Job-BSK: Tailored Language Acquisition in the Workplace , format: Article, area: Integration , Learning Language Needed in Everyday Working Life

With the Job-BSK occupational language course, people learning German as a foreign language will learn language that is directly relevant to their everyday working life. The aim of the Job-BSK is to make part-time language learning more attractive for employees and companies and to make starting work in a company a success, even if the level of German is still low.

The Job-BSK (BSK: Berufssprachkurs, occupational language course) were introduced in late January 2024 to support companies and employees in implementing the Federal Government's Job-Turbo programme. The aim of the Job-Turbo is to accelerate the integration of refugees into the labour market. The Job-BSK therefore supplements the portfolio of occupational language courses with a type of course that is flexible, has a short duration and can be tailored precisely to the needs of employees and companies. The Job-BSK consists of three components:

1. Job-related communication training with reference to the workplace: For the training, a selection of important or typical situations in the daily work routine of the job is used to consolidate language and communication skills (e.g. hazard instruction in the field of building cleaning, confirmation of orders in the field of warehouse logistics, applying for time off, reporting problems, asking for support, communicating with colleagues, etc.).
2. Workplace and subject-specific advanced training: Here, participants are taught the language skills for their specific workplace. This element of the Job-BSK is based on a prior assessment of language requirements at the specific workplace by the teacher.
3. Individual language coaching including learning advice: To optimally cater for individual expansion and improvement needs, the Job-BSK offers individualised coaching elements (e.g. one-to-one sessions with the teacher, targeted feedback and exercises).

Access (including virtual access if necessary) to the participants' actual workplace is therefore required for the design of a Job-BSK.

The Job-BSK is suitable for people in unskilled labour as well as for (prospective) skilled workers.

The eligible target group for Job-BSK includes adults with German as a second or foreign language who

• can demonstrate at least language level A2 (CEFR)

and

• are already in employment and need language support to settle into their job, to secure their job or to improve their career development opportunities or
• have the prospect of taking up a specific job (from the time of confirmation from the employer) or are in preparation for such a specific job (employment contract) and would like to improve or specify their German language skills for this purpose or
• are taking part in a pre-employment programme with an employer or a provider with a clear connection to a specific job/profession and require language support.

In order for employees and thus employers to actively benefit from the Job-BSK, the cooperation of employers is essential, e.g. through close coordination with course providers and teachers, by facilitating workplace explorations/observations by teachers and by releasing employees from work.

Scope and Course Size

With a short, effectively utilised duration and small teaching groups, the Job-BSK courses offer an ideal setting for focused language support for participants. The courses therefore comprise 100 to 150 learning sessions (1 learning session = 45 minutes) and are available on a part-time or full-time basis. For example, the duration of a part-time course (e.g. 12 learning sessions per week) corresponds to a course duration of approx. two to three months. The course can be delivered in person (at the course provider's or employer's premises), in a virtual classroom or in a hybrid form.

The short duration optimises the time and funding required from the employer and the double burden for the participants. It is important that participants are reliably relieved of work during the course by being given time off or reduced working hours in order to reduce the risk of being overburdened. The Job-BSK courses are generally used alongside employment but can also take place immediately before the start of employment as soon as the specific job is known. In principle, it is also possible to combine the course with a training measure with the employer (Maßnahme beim Arbeitgeber, MAG) or with the provider (Maßnahme beim Träger, MAT) if the training measure shows a clear link to a job.

The minimum number of participants in the courses is three, but for reasons of practicability and capacity, course sizes of at least seven participants are aimed for.

The Job-BSK is completed by full participation in the course with a detailed certificate of attendance. There is no additional final test.

Training Locations

The Job-BSK courses can be organised by all occupational language training providers throughout Germany. To create ideal conditions for the symbiosis of specific workplace relevance and compatibility of language training and employment, training centres for Job-BSK directly at the workplace can also be approved with the employer using a quick, simple procedure. Otherwise, the courses take place on the premises of the course providers in person or online in digital format. Hybrid forms that combine in-person and online teaching are also possible.

Registration, Participation and Costs

To attend an occupational language course, you always need an attendance qualification, which is issued either by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) or by the employment agencies or job centres. If approval is granted, the applicant will receive an attendance qualification. Course registration then takes place directly with the course provider on site or with the help of the employer.

Job-BSK courses are subsidised by the BAMF and are generally free of charge for participants. Employees with an annual taxable income of over €20,000 pay a cost contribution of €2.56 per learning session (50 per cent of the cost reimbursement rate). The cost contribution can also be paid by the employer.

The required teaching and learning materials are made available to participants free of charge.

With the Job-BSK courses, the Federal Office supports people in unskilled jobs as well as (prospective) skilled workers in Germany in securing a job through targeted and individually tailored training of their language and communication skills. The focus here is on employment-orientated, practical application and further development of what has been learned. If this has sparked your interest as an employer or participant, please get in touch with the following contacts for further information: