What comes after graduation?

New topic of the Parents' Hotline: Transition to training and study

Sooner or later the time comes: the children graduate from school. At the latest then the question arises - what happens now? For many parents and children it may have been clear for a long time what comes after school; for others it is still a closed book, e.g. because they have immigrated from abroad. Our new sub-page is intended to help parents and young people who do not yet know everything and do not yet have a clear picture of where their journey will take them. Even if the whole world likes to pretend that this should not be the case - the reality is different (and that's perfectly fine!).

When school graduation is approaching, the question arises: what will be the next step for my child? There are many hundreds of apprenticeships and over 15,000 courses of study - so the choice of what to do next is not easy. There is a lot of information available, but it is often not easy to find it. On our pages, we give you an overview of where you can get information and who can help you - and/or your child. Although there is supposed to be support for career orientation and career choice already at school, this often doesn't work out quite the way it should for the young people. And in Corona times, the events, school lessons and offers are just as cancelled as the training and study fairs or pupil internships. That makes it a bit more difficult from the students' point of view, but also from the parents' point of view. And in Corona times, many training companies also have other things on their minds more than the next training year. Those who are fighting for survival and continuity often don't have their heads free to take care of other things.

What happens after school for your child also depends on what school-leaving certificate and what grades he or she has. There are different options for high school graduates than for young people with or without a lower secondary school leaving certificate or Berufsbilungsreife or first school leaving certificate, as they are now sometimes called. Young people with a Realschulabschluss also have a different range of options.

Of course, the school-leaving qualification has an influence on the opportunities that are directly available to a young person. For young people with and without a lower secondary school-leaving certificate or vocational training entrance qualification, there is above all the path to dual training, but it is also possible to aim for a further school-leaving certificate or to take an intermediate step via the basic education or transition system.

If the son or daughter has a secondary school leaving certificate, then there are various school training paths in addition to the dual training, for example in the direction of educator or nurse. In addition, it is also possible to strive for the Fachabitur or Abitur via various routes or to acquire this via vocational training.

In addition to vocational training, the path to university in particular is open to Abitur graduates - this clearly distinguishes their options from the other school-leaving qualifications. Those who first have a "lower" school leaving certificate and would definitely like to go to university can acquire the Fachabitur or Abitur required for this in various ways.

First and foremost, in addition to school performance and school reports, you should always look at what special strengths and interests your child has. What is he or she passionate about? What motivates the daughter or son? Which interests?

There is no child who does not have some interests. Every child "burns for something", as they say in German. It doesn't matter whether it's handicrafts, cosmetics, sports, music or computers - or whatever. In almost all areas of interest there are also professions. If your child has an interest in something, then he or she will put the appropriate effort into it - and be willing to learn. If you don't know what your child is interested in, find out! Ask them - and if necessary get professional help (there will be more information about this in the next few days).

It doesn't have to be university at any price, there are also many exciting and interesting vocational training programs, whether in a combination of company and school (the so-called dual training) or in a vocational school.

What different paths there are, where there is help with career orientation or where companies offer training positions - we will put this information online in the next few days. Our new subpage is divided into different sections that cover individual phases and questions and are intended to help you find your way through the jungle of diverse offers and opportunities.

We hope this new offer is of interest to you and your daughter or son. If you miss something or if you have any questions, please call us (free of charge and 0800/7771877) or write us an email (fraguns@elternhotline.de). On the phone we can support you in German or English, by email also in many other languages.

Published on 14.04.2021