(Shenyang/Beijing) On June 12, 2009, as a part of “Deutschland und China-Gemeinsam in Bewegung” activities in Shenyang, Liaoning, the forum “Sino-German Vocational Education Cooperation— Supply and Demand” was held in Furama Hotel Shenyang successfully. Prof. Annette Schavan, Federal Minister of Education and Research Germany and Ms. Chen Xiaoya, Vice Minister of Education China attended the forum and made keynote speeches. As an international company dedicated to the local society with a local manufacturing plant in Shenyang, Mr. Manfred Theunert, Head of Vocational Education Department from Headquarter of BMW Group attended the forum and introduced BMW’s expertise in vocational education. Mr. Marc Grönninger, Head of Human Resources Systems Department of BMW Brilliance, made an introduction on achievements by BMW Brilliance in vocational education in recent years at the following VIP panel discussion.
This forum was co-hosted by Chinese and German vocational education institutions. A total of 150 people participated in the forum, including representatives from more than 10 institutions and Chinese government officials, management from Chinese vocational education colleges and representatives from enterprises. The objective of the forum was to exhibit the achievements of the existing cooperation mode and discuss on the further exchange and cooperation. In addition, the forum also included activities for Chinese and German vocational education institutions to get into contact, aiming to furthering the cooperation in this area.
Mr. Manfred Theunert, Chief of Vocational Education Department in BMW Headquarter pointed out, “As the world’s well-known premium auto manufacturer, BMW has been attaching great importance to vocational education and has accumulated rich experience in this field. We would like to introduce the advanced education systems to China through BMW Brilliance and do our best to the local education development while promoting the cooperation and development between China and Germany in vocational education.”
As a Sino-German joint venture, BMW Brilliance has been committed to vocational education since the date of establishment. As the leader in the premium auto segment, BMW Brilliance has been offering premium products to customers, as well as making active contributions within vocational education areas. These efforts not only help promote the economic and cultural development in Shenyang, but also accelerate the progress of the Chinese automobile industry.
Introduce advanced education courses through project cooperation
Since April 2006, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) launched a vocational education program, aiming at developing Automotive Mechatronics training courses, gradually transforming the current domestic vocational education system into a dual-system, cultivating excellent backup force for the auto industry and promoting China’s vocational education development. In May 2008 the joint Public-Private Partnership (PPP) vocational education program between BMW Brilliance and GTZ concluded successfully, and the first textbook on Automotive Mechatronics/Electronics for auto technical training has been published by China Machine Press. Several colleges have adopted the teaching material and scores of colleges and training institutes benefit from it, and another two textbooks will be published in near future.
Proactively establish and improve education system
BMW Brilliance has always been devoted to establishing dual education system. Since 2005, Shenyang plant has begun to provide internship opportunities for students in Grade Three of the vocational colleges. Since 2008, the Apprenticeship Program has been launched by Shenyang plant and after-sales service. It not only provides internship opportunities, but also offers the students with systematic training. During the 26 weeks from December 2008 to May 2009, 32 apprentices received systematic training at BMW Brilliance Shenyang plant. The German dual education mode was adopted in the training with a good combination of theory learning and manufacturing practices. After the apprentices passed the theory and practice examinations, they won the Manufacturing Apprenticeship Certificate by BMW Brilliance.
In the realm of after-sales service, the apprentice training system developed by BMW Brilliance runs smoothly. By the end of 2008, a total of 140 apprentices from Nanjing and Chengdu have joined the BMW after-sales service apprentice program and received BMW basic technology training and internship opportunities at dealership service centers
Since 1995, BMW Group has started to provide market-oriented training in sales and after-sales services in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. As the manufacturer of BMW cars in China, BMW Brilliance has set up a national training network including two training centers in Beijing and Shanghai and four training bases in Shenyang, Nanjing, Chengdu and Guangzhou since its establishment in 2003. The training centers and bases not only promote the development of BMW and the completion of after-sales service system, but also provide technology training venues for the local vocational colleges and apprenticeship program, bringing more opportunities for them to learn the advanced auto technologies of BMW.
BMW has been always attaching much importance to the development in China and been devoted to making contributions to China’s harmonious society construction and education development. This is also a very significant part of the corporate social contributions made by BMW in China.
