Teachers PLUS

Teachers PLUS is a 1-year qualification programme that prepares internationally trained and experienced teachers with a refugee background and 25% of teachers without a refugee background for a return to work in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

The programme is located at the 5 universities in Bielefeld, Bochum, Duisburg-Essen, Cologne and Siegen and includes the following components: pedagogical/educational science seminars, German courses, subject-specific and subject-didactic seminars and a school internship - all framed by personal advice. After completion, there are various opportunities for graduates: a job as a substitute teacher, a follow-up course, a lateral entry into teaching, the application for recognition or participation in the follow-up programme ("ILF - Promoting International Teachers") of the district governments.

Project Goal

The goals of the project are the following:

• Support teachers with a refugee background and internationally trained teachers in entering their original profession with appropriate qualifications.
• Support the integration practices of schools in NRW through interculturally sensitised teachers.
• Internationalise teachers' classrooms and contribute to intercultural school development.
• Contribute to the recruitment of highly qualified specialist teachers and counteract the shortage of teachers.

How it works

The programme runs full-time for 1 year and is divided into 5 elements: pedagogical-intercultural qualification, German courses, technical-didactic seminars and a school internship - all framed by personal advice.

In all areas, content is deepened, applied to the German school system and reflected on, based on needs and in connection with the professional and technical experience of the participants. In addition, proof of performance must be provided in each case.

Who benefits

The target group for this project is experienced teachers from so-called third countries (non-EU countries) who have a specialist degree and professional experience and would like to work in the teaching profession again, in NRW. Up to 25 people per year group take part at a total of 5 locations.

Funding and resources

The project began in 2017 in Bielefeld and in 2018 in Bochum, at which time it was funded and supported by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Mercator Foundation, as well as the Ministry of Schools and Education of North Rhine-Westphalia (MSB) and the State Coordination of Municipal Integration Centres. It has been publicly funded since 2020 (DAAD/ MKW). 

The project will be funded from 2023 - 2027 through funds from the “NRWege ins Studium” programme of the “Future Contract Strengthening Study and Teaching” (ZSL) initiative, directly by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKW).
The number of employees varies depending on the location and project organisation.