Case Study
From apprentice to journeyman baker in a bakery

The company is an organic bakery run by the owner, who is also a master baker and vocational training instructor. With its three employees, the bakery produces and sells traditional baked goods. The bakery is located in a wooden house and stands in a kind of wooden village with huts, stores and restaurants in the middle of the city. One of the employees has a severe disability.

The employee is deaf and therefore cannot hear acoustic information such as spoken language and signals. Communication with him takes place via sign language, gestures, facial expressions or in writing via sketches. The degree of disability (GdB) is 100.

The immigrant man first learned German sign language (DGS) and has since worked as an assistant in various jobs, e.g. at the post office and most recently as a cleaner in the village of Holz. He also got to know the owner of the bakery. The man's supervisor asked the owner about the possibility of vocational training in the bakery and he agreed. The colleagues and the owner learned specific and necessary signs during the training, so that communication in the company with the deaf apprentice continued to improve as part of the practical training. For the theoretical part of the vocational training, he attended the usual vocational school with a large number of students and teachers without special educational training, which made it difficult for him to learn the content despite the accompanying sign language interpreter. At the beginning of the training, the sign language interpreter also helped with the practical part of the training in the bakery to familiarize him with the subject matter.
At the end of the vocational training, he passed the final examination to become a baker or journeyman. The Chamber of Crafts and Trades allowed him to use a sign language interpreter to compensate for his disadvantages and granted him an extension. He was then taken on as a journeyman by his company.

Early in the morning, the dough for the baked goods is mixed, kneaded and placed in moulds by the owner and his two journeymen in the bakery. Depending on the type of dough and bread, certain resting times must then be observed before the dough can be baked into rolls, baguettes, loaves, etc. The work processes are well-rehearsed over time and the necessary details are coordinated using sign language. To this end, the owner and his colleagues learned sign language at the beginning with the help of a short introductory sign language course. They then started in the bakery with simple signs that were important for the job as a baker and for carrying out the work. They often simplified certain signs together with the deaf journeyman, who was still an apprentice at the time. In the early days, gestures, facial expressions, demonstrations and pointing were used a lot. If necessary, a sign language interpreter was then brought in to help with training.

The company received a monthly allowance from the employment agency for the duration of the vocational training. The costs for the support provided by a sign language interpreter were also covered by the employment agency. The Integration and Inclusion Office covered the costs for the small company's graduation, registration and examination fees.
The company was supported and advised by a specialist advisor for inclusion from the Chamber of Crafts.