Understanding School in Germany

Today the application process is
almost like an audition!
20.1
The company is sitting in the jury when it comes to
internships (Praktika), integrated career and vocational
education and training (duale Ausbildung), or work-study
degree programmes (duales Studium).
When it comes to a career, companies are your most important partners.
Companies that train young people are called apprenticing companies
( Ausbildungsbetriebe).
The company decides in its sole discretion who will be offered an internship
(Praktikum), a trainee position, or accepted into a work-study degree programme
(duales Studium). Each company naturally only wants to educate
and train the best and brightest. Some companies focus on school
performance and others want to educate and train youth
which are reliable, capable of learning, and show a passion
for their future occupation.
20.2
Searching for a company:
There are many roads leading to Rome.
Before your child sets off on his or her search, he or she should find out
which companies in your vicinity (community, town, city) offer training programmes
or internships (Praktika). Your child has many ways of finding a
company.
Here are some ideas: Do an internship (Praktikum), use internet search
engines, look in business directories or the telephone book, talk to contacts
(this also means friends and acquaintances), visit education and job fairs, visit
the state employment agency and other information and consultation centres,
read the classified advertising in newspapers, pay attention to outdoor
advertising, for example billboard ads in the street or
advertising posted on buses or in supermarkets. You can
call a company directly, get information from their website,
or even stop by for a visit.
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