Mike Bryan of Bosch Rexroth receives “Trainer of the Year” Award

NEW YORK - Dec. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- – 769 Successful Trainees and Counting!

New York City, December 16, 2013 – For the second time, the German American Chambers of Commerce (GACCs) are presenting the GACC Award. This year’s award honors the “Trainer of the Year” and goes to Mike Bryan of Bosch Rexroth in South Carolina. He has been a trainer with Bosch Rexroth for 36 years and has trained 769 trainees to date. His company is one of the leading specialists in drive and control technologies, employing 38,000 people worldwide.For over three decades, Mike Bryan has been giving guidance, sharing his knowledge and leading hundreds of young people on a pathway to success.

The nominee was selected by a jury consisting of vocational training experts, among them professors from Columbia University and Johns Hopkins as well as German institutions. Juror Kathrine Newman, Dean at Johns Hopkins University regarding her choice stated: "Mike exemplifies the role of a leader in the apprenticeship movement by bringing his foresight and expertise to industries and to the community."

The “Trainer of the Year” Award gives exposure to excellence in workforce training based on the dual system of educational training, implemented by a growing number of German subsidiaries in the United States. The latest German American Business Outlook survey indicates that almost 50 percent of German companies cannot find the skills needed in the U.S. labor market, especially when it comes to STEM-related qualifications.

At 7.9 percent, Germany has the lowest youth unemployment rate of any industrialized nation in the world. This is largely a result of the traditional German vocational training path, chosen by 55 percent of school graduates.  Also in the United States, specialized technical skills significantly improve job prospects.

The GACCs have been cooperating with the German Embassy on the ‘Skills Initiative’ to address this issue. The focus has been on expanding German-style dual education programs for vocational training to clusters where there is a high concentration of advanced manufacturing companies.

The GACC Award “Trainer of the Year” is supported by FESTO, a worldwide leader in factory automation and process solution.

More about the Award can be found at www.ahk-usa.com/gabo.