Schulpartnerschaften für Berufsschulen mit den USA und Kanada

GATE (German Apprenticeship Training Exchange) is a grant program of the Joachim Herz Foundation (JHF) that aims to make it easier for trainees to gain experience in the United States and in Canada and to share ideas and knowledge with their peers.

The GATE program supports new or existing exchange projects between German vocational schools and partner schools or colleges in the U.S. or in Canada with grants of up to €20,000. All German vocational schools are eligible to apply and can allocate parts of the German grant to fund a visit to Germany by students and faculty from a partner college in the U.S. or Canada. The application must be submitted by the German vocational school, which receives the approved funds in the form of a donation.

Download Flyer

Promoting intercultural exchange between young professionals (“Azubis”: vocational students and apprentices) is one of the core activities within the program area “Personal Development” at the Joachim Herz Foundation. Germany’s dual vocational education system in technical, business, and numerous other trades is an important and popular career path. In it, apprentices combine employment at German companies with classroom learning in structured course programs at vocational schools at the same time.

The opportunities for trainees to gain international experience during thiseir training period are limited. Whereas around 30% of the German students in higher education gain international experience during their studies, at present only 5% of “Azubis” have this opportunity, even though the interest in internships abroad has risen among trainees in recent years.

Auszug aus der Karte, mit der sich deutsche, US-amerikanische und kanadische Schulen vernetzen können

Do you wish to find a partner school in Germany or would like to share experiences with other colleges in Germany, Canada and in the USA? Please feel free to post your institution on our Transatlantic Apprentice & Student Exchange Map!

To do so, please put the name of your institution in the headline. In the description, please write a short note about what you are looking for or what you are offering. At the end of the description, please add informational material, links to your website, and your contact details. For data protection reasons, please share only relevant contact information.

To the map

The annual Transatlantic Networking Day of the Joachim Herz Foundation is aimed at representatives of institutions providing vocational education or skills-based training, employers which host apprentice trainees, exchange organizations, ministries of education, chambers of commerce and industry as well as program alumni (students) and those interested in deepening ties between Germany, the USA and Canada.