Educational first: chemical and pharmaceutical sector puts employees part-time in front of the classroom
Dual teaching is an innovative educational concept in which employees from chemical and pharmaceutical companies can teach temporarily and part-time in a secondary school. This brings practice closer to STEM education and at the same time tackles the shortage of specialist teachers. The pilot project was established in collaboration with the Flemish ministers of Education and Employment, the sector federation essenscia vlaanderen and several pioneering companies from the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sector.
In dual teaching, students are taught by professionals who are well experienced in the field. Secondary schools can call in experts by experience for bottleneck subjects. Companies can offer their employees the opportunity to enrich their careers. This creates more interaction between education and the labour market and experienced employees can share their practical experience with the next generation.
Shortage of specialist teachers
Many schools have great difficulty finding specialist teachers, especially for technical and scientific subjects such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, applied mechanics or measurement and control techniques. It is precisely these subjects that are crucial for training young talents who later move on to the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sector.
Three birds with one stone
Dual teaching creates a regulatory framework within which employees from the industry can spend a few hours a week in front of the class in an administratively simple manner, and on a temporary and part-time basis.
In this way, education and business will not kill two, but three birds with one stone: more available specialist teachers, more practice-oriented education and more girls and boys who are inspired for scientific and technical studies and professions.
Didactic preliminary training
About fifteen employees from the pharmaceutical and chemical sector have followed a three-day didactic preparatory training course in order to be well-prepared to work as a dual teacher. This intensive educational course, specially developed by AP Hogeschool Antwerpen and Thomas More Kempen, provides the participants with useful pedagogical insights to teach young people in an engaging and high-quality manner.
Expert panel
The pilot project is followed up by an expert panel that includes representatives from education providers, the sectors participating in the project, the trade unions, the government and academia. This can provide valuable information and lay the foundation for a larger roll-out of dual teaching.
As a pioneer in dual learning, the chemicals and pharmaceuticals industry has brought the classroom to the workplace. With dual teaching, we bring the practical experience and expertise of employees from pharmaceutical and chemical companies to the classroom.
Participating sector companies: BASF Antwerp, Eastman, INEOS Oxide, INEOS Styrolution, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Pfizer and Vynova.
The dual teaching project of essenscia vlaanderen receives financial support from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the government of Flanders under the project name ‘Teach Up!’ .
