BBW Waiblingen is moving to Winnenden with 300 trainees!

BBW Waiblingen is moving to Winnenden with 300 trainees!

The vocational training center (BBW) in Waiblingen is planning to move to Winnenden and will be taking 300 trainees with them. The decision follows a realignment of the BBW, which has existed since 1978 and is the only institution of its kind in Germany to reinvent itself. The BBW has decided to adapt its concept due to changes in the working world and the heterogeneity of the clientele, which is increasingly suffering from psychological stress. Reported today esslinger-zeitung.de that the trainees say farewell to their current location in a creative way. A “farewell wall” with works of art and sayings is designed by the young people.

The BBW offers all training courses on a 35,000 square meter site, where the young people originally did not have to leave the site. The move to the former Sortimat site in Birkmannsweiler, which only covers 5,500 square meters, will offer new opportunities. The new premises will provide space for modern offices and workshops, and the implementation of the new concept includes decentralization and cooperation with partner companies.

New training concept

The training offering covers around 30 professional fields, and new professions in the areas of plumbing, heating and air conditioning technology as well as healthcare clerks are also being introduced. The cost bearer of the tailor-made concepts is predominantly the employment agency. The trainees are offered individual support and access to pre-vocational training measures (BvB) in order to get to know different professional fields and acquire technical and social skills. These training programs, increasingly in collaboration with external companies, are a core part of the new direction.

A pilot project with the company Bikes'n Boards, which has been running since 2021, has already shown initial success: Here, bike fitter trainees can acquire practical knowledge directly in the company. The training itself partly takes place in the BBW workshops or in partner companies to ensure practical training.

Social responsibility and future prospects

The new partnership with the Center for Psychiatry in Winnenden and the Rems Murr Clinic is also part of the new approach. The BBW aims to enable more people to participate in working life in accordance with the Federal Participation Act and thus assume social responsibility. There are 88 places available for vocational preparation measures, some of which also offer accommodation options.

For the future, the Waiblingen location must be abandoned by 2028 at the latest. Renovating the complex, which has existed since 1978, is not considered sensible. An investor is also planning to build an additional building that will provide space for 50 residents in Winnenden.

Until the move to the new premises is completed, Diakonie Stetten will continue to look for solutions for the Johannes Landenberger School and other facilities in Waiblingen. The BBW therefore serves the region not only as an educational institution, but also as an up-and-coming place for the professional integration and social participation of young people with special needs.