Biological-technical assistant

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Biological-technical assistant (BTA) is a training occupation in Germany . The final title is state-certified biological-technical assistant .

history

The training to become a biological-technical assistant was designed and offered for the first time in 1964 at what was then the natural science technical center in Landau in the Palatinate . Before, there was no distinction between technicians and technical assistants . Biological-technical assistants are employed today in many areas ( biotechnology , pharmaceuticals , molecular biology ).

education

General

The training to become a biological-technical assistant is offered by more than 30 schools in Germany. It is an apprenticeship under state law in a school training facility. The training can take place on the one hand at state schools, such as vocational schools and vocational colleges, and on the other hand at private institutions where school fees are to be paid. In order to be able to start the training, a middle school qualification or a school qualification recognized as equivalent or higher is required. The duration of the training is usually two years. At some schools it is also possible to acquire additional qualifications such as the technical college entrance qualification or the general university entrance qualification , which extends the training period to three or four years.

Training content

The training can be divided into a general (cross-occupational) and a job-related area, at some schools supplemented by subjects from the differentiation area. In addition, additional tuition is given if there is a desire to obtain the technical college entrance qualification. Since the training takes place according to state law , the lesson tables of the schools in the various federal states differ. In addition, the schools can also specialize to a certain extent, e.g. B. by offering a further specialist focus in the job-related area.

Training content of a private school in Hessen

Lesson plan using the example of the private Fresenius University of Applied Sciences (information in hours per week )

General area 1st semester 2 semesters 3rd semester 4th semester
German 2 2 0 0
Politics economy 2 2 0 0
Job-related area 1st semester 2 semesters 3rd semester 4th semester
Basics of chemistry (bioinorganics, instrumental analysis, organic chemistry and biochemistry I and II) 8th 8th 3 3
Biology / microbiology (general biology, immunology and physiology, microbiology and biotechnology, genetic engineering) 4th 3 9 7th
Physics / physical chemistry 2 2 1 1
Information processing 2 2 2 0
Environmental protection and ecology 0 0 3 2
mathematics 2 2 2 2
English 2 2 0 0
Biotechnology practice (laboratory basic operations, practical quantitative analytical chemistry, practical botany, practical zoology, practical biochemistry, practical molecular biology, practical microbiology, industrial internship) 10 12 14th 14th
Additional lessons to the FHR or specialization 1st semester 2 semesters 3rd semester 4th semester
FHR-German 0 0 3 3
FHR-English 2 1 2 1

The company internships are intended to provide a deeper insight into business operations and typical working methods. Furthermore, knowledge learned in class can be applied.

Training content of a state school in North Rhine-Westphalia

The curriculum for the vocational college in North Rhine-Westphalia provides for the following subjects of the specialist focus for training as a state-certified biological-technical assistant in the job-related learning area:

These subjects take up a large part of the lesson table , with a total of 23–29 teaching hours per week in the two-year course and 18-22 teaching hours per week in the three-year course. In North Rhine-Westphalia , the two-year course according to APO-BK Appendix C2 is aimed at students who already have a university entrance qualification , while the three-year course according to APO-BK Appendix C1 is suitable for students with an intermediate school leaving certificate who, in addition to their vocational qualification, also have a technical college entrance qualification want to acquire (this two-part training structure is typical for the vocational colleges in North Rhine-Westphalia ). The other subject or subjects of the specialist focus are determined by the training course conference of the training school. a. Immunology , laboratory data processing, food chemistry , physical measurement and testing technology or toxicology .

The subjects of mathematics , English and economics are also part of the job-related learning area and are usually taught with two lessons per week in the three-year course or with one lesson per week in the two-year course. In addition, is also an externally absolvierendes internship at least 8 weeks part of the job-related learning area.

The curriculum for the vocational college in North Rhine-Westphalia provides for the following subjects for cross- professional learning :

They are usually taught with two lessons per week in the three-year course or with one lesson per week in the two-year course.

In the differentiation area, a total of 160 teaching hours for the second foreign language (e.g. French or Russian ) are planned over the entire duration of the training , but this only applies to the three-year course. Other subjects in the differentiation area are, for example, chemical computation, ecology or quality management .

In total, the timetable provides for around 36 teaching hours per week for both the two-year and the three-year course. A high level of practical experience is typical for BTA training, so the above-mentioned biological subjects of the job-related learning area take place as laboratory lessons, usually supplemented by a theoretical part in the classroom.

Training content of a state school in Hamburg

In Hamburg there is a special training system that is unique in Germany .

Schematic representation of the course of training: 9 months school, approx. 12 months institute phase, approx. 3 months preparation for the final examination:

Training as a biological-technical assistant

What is special about this training are internships in research laboratories at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, the University of Hamburg and the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg. The students have the opportunity to choose their desired laboratories from a wide range, which are then allocated depending on the number of available internship positions.

Training degree

In order to achieve a successful apprenticeship qualification, one must pass a final exam. The school has a state recognition, the audit has the character of a state examination and the examinee is allowed to after passing the exam Certified Biological-Technical Assistant or Certified Biological technical assistant call. In order to be able to take the final examination, the required proof of performance from intermediate examinations, laboratory internships, etc. must be available. The final examination itself can consist of oral, written and practical parts and is carried out in accordance with state law.

job profile

The applications for biological-technical assistant teachers are varied, often they work in laboratories , either directly to a biological field are to be assigned or the field of science and related disciplines, often called life sciences or life sciences are called. They carry out tests , document them and evaluate them. Depending on the area of ​​responsibility, they work quite independently; the experiments are often planned in consultation with natural scientists . The experiments include working with and on animals , plants or their cell cultures as well as microorganisms .

In the field of research , BTAs work at the institutes of the scientific and technical departments of the universities , as well as at public and private research institutes . The area of ​​application can be in the area of basic research on biological questions, but also in the area of applied research can have technically demanding detailed questions as content, also in related disciplines such as medicine or the environment .

In addition to the research sector, biological-technical assistants work in numerous other areas. Activities are offered by state inspection offices in the field of food , veterinary and environmental monitoring, but also manufacturing companies in the fields of food , cosmetics , pharmaceuticals or pesticides who examine their products as part of their own internal control in the laboratory, and legally prescribed controls of this type can also be carried out by BTAs take place at private testing institutes, which are mostly accredited testing laboratories. In recent years, jobs at companies in the biotechnology sector have also gained in importance.

The tasks performed by biological-technical assistants range from simple routine tasks, e.g. B. in production control in an industrial company to special work techniques with modern analysis devices and methods, such as PCR for creating and checking genetic fingerprints or the ELISA process, an immunoassay process for the detection of antigens in a sample.

Since BTAs both hazardous substances as well as with biological agents deal, they have the appropriate regulations for occupational safety in mind as they have in the field of laboratory animal science , the provisions of (holding laboratory animals and experimenting with these) Animal Welfare Act note. In most laboratory activities, the maintenance and, if necessary, maintenance of the devices as well as calibration or adjustment are part of the tasks of the technical assistants ; in the area of ​​test planning or optimization of tests, they are also involved in the creation of work instructions.

salary

If you are employed in the public service , e.g. B. at a public research institute , the employee's pay is based on the collective agreement for the public service of the federal states (TV-L). Biological-technical assistants - depending on their activity and responsibility - are grouped into pay groups (EG) 5 to 8, as they usually meet the requirements of "completed vocational training in a recognized occupation and corresponding activities". Special features then arise when changing to a different collective bargaining agreement and through sector-specific regulations (e.g. for science) in the collective agreement. In the public service, advancement to a better-paid pay bracket depends primarily on the number of years of service.

In industry or when hiring at private research institutes and research institutes, the collective agreement negotiated by the collective bargaining parties ( trade unions and employers' associations ) is usually used . B. the Federal Employers' Association for Chemistry e. V. (BAVC) the interests of German chemical employers.

further education

Biological-technical assistants generally have the advanced technical college entrance qualification or the general university entrance qualification , which they either acquired as part of the training or already had it as an entry-level qualification for the training. Therefore, further training with better opportunities for advancement in the workplace through studying at a technical college , university or technical university is a common option.

Subjects that are related to the training and are offered at a university (usually divided into Bachelor and Master ) are, for example, biochemistry , biology , chemistry , forestry , microbiology and ecotrophology , while the state examination is the degree in food chemistry , medicine and pharmacy . Studying at a university of applied sciences has so far led to the degree of Diplom-Ingenieur (FH) . B. biotechnology , nanotechnology , bioengineering, chemistry , food technology , forestry and environmental protection, but here too, as part of the Bologna process, the transformation to Bachelor and Master degrees is taking place. The Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology e. V. provides orientation for choosing a biologically oriented degree program (here referred to as Molecular Biosciences ) in Germany . V. (GBM).

As part of the Bologna process , the aim is on the one hand to switch to the Bachelor and Master degrees , but also to achieve comparability of the degrees within the European Union , this is ensured by the so-called accreditation , in which the award of ECTS points ( Credit Points) for successfully completed sections of a degree. Efforts are currently being made to also take into account the content of the training of the BTAs. Irrespective of this, when starting a course related to the BTA training at the university, you can ask about the possible crediting of training content on the course.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The school. In: Website Natural Science Technical Center Dr. Künkele (NTK). Retrieved July 1, 2014 .
  2. ^ BTA training. In: Website of the Association of Biological-Technical Assistants V. Accessed February 16, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b c biological-technical assistant in Berufenet the Federal Employment Agency
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g State-certified biological-technical assistant / State-certified biological-technical assistant - curriculum for the vocational college in North Rhine-Westphalia. Published by the Ministry for Schools and Continuing Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf, 40304/2006, updated 8/2011, available from Bildungsportal Nordrhein-Westfalen ( Memento of the original from October 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.berufsbildung.schulministerium.nrw.de
  5. ^ BTA training. (No longer available online.) In: Website of the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences in Idstein. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013 ; Retrieved February 16, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hs-fresenius.de
  6. ↑ BTA-lesson table (FHR): 3-year form. In: Website of the Vocational College Olsberg . Retrieved February 16, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Vocational School Biological-Technical Assistance. (No longer available online.) In: Website of the Staatliche Gewerbeschule 13 (G13) in Hamburg. Formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 17, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / schule375.schul-cms.eu  
  8. ↑ a b jobs for biological technical assistants. In: Website of the Vocational College Olsberg. Retrieved February 16, 2013 .
  9. ↑ a b c d e VBTA brochure on the BTA occupational profile. In: Website of the Association of Biological-Technical Assistants V. Accessed February 16, 2013 .
  10. ↑ TV-L pay groups on the information pages for the public service. Retrieved February 17, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Molecular Biosciences courses in Germany. In: Website of the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology e. V. (GBM). Retrieved February 17, 2013 .
  12. ↑ Accreditation Council: Rules for the accreditation of study programs and for system accreditation from December 8, 2009 i. d. F. of February 23, 2012 (PDF; 222 kB)