Ahmad Khazaal , Motor vehicle mechatronics technician

My story

For me, recognition means I have achieved an important goal and, at some point, might be able to run my own workshop.”

When Ahmad Khazaal came to Germany from Lebanon in 2015, he didn't have to start from nothing. Some of his family members were already living in Germany. This meant he had the opportunity to work in his uncle's garage in Oberhausen bei Kirn. The basis for this was his training in Lebanon as a motor vehicle mechatronics technician from Lebanon. He tries to visit the rest of his family at least once a year in Lebanon. “This is now difficult due to the coronavirus. However most of my family is already here in Germany,” says Ahmad.

Yet it wasn't thanks to his family alone that Ahmad Khazaal had an immediate connection in Germany. This outgoing young man quickly made new friends through his job in the garage. “I then met my wife through a friend. We've now been married for three-and-a-half years,” says Ahmad happily.

A solid foundation was therefore already in place for a life in Germany. So why get recognition of the vocational qualification? After all, motor vehicle mechatronics technician is not a regulated profession in Germany, and you can even work here without official certification.

Firstly, the official notice of recognition documents that the vocational skills learnt in your training are equivalent to those in the German training. Recognition in Germany is also your ticket to the master craftsperson examination. This again opened up new opportunities for Ahmad Khazaal. “I thought to myself,  I've had the training, so why shouldn't I do it?” His uncle helped him with the recognition and supported him through the master craftsman examination. “He's looking for a master craftsman to work as foreman in his garage,” explains Ahmad.

To start with, he and his wife searched for information on the internet. “We googled to find out what's involved and then called the Koblenz Chamber of Crafts and Trades directly.” Here he found out about which documents were needed for recognition and, there and then, was also given the form he needed to apply for recognition. “I then got together all the papers from Lebanon, had everything translated and sent it to the Chamber. Everything went well and it wasn't that difficult,” laughs Ahmad, “this was also because my wife was a great support throughout.”

However, when the documents were checked it turned out that the certificates provided insufficient information regarding the nature and content of his training. Luckily, for cases such as these there is the skills analysis (QA) which enables applicants to provide practical proof of their vocational skills. And this was then offered to Ahmad Khazaal. This was no problem for the young man. “No, I had no difficulties in completing the skills analysis.” The day arrived on 11 September 2020. At the Chamber of Crafts and Trades training centre in Koblenz, Ahmed Khazaal carried out a number of complex repairs on a test vehicle in the presence of an expert and his recognition advisor. He managed this practical element with no problems at all. “You are obviously a bit nervous to start with. But it wasn't stressful. I changed a cambelt. I do that quite often. The other tasks were also no problem for me. There was just quite a lot to do, but that was ok,” says Ahmad Khazaal talking about the skills analysis.

In the professional discussion which followed, it emerged that Ahmad Khazaal still had some catching up to do in the area of high voltage technology. He then also needed to complete refresher training in order to acquire this missing knowledge. After successfully completing the refresher training, he received notice of full equivalence of his training and, as a result, recognition as a motor vehicle mechatronics technician. Ahmad Khazaal is pleased: “I even enjoyed doing the refresher training! This gave me the chance to learn something new. These days there are obviously more and more electric vehicles. When I did my training there weren't any.”

The confident man from Lebanon has his sights firmly set on the master craftsman examination and intends to further improve his German skills for this. However, he is not required to pay the costs of the skills analysis himself. In his case, finance was available via the qualifications analyses special fund from the Skills Analysis Network (NetQA) project. The refresher training for high-voltage technology was funded via the “Integration through Qualification (IQ)” network.

The interview with Ahmad Khazaal took place in September 2020. He was supported in the recognition procedure by the Koblenz Chamber of Crafts and Trades.

My procedure in brief