A Portrait of EWZ

    The Dortmund Entwicklungszentrum (Development Centre) or EWZ was founded in 1985 as an association. Among its original members were the DGB (German Trade Union Association) as well as individual Trade Unions, the city of Dortmund, the Local Devel-opment Authority, continuing education and research organisations, and individuals from the fields of science, politics and business.

    In the meantime, the EWZ has changed its appearance considerably. After 12 years as an association, we took a step towards independence in 1997 by becoming a non-profit limited company. Three long-time employees of the EWZ were given the responsibility, as co-partners, to continue the company's successful activities.

    We have broadened our proven offerings of publicly supported projects in the areas of Qualification and Integration with the addition of numerous open seminars on Computer Training, Career Development and Ecological Management. New co-workers have joined the EWZ's team , bringing it to its present size of 11 permanent members.

Our aims

We promote regional development by means of

• vocational training for the unemployed and potentially unemployed, as well as assis-tance with their re-integration into the job market,
• career development and vocational training for the members of small and medium companies in forward looking fields
• networking in Europe through educational programs with partners from all EU coun-tries.

Our Program

We develop and realise concepts for training and development projects in the following areas:

Training and Consultation

Communication skills and IT for the staff of companies and private clients. We offer a wide range of computer training, such as Microsoft products, Linux, networks, web-design, e-Business. Since 1999 we are a certified ECDL-Training-Center.

Vocational Re-Integration

• retraining courses with recognised degrees
• training to adapt to new challenges
• Computer Literacy and Information Technology
• consulting, orientation and career preparation training for young people making the transition from education to career
• continuing education and cultural projects to assist immigrants in their vocational and socio-cultural integration

Local Partners

City of Dortmund (Department for promotion of Business and Employment, Social Welfare Office), Employment Office, Chambers of Commerce, Trade Unions, pri-vate companies, professional schools and other training institutions, employment initiatives.

European Co-operation

We are member in the European networks TURN and ESAN. We work on exchange projects and on the development of didactic models and media. We are editor of the European Youth Online Magazine "Pop-up" (www.pop-up.org)