Abstract:

In Germany, the so-called dual training system provides practice-oriented vocational training alongside the possibility of studying at universities and universities of applied sciences. This dual form of training is divided into a practical part in a company and a school-based part in a vocational school. At present, it is difficult to find good skilled workers in the IT sector in Germany. Vocational training at one's own location is one way of counteracting this shortage of skilled workers and improving personnel development in university computer centres. Many german universities train IT specialists in the IT sector and although there is a strong overall trend towards academic training in Germany, vocational training in the IT sector is of great importance.

In terms of content, training at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf is no different from training in a company. Since 2016, the university's computer centre, i.e. the Centre for Information and Media Technology (ZIM), has been offering training for IT specialists with main focus in application development or system integration. The fields of work of IT specialists are very diverse. In the field of application development, trainees develop and program tailor-made software solutions. For this they use programming languages and tools, such as developer tools. In the field of system integration, the trainees implement customer-specific information and communication solutions. They network hardware and software components to create complex systems. In addition, trainees from both disciplines advise or train users.

The training facility at ZIM was newly established for the first trainees in 2016. It started with various interns in the context of retraining measures to become an IT specialist in order to gain first experiences with project-based training and knowledge with regard to final exams. It started with two applicants per year, so that after three years six trainees are working at ZIM. In addition, qualified trainers and supervisors for the trainees had to be identified, since at least one trainer must also prove the additional qualification of the training aptitude test. At the same time, as an additional service to the day-to-day business, ZIM is represented on the official examination committee, so that an evaluation could be made for how the trainees can be adequately prepared for the final company examination.

Based on a company training plan, the trainees are taught different skills through different types of projects. Computer centers offer different services in the universities and only changes to the services are organized through projects. Due to the project-based orientation of IT specialist training, the perspective view of an IT company first had to adapt to this project-oriented approach to teaching training content. Among other things, projects were designed to solve urgent problems, such as the development of a web interface, but also evaluations of software for possible new services or the creation of tutorial videos for existing services were tasks for the trainees. In this way, interesting projects can be developed together with trainees, and at the same time qualified personnel can be trained for their own company. In order to support the special nature and the advantages of vocational training at a university, the trainees take part in computer science lectures and thus additionally gain their first experience in an academic education.

Keywords:

University computer center, IT specialists, vocational training.