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Vol. XIX, No. 16
Clackamas Community College
Oregon City, Oregon
March 11, 1986
German academic visits College
By Amy Doane
Staff Writer
Last Tuesday, March 4, the
College was visited by Rudolf
Herwig, head of the depart
ment of professional educa
tion for the Trades and Crafts
chamber of Upper Bavaria,
who is on a two week tour to
study the apprenticeship pro
grams and vocational educa
tion programs in the United
States.
Herwig was accompanied by
Bill Anton, director of the ap
prenticeship program and
training, and Wendy Roberts,
state commissioner of the
Bureau of Labor & Industries.
Herwig’s tour of the educa
tional areas on campus began
around noon on Tuesday,
stopping only for a brief inter
view with reporters at 12:30
p.m. _
Lunch followed at 1:00 in
the Community Center.
Herwig felt that his visit was
an important one stating “It’s
very good to compare dif
ferent systems.”
Herwig said Germany’s ap
prenticeship program had to
many regulations to deal with
as compared to the United
State’s more flexible system,
but summed up his com
parison by saying, “Every
system has its advantages and
disadvantages.”
Herwig, who is from
Munich, West Germany,
heads over 45,000 apprentices
in Trades and Crafts in Upper
Bavaria, which is only part of
one West German state. West
Germany, as a whole, has 1.5
million apprentices in all areas
of apprenticeship.
Kathy Whitehouse, from
the Bureau of Labor & In
dustries, points out in a
background report on the ap
prenticeship program in West
Germany “that the high
number of apprentices in Ger
many is startling when you
realize that America has some
300,000 apprentices at best.”
Oregon has about 3,300.
Herwig
states
in
Whitehouse’s report that, in
general, apprentices in West
Germany out number Univer
sity students two to one.
In Tuesday’s interview with
reporters, Herwig explained
how the apprenticeship pro
gram worked in West Ger
many.
The West German govern
ment does not'play a part in
the apprenticeship program in
any way, which is not the case
in the U.S.
All businesses belong to a
“chamber,” something
similar to our Chamber of
Commerce.
“It is not a voluntary thing,
it’s the law. Every business
must pay a fee,” said Herwig.
There are 52 chambers all
together, the largest two being
Trades and Crafts and In
dustry and Commerce. Each
chamber is responsible for a
different region.
Skilled training begins at an
early age in West Germany. In
elementary school, a child will
make decisions to what kind
of educational route they will
follow.
Every student must attend
school for nine years (up until
15 years of age) and from
there attend middle school and
enter the apprenticeship pro
gram or continue their educa
tion further by taking an exam
that will lead to college.
A student may enter the ap
prenticeship program at age
15, but about 50 percent of
new apprentices are over 18.
The apprenticeship program
takes students ranging in age
from 15 to 20 years.
Apprenticeships in West
Germany last from three years
to three and a half years. In
this time, apprentices make
very little money, but learn a
great deal about their chosen
profession.
Another law within the
system rules that at least one
apprentice must be placed
amongst three skilled workers.
About 70 percent of all ap
prentices will be hired by their
employers who helped them in
their training.
The College offers a variety
of apprenticeship courses such
as electrical apprenticeships,
plumbing apprenticeships,
painting apprenticeships, and
sheet metal and tool & die ap
prenticeships.
Credits for these classes
range from 2 to 6 credits max
imum.
Herwig’s visit to the U.S.
was made possible by the Ger-
man Marshall under which is
an educational/cultural ex
change program.
Kudolt Herwig (leit) gets ideas about industrial mechanics from
Jim Burrows (center) metal shop instructor and Kevin
O’Donoghue (right), student.
Photo by Dan Wheeler
Eriksen resigns; discord with Jacobs cited
telling the truth,” Eriksen
said.
Associated Student Govern
Eriksen felt that she was
ment Senator Tracey Eriksen overburdened with tasks from
resigned her post as Activities Jacobs and didn’t have any
Senator yesterday morning, time for her own life. “He saw
citing, backstabbing and me as his top senator and
distrust among ASG members, everything had to be 100 per
and her own disintegrating cent ASG.”
health as reasons for leaving
Eriksen said that Jacobs had
office.
been working on a “power
Eriksen, who handed in her play” within ASG since
resignation to Student Pro November, and that he has
gram Specialist Paul Kyllo, tried to keep a hand in all ASG
said ASG Activities Director matters. Eriksen related in
Breck Jacobs was both directly cidents of Jacobs behavior in
and indirectly responsible for volving several matters.
her self-decided resignation.
“Working on ‘Festival ’86’
“I don’t know when he’s (a planned fundraiser for
By Dave Holmes
Editor-In-Chief
Muscular Dystrophy), he told
(Student Services Director)
Debbie Baker that he’d done
things that he hadn’t, such
things as set up and the clear
ing of contracts. He said he
was even thinking of skimm
ing off five percent of the pro
fits for ASG and keeping two
sets of books.”
Eriksen resigned her post
because she felt she couldn’t
maintain respect for Jacobs
and felt his dealings with peo
ple unethical. She also said her
erratic blood pressure had
forced her out of office,but
that the atmosphere in ASG
was the decisive factor.