Dual training structures established at the Yalutorovsk agricultural college in Tyumen (Siberia)

Dual training in agriculture in Russia

DEULA-Nienburg, the German Training Institute for Agricultural Engineering, has established dual training structures at the Yalutorovsk Agricultural College in the Tyumen Oblast in Russian Siberia.

The cooperation between the two agricultural institutions DEULA-Nienburg GmbH and the Yalutorovsk Agricultural College is based on a project of the state of Lower Saxony and the Tyumen region in the Siberian region of the Russian Federation. The basis of the project is a partnership between Lower Saxony and Tyumen, which was established in 1992. The joint declaration of the two partners was last updated in 2012.

The agreement between DEULA-Nienburg and the Yalutorovsk Agricultural College has been in place since 2015 and began to reorganize the training of tractor drivers.

The agreement covers the exchange of experience between German and Russian students, the supervision, development and improvement of the system of vocational training, training and further education involving the agricultural enterprises of the region, as well as the introduction and application of innovative methods for the training of specialized professionals.

Under the guidance of the experts of DEULA-Nienburg, the training at the Agricultural College has become a two-year process of dual education: In addition to the theoretical knowledge transfer, the training takes place directly on the agricultural farms of the region. The project was financed by the state government of Lower Saxony.

Regional companies are involved in the training

The Yalutorovsk Agricultural College is the center of agricultural education in the Tyumen region.

The education is provided in all areas of agriculture. In order to cover the various agricultural fields, the project now includes seven educational organizations, more than 25 leading agricultural enterprises of the region and three local technology centers that provide practical training.

The agricultural college is taught by Russian teachers who have taken part in the project's internships and instructor training courses at DEULA-Nienburg. Among other things, they jointly developed new curricula and the Russian teachers learned about the system of dual vocational training and applied it in class.

 

Long-term German-Russian cooperation

The project has developed into a long-term cooperation between DEULA-Nienburg and the agricultural center.

Within the framework of this cooperation, a German-Russian exchange of students and teachers takes place. For example, the future farmers of the Tyumen region regularly attend agricultural seminars at DEULA-Nienburg and visit leading agricultural enterprises in Lower Saxony. The trainers at DEULA-Nienburg get to know the specific requirements of agriculture in Russia in exchange with their Russian colleagues.

Agricultural producers in the Tyumen region also gain experience in Germany in order to appreciate the added value of qualified specialist personnel. After all, the producers must be prepared to employ well-trained graduates from the center. Only if they are able to find employment after their training, a lobby for dual training in agriculture can develop in the region.

Even today, during the time of the pandemic, there is a regular online exchange.

 

Dual education as the key to success

Through the cooperation with DEULA-Nienburg, a new center for agricultural education in Yalutorovsk was created, which is unique in Russia.

"This is the first educational project in Russia that combines both theoretical and practical training. In our experience, this approach is the key to success," said Stefan Weil, Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, at the opening of the center.

"Our goal in Russia and in Germany is to provide agricultural enterprises with a modern workforce with high-quality training," said Bernd Antelmann, Director of DEULA-Nienburg. "And it is very important - depending on how the situation in the agricultural sector changes - to adapt training plans and strategies to the same extent".

"We consider the experience of establishing the center in the Tyumen region beneficial and successful for use in other regions of the Russian Federation. It is a promising solution for the preservation and training of specialists at international level in the field of agriculture. Such centers not only produce well-prepared agricultural scientists for practical work, but also serve as an incentive for graduates to work independently, to become owners of their small or medium-sized agricultural enterprise, to successfully manage their own farms in their home country," said Bernd Antelmann, Director of DEULA-Nienburg, commenting on the implementation of this Russian-German project.

The comprehensive new structure of training in various agricultural fields was and is so successful in Tyumen that talks are currently being held for a further project in the field of food processing.

 

This article is not written by DEULA-Nienburg. It is the translation of an article published on iMOVE. Please see the following link for the german version: https://www.imove-germany.de/de/praxisberichte/Duale-Ausbildung-in-der-Landwirtschaft-in-Russland.htm