period. Longer periods can also lie between the TQs; a TQ does not have to immediately follow the previous one.

The competencies acquired in a partial qualification are determined individually, taking into account quality standards that also apply to vocational qualification examinations. For each TQ passed, participants receive structured and meaningful certificates that can be used individually. They provide orientation for both participants and potential employers.

The competencies acquired in a partial qualification are determined individually, taking into account quality standards that also apply to vocational qualification examinations. For each TQ passed, participants receive structured and meaningful certificates that can be used individually. They provide orientation for both participants and potential employers. As a rule, the qualification begins with TQ 1. People from outside the industry or with little knowledge should always start with this introductory TQ. Direct entry into subsequent TQs is always possible if participants can prove that they have previously acquired the relevant competencies from the preceding TQ.

This form of qualification therefore offers not only professionally experienced employees, but also those with less employment time in the industry, a very flexible opportunity to prepare for the external final examination to become a process mechanic for coating technology. For example, newly hired employees. (OM-10/23)