The International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD), of which the Foundation DANCE –Transition Centre Germany is a member, has announced that three Philippe-Braunschweig-Scholarships of the IOTPD 2016 have been granted to Naiara Mendioroz, Mark Biocca and Tom de Jager.
Naiara Mendioroz wants to build her future working with refugees, focusing particularly on women who experienced violence. Mark Biocca wants to further professionalise his passion as a GYROTONIC® Trainer and Tom de Jager is studying for a B.A. in Event Management.
The scholarship is awarded every year, after or shortly before the end of their professional career, to dancers who have had an international career but didn’t acquire the right to transition support in any of the countries they’ve worked in. The scholarship the IOTPD awards in honour of its founder Philippe Braunschweig is intended to help cover the costs of retraining.
The application deadline for the next Philippe-Braunschweig-Scholarship of the IOTPD 2017 is on 30th April 2017. Further information and the application form can be found on the website of the IOTPD: www.iotpd.org
More than 25 years of transition – counselling- experience for dancers endorse our colleagues from the Omscholing Dansers Nederland (ODN).
We completely agree with the Dutch that dancers are:
„ disciplined, persistent and intelligent
very cooperative
resilient and responsible
goal-oriented
perfectionist, flexible and creative”
All these assets are important for a professional reorientation and the ODN is there with energetic support. Interesting examples of dancers in transition can be found here:www.omscholingdansers.nl/the…
Unlike in Germany, professional dancers as well as employers, theatres and stages, support the ODN financially with monthly contributions of 1 – 3 % of their salary. Freelancers’ income is calculated to the comparable standards of trainees and a 4% contribution is deducted for the ODN. If you pay more than 60 months of ODN-contributions, you are eligible for individual transition support of up to €10,000. Only condition is that the dance career has not yet ended.
If the career is indeed over and you have paid ODN- contributions for at least 96 months over the last 10 years, dancers can apply for retraining support and benefits for living costs. This support also facilitates the path into self-employment.
The financial options for professional reorientation stated above are accompanied by individual advice and structured one-on-one counselling. Just as in Germany and in Great Britain, these counselling sessions are confidential. In the section “testimonials” some dancers describe their personal transition situation and the work of the ODN:www.omscholingdansers.nl/tes…
Just like the foundation DANCE, the ODN has its own Facebook pagewww.facebook.com/Oms… a regular newsletter and is a member of the International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD).
Website of the ODN: www.omscholingdansers.nl/hom…
Translated source of quote, retrieved on 25.7.16:
www.omscholingdansers.nl/dan…
On 22.7.2016, we already posted on our Facebook page about the changes to the law concerning career advancement support (Aufstiegsfortbildungsförderungsgesetzes AFBG):www.facebook.com/Sti… . Because we believe that the new change of law that becomes effective from 1.8.2016 is very beneficial to dancers in transition, we would like to mention it once again.
For everyone who isn’t familiar with the AFBG yet, here is a short basic explanation: The AFBG is intended to offer for all occupation groups “measures of career advancement, financial […] support and means to […] encourage setting up new businesses […] and therefore [presents] an extensive supporting instrument for career advancement in fundamentally all occupations, irrespective of the terms of the advancement (fulltime/ part time/ in school/outside of school/ media based/ long distance study) .” There is funding for further education regardless of personal income as well as support with living costs for full time education depending on income. The main changes starting from August are:
From August, the so-called basic maintenance rate increases from €645.00 to €708.00 for a full time course. All further financial details here: meister-bafoeg.info/de…
The subsidy contribution for living costs during a fulltime course rise to 50%; and the maximum grant for course fees is no longer subsidised by 40 % of € 10,000 but €15,000
The funds allocated for child support and spouses are augmented
Financial support is available for a personal capital up to €45,000
Support for career advancement is now available for applicants with a B.A. or similar higher education degrees (for example technical college diplomas) as a first proven qualification*
Financial support remains age-independent
Support remains split in one-part grant and one-part low interest loan from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (credit institute for rehabilitation), who also improved their repayment conditions in August. More Information here (lower section): meister-bafoeg.info/de…
The website of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) offers all relevant information as well as a free info-brochure “From Master- to Promotion-Bafög”, which you can also get from us at the foundation.
Quoted and adapted sources see above, retrieved on 22.7.2016.
* Telephone advice service for specific information on the occupational group of stage dancers is available on the 22.7.2016 under the Service-Hotline of the BMFB 0800 – 6223634
The new AFBG-legislative text here: meister-bafoeg.info/de… or www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bun…
The IHKs are a nationwide network of 79 industries and chambers of commerce who include “all commercial businesses of a region, excluding handicraft businesses, freelance occupations and agricultural holdings, as members.“ For all of them, the IHKs are points of contact, interest representatives and service providers all in one. “As public utilities [they] independently and self responsibly fulfil over 50 functions the state has entrusted on them.” With this in mind, the IHKs are also important points of contact for dancers in transition, as they provide thorough information regarding the following fields:
Company-based training/ further education (counselling, courses, exams) / business start-up and business support / law and tax / innovation (such as new service ideas)
An overview for various further education offers from all IHKs can be found here:
wis.ihk.de/nc…
The IHK Berlin currently offers 786 further education courses, Cologne 325, Hamburg 131, Munich 105, Dortmund 97 und Stuttgart 96. In August for example, various IHK-locations offer weekend seminars about the basics of business start up (enter location and keyword “Existenzgründung” into search engine). Fee rates for this vary from IHK to IHK. The further education course mentioned above for example is Die 149,00 € in Berlin and 400,00 € in Cologne. For potential acceptance of costs view our article “News about the Bildungsprämie and Bildungsscheck from the federal states” in this newsletter.
By the way: All IHK-courses are certified.
Quoted source, retrieved the 20.07.2016 at 12:30: www.ihk.de/wir-uber-uns
For active dancers this question might be valid, but once they want to follow a new career path and potentially change into a new industry after their artistic career, references become relevant for job applications.
A work reference proves location, length and type of work (simple work reference) as well as additionally describing performance levels and leadership skills (qualified work reference) achieved in a professional career. It forms an important part of any job application. A work reference underlines the different career stages mentioned in your CV and proves your professional work experience. So a work reference is also a form of reputation. Dancers do technically have the right to a qualified work reference when they change companies or end their career. They should request their qualified work reference from the personnel department before their contract ends (a simple work reference must always be handed out by any end of contract), and they are obliged to give you the document at the latest two months after the contract ended. Always make sure that your work reference is written in a benevolent and positive manner and signed not only by the Human Resource department but also a member of management, for example the artistic director or ballet director.
To make your career stages comprehensible without too many big gaps, it is advised to ask for a qualified work reference after any longer contract,.
Further important information for example at the IHK Karlsruhe:www.karlsruhe.ihk.de/Rec…
Note as well the text: “Applying for jobs outside the world of dance and theatre” here:stiftung-tanz.com/new…
We noticed in our last newsletter that a trustworthy and competent insurance broker must be of the highest importance for dancers in transition since, due to their very specific risks in the profession of dance, they always need to be well insured. Today we inform you, as announced, about the very versatile and demanding job of the insurance broker:
Insurance brokers are NOT insurance salesmen. They are businessmen. Unlike insurance salesmen, brokers are not bound to a specific insurance company. “Therefore [they are] completely independent partners. They are also called “fiduciary trustees ” [of] insurance interests.” If a broker comes from an artistic background or has maybe even been a dancer himself, that could be a big advantage, as considerable knowledge of the profession itself and the conditions of professional practise in dance or art are already there to an extent that outsiders will probably never accumulate in such depth. In addition to that, dancers in transition usually possess high intercultural competencies such as multilingualism. This is a huge advantage in a profession that is becoming more and more international.
These are some of the tasks of the profession: risk analysis/optimization and needs assessment contract design documentation supervision and administration (including accompaniment in case of damages)
The profession of the insurance broker is subject to authorisation and compulsory registration in Germany in accordance with the EU- Insurance Mediation Directive from 2007. To work as an insurance broker you have to fulfil very specific requirements, most importantly a certificate of competence acquired through for example an IHK-Exam for insurance salesmen (IHK). Part of that is registration at your local IHK, which is mandatory for any broker working in his field and can be examined. Some other qualifications are also accepted as certificates of competence, as referred to by the Association of German Insurance Brokers e.V. (VDVM): www.vdvm.de/fue…
You can ask your local IHK about where and when and under which conditions you can currently take up a corresponding education (see also the IHK-article in this newsletter).
Important information about the profession is also provided by the so called Regional Chapters of the VDVM: www.vdvm.de/fue…
Quoted and adapted source, retrieved on the 22.07.2016: www.vdvm.de/fue…
Modern glasses are far more than simple visual aids, they are accessories, there to emphasis the wearer’s style and match the way of life. Not only the choice of frames is crucial but also the type of lenses. They can have antireflection coating for example, so that no light reflexes disturb your vision and your vis-a-vis can look you in the eyes without seeing their own reflection. Lenses can also be tinted or coated. Progressive lenses even have multiple different vision correction prescriptions within one lens: Through the upper part of the glass you can view far, with the lower part you can read.
Opticians know the right visual aid for any occasion, be that for sports, for sun protection or for computer screens in a work environment. They advise their clients in specialist optical stores and help with choosing the right lenses and frames. Know-how alone is not enough: Opticians also need a sense of style and fashion. Even at busy times they keep track of everything. One client may be in need of reading glasses while another wants to learn about the pros and cons of plastic lenses. A third one may need new glasses with a different prescription than before. If the client doesn’t have test results from an eye doctor, the optician can perform an eye test in the store. Opticians also sometimes conduct eye tests for drivers licenses. An increasing amount of specialist stores are also offering services in the area of hearing aids and acoustics. To advise in this field, opticians also need to be well informed about hearing aids.
The optician’s work is very varied and is all about style and precision. Education is dual, partially in a business and partially at vocational college and takes 3 years. After a few years of work experience you can take the masters exam and open your own opticians shop.
The job forum of the employment agency currently offers 200 open vacancies for opticians nationwide.
More here:
berufenet.arbeitsagentur.de/ber…
Our February-newsletter from 2015 had an article about the profession of hearing care professionals: stiftung-tanz.com/new…
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Stiftung TANZ receives one cent for every second search. We would be happy if as many people as possible took part.
Further information at:
www.benefind.de
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The office is closed from 8.8.2016 to 21.8.2016 and works in reduced activity from 29.8. till 2.9.2016.
We wish all of you a relaxing seasonal break and will be back to help in September.
Sincerely,
Sabrina Sadowska, Heike Scharpff und Andrea Thomas