IHK

Image: Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

In short: “Industrie- und Handelskammer” (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) — the institution that, in Germany, among other things organises, examines and certifies apprenticeships such as the IT specialist (“Fachinformatiker”).

In more detail: Sets the framework curricula for dual apprenticeships, conducts interim and final exams, and issues the recognised vocational qualifications. For IT apprentices in Germany, the central examining body outside the company and vocational school.

In Depth

Role in the dual training system

The IHK is one of several chamber organisations in Germany (alongside, for example, the Chamber of Skilled Crafts for trade professions), responsible for the majority of commercial and technical apprenticeships, including all four IT specialist tracks (application development, system integration, data and process analysis, digital networking). It’s neither the employer nor the vocational school — the dual apprenticeship deliberately runs in parallel across three separate institutions: the training company teaches practical skills in day-to-day work, the vocational school teaches theoretical subject knowledge and general education, and the IHK examines and certifies the final result independently of both — a kind of external quality control that ensures a qualification stays comparable nationwide, regardless of how well or poorly an individual training company actually trains.

Exam process

The typical process: registering for the apprenticeship with the responsible regional IHK right at the start of training, an interim exam roughly halfway through the apprenticeship (in most training regulations doesn’t count directly towards the final grade, mainly serves as a checkpoint for the apprentice and the company), and the final exam at the end of the training period. For IT specialists, the final exam typically consists of a written part (knowledge questions on core topics of the specialisation) and a practical part — often a self-conceived and documented final project, which then has to be defended in an oral technical discussion before an examination board.

Nationwide recognition

A passed IHK qualification is recognised uniformly nationwide, regardless of which federal state or regional IHK the training took place with — the framework curricula and exam content are set centrally via the Federal Committee for Vocational Training, even though the specific implementation and organisation lies with the respective responsible regional IHK. This uniformity makes it easier for employers to assess a candidate’s qualification regardless of where they trained.

Training logbook and proof of training

During the apprenticeship, apprentices usually keep a training logbook (also called proof of training), regularly documenting which activities were carried out at the company and which content was taught at vocational school — a completely and properly kept training logbook is, in many federal states, a formal admission requirement for the final exam, independent of the actual subject performance.

See also: System Integration, Application Development, Data and Process Analysis