At least since the invention of movable type by Johannes Gutenberg some 600 years ago, education, vocational training and research as well as innovation have been part and parcel of the outstanding achievements by people living in this region. It is a tradition that imposes an obligation. Affording the best educational opportunities for children from the very beginning has always been Rheinland-Pfalz’s credo.
It starts at a very early age: Rheinland-Pfalz was the first state in the Federal Republic of Germany that made pre-school day-care centers available at no charge. There are excellent kindergarten facilities to match. In schooling, too, the state has been in the forefront of development. Children and families benefit from the availability of almost 500 all-day schools.
True to the people’s lifestyles, the state’s education system promotes openness and exchanges. English and French are already taught in many elementary schools. International schools as well as numerous masters programs at universities are conducted in English - an approach that offers opportunities to people open to the world.
Germany’s dual education system, combining job training with schooling, enjoys high esteem around the globe. It is practiced and continues to be developed in Rheinland-Pfalz. Training on the job and complying with the needs of companies assure the economy as well as companies not only a steady supply of highly-qualified skills, but also good opportunities for graduates of the program. In the manual crafts, for example, where, following a successful journeyman stint, many succeed in rising ultimately to master craftsmen. Rheinland-Pfalz manual trades are masters of their trades!
Job opportunities also abound for students of technical schools specializing in applied sciences as well as those enrolled in research-oriented universities. Higher education in Rheinland-Pfalz covers the entire spectrum from medicine and natural sciences to technical engineering, languages and humanities. Application-oriented research, technological and start-up centers throughout the state as well as selective development support rapid knowledge transfer in new products and processes and favor an economic climate where start-ups thrive. Rheinland-Pfalz has a lust for enterprise.
