Attracting college dropouts to vocational training programs in the Free State of Saxony is the core objective of the statewide network Quickstart Saxony. The interim review workshop held on November 19, 2019, at the SMK in Dresden demonstrated how existing regional counseling and placement services for the target group of college dropouts can be good at coordinating them. What makes this project unique is the collaborative effort involving all higher education institutions in Saxony, several ministries, the Saxony Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency, the local employment agencies, and the professional chambers, all of which participated in the exchange.

Discussions focused on bringing together and training counseling professionals. Based on the “Talent Compass Saxony” concept, career counselors at universities and other key stakeholders are to be trained starting next year. The focus will be on the challenges of counseling students who have dropped out of college and on methods for career orientation following a college dropout.

Quickstart Saxony highlights on its website that dropping out of college is not a failure and points to alternative educational paths leading to a career. A radio spot in December will highlight the visibility of this flagship project throughout Saxony.

Saxony’s universities—together with their project partners—will continue to work over the next few months to optimize their structures so that students who drop out of college can more successfully reorient themselves on their individual career paths.

The project has been coordinated by the Graduate and Research Academy (GraFA) at TU Bergakademie Freiberg since April 2018 and will run through December 2020. Funding is provided through a bilateral agreement between the federal government (BMBF) and the Free State of Saxony [led by the Saxon State Ministry of Culture (SMK)].