Training as an IT specialist specializing in application development

At the start of the apprenticeship, you should have an intermediate school leaving certificate (Realschulabschluss). Your grades in mathematics and English should be at least "satisfactory" or better in your school leaving certificate. An interest in data processing, especially network technology, is also an advantage. The ability to think logically and a sense of responsibility are desirable

The working time is 40 hours per week. The employees of the IT Service Center and thus also the trainees of the IT Service Center participate in flexitime, i.e. you can determine the start and end of your individual daily working hours yourself within the framework of the applicable pre- and post flexitime and the applicable core working hours. Please note, however, that it makes sense for you to be present when your trainer is on site.

Trainees have fixed working hours. These are from 8.00-16.30.

Training to become an IT specialist specializing in application development is a classic dual apprenticeship and lasts a total of three years. While lessons take place on up to two days at the vocational school or in the form of block lessons, you will put the knowledge you have learned directly into practice at the University of Kassel. In the third year of training, you will complete your training with an examination.

You will learn theoretical and practical basics that are the same in all IT disciplines and which will later be supplemented by specialist knowledge of application development and operational project work. Since August 2020, there has been an extended final examination. Part one of the exam is the same for all IT professions. The second part of the exam consists of job-specific tasks and company project work.

Although the trainees decide on one of the specializations at the beginning of their training, they have common basic subjects at vocational school during the first years of training.

While IT specialists specializing in application development mainly focus on web development and the development of plugins and patches for Typo3, Moodle and Mahara, IT specialists specializing in system integration set up networks, install systems and are the first point of contact for technical problems.

The lessons at the vocational school are made up of different learning areas. Interdisciplinary vocational subjects and general education subjects are taught. The vocational learning area includes subjects that have a practical relevance for IT specialists specializing in application development, such as information systems, but also economic and business areas. The general education learning area is used to acquire further skills in subjects such as German, politics and sport. In addition, cross-disciplinary knowledge must also be acquired, for example in the areas of vocational training, labor law and collective bargaining law. This also includes content such as the structure and organization of the training company, health and safety, environmental protection and networked collaboration using digital media.

Trainees learn the basics and structures of information and communication systems. They also learn how to install and configure simple applications and software. Technical English is also on the timetable, as technical literature and software and hardware documentation are predominantly written in English. One of the main areas of learning is the development and provision of application systems. Here, trainees learn everything from the basics, such as basic algorithms, to extensive database development. Trainees also gain the necessary knowledge to prepare offers for communication networks by assessing the current performance of various information services (including landlines and wireless networks). Accounting and controlling are also included.

A monthly training allowance is paid in accordance with Section 8 (1) of the collective agreement for trainees in the state of Hesse (TVA-H BBiG). This currently amounts to

• EUR 1,126.85 in the 1st year of training
• EUR 1,181.43 in the 2nd year of training
• EUR 1,231.51 in the 3rd year of training