WHO WE ARE – WHAT WE DO

The Rahn language and business school has been training foreign language secretaries for over 35 years (two-year full-time training).

Our school is well-known far beyond our region. Our training programs are precisely tailored to the needs of the economy – this is confirmed by the success of our graduates.

The company's guiding principles should be aligned with customer expectations and the labor market. The stated goal is to end the unemployment of participants or to successfully integrate them into the labor market.

It therefore forms an essential basis for our actions.

As a small, family-run school, we have been active in vocational education for more than thirty years. The school is always based on three fundamental principles that guide its management:

– Integrity

Through ethical conduct, we maintain and earn the trust of our customers and the commitment of our employees anew every day.

– Loyalty

Our students and teachers expect nothing but unconditional loyalty from the school. Because if long experience has shown anything, it's that loyalty is returned in exactly the same measure as it is received.

– Transparency

This pillar is enjoying increasing popularity these days, but it was integrated into the Rahn School's working methods from the very beginning. Because it was clear from the outset that clear communication and open interaction were two essential tools for success.

With our specialized foreign language program, we complement the existing vocational schools, secondary schools, and grammar schools in Kaiserslautern and the surrounding region, forming a supplementary school that offers courses not available at state schools. Despite this, the Rahn Language and Business School is a state-recognized vocational school.

We pay particular attention to ensuring that our course offerings appeal to a broad spectrum. This allows us to offer not only traditional school graduates, but also university dropouts and those returning to the workforce the opportunity to develop a solid foundation for their future careers.

The educational humanistic guiding principles form the basis for the work and interactions at Rahnschule. They are based on both a humanistic view of humanity and the demands of the knowledge and information society of the 21st century.

Our school should be a place of teaching, learning and living, where teachers and participants work together in a spirit of trust and create a good school climate.

Participants are offered technically, methodologically, and didactically demanding instruction to best prepare them for the future demands of the professional world. In addition, training sessions are included to help participants successfully integrate into the job market (simulated job interviews, resume writing practice, job placement).

Particular emphasis is placed on empowering students, teaching them to foster their own initiative. Ongoing collaboration with companies and labor market stakeholders, such as job centers and employment agencies, is especially important. For this reason, we are very proud to work closely with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and that our business owner, Jochen Schieffer, is a member of the IHK's examination board for commercial apprentices and actively involved in the further development of oral examinations.

The insights gained from this analysis of the current and future labor market are incorporated, among other things, into the regular review of the company's mission statement. This ensures that the company's mission statement is always aligned with the current labor and training market.

After graduating from the Rahn Language and Business School, our graduates are able to learn independently and are trained to continuously expand their knowledge and skills.

A fundamental principle of our educational humanistic philosophy is the promotion of respectful coexistence and tolerance towards other cultures, nationalities, and worldviews. Open-mindedness and an interest in other nations and regions are fundamental general learning objectives.

Due to the dynamic nature of the education market, we too are in a constant process of adaptation and improvement, without, however, losing sight of the principles of our mission statement. Through internal evaluations and staff brainstorming sessions, this mission statement, which is communicated both internally and externally, is continuously reviewed and, if necessary, adjusted. Our school continuously improves the quality of education and instruction through modern and progressive internal evaluations and staff brainstorming.

Our three PLUS +++

Plus 1

Internationality

Due to our focus on "foreign languages", our school is particularly committed to the ideals of cosmopolitanism and intercultural competence, while always remaining rooted in the European value system.

This allows us to meet the demands of both the world of work and the developments in civil society. The 21st century will be characterized by a globally networked economy and the exchange of cultural and social values.

Our participants can therefore often "score" points with an additional foreign language that is not taught, or only rarely taught, in the German school system.

Our daily interactions therefore train tolerance and confidence in dealing with people of different origins.

Plus 2

Individual support

Our students are individuals with their own unique backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses. The school administration and teachers know each student personally from their lessons and have daily opportunities for personal and confidential conversations. Through ongoing communication between teachers and the academic director, the students' progress is continuously assessed and documented in progress reports.

This allows teachers to identify individual students' problems early on and discuss them. Appropriate responses and support are then coordinated.

Funding measures

• Continuous support, e.g., for improvement in German language skills, through remedial lessons and/or individual exercises
• Needs-based support, e.g. during holiday periods or after regular classes
• Supporting high-achieving students by assigning project management, coaching tasks, and organizational tasks.

Plus 3

French

Both Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland have expressed their intention to significantly improve French language skills. They are taking inspiration from Luxembourg, a country known for its multilingualism. In both states, many businesses maintain contact with neighboring France (customers, business partners, employees), but German language skills are limited on the French side. Therefore, both states have decided to promote and expand these language skills, for example, through the selection process for public sector applicants.

Furthermore, French language skills are in high demand due to the growing contact with traditionally French-oriented African countries, which are playing an increasingly important role as suppliers of raw materials (Morocco, Libya, Cameroon, etc.) and also as customers for the German economy. The Rhineland-Palatinate region is becoming particularly attractive for companies in the automotive sector. Since the proximity to France and Luxembourg is especially appealing to network companies, the demand for multilingual administrative staff is also rising.

The Rahn language and business school has been training foreign language secretaries and European secretaries for over 38 years (two-year full-time training).

Our school is well-known far beyond our region. Our training programs are precisely tailored to the needs of the economy – this is confirmed by the success of our graduates.

In addition to training courses, we also offer language courses.

In spring 2019, Jochen Schieffer, a graduate in business administration, took over as headmaster of the Rahn School of Languages ​​and Business. From the outset, he gradually expanded the teaching staff with qualified native speakers. The Rahn School of Languages ​​and Business now comprises approximately 10 teachers from various countries worldwide. The school's high standards were officially recognized by the state in 1985, and this recognition was renewed in 2019.

Definition of "customers"

We consider participants in our programs to be our clients. These are individuals who are unemployed or seeking employment and who wish to open up new career prospects through our programs. This client base also includes students, those seeking apprenticeships, university dropouts, and generally anyone wishing to change careers or pursue a new direction. For these participants, we offer activation and vocational integration programs as well as vocational training programs, with the goal of successful and sustainable integration into the labor market. These programs are eligible for funding through student financial aid (BAföG) and educational loans. The client base is limited only by regulations from the ADD (Supervisory and Service Directorate) in its capacity as school supervisory authority. For our school, this means that individuals we accept as students must either:

1. possess a qualified secondary school leaving certificate (or equivalent) OR
2. are already of legal age (special cases possible)

This means that the basic requirement for participation of underage customers in our program is the successful completion of the 10th grade of a Realschule plus, Integrated Comprehensive School or a Gymnasium.

Similarly, foreign-language employees from companies can attend training courses to improve their language skills. Improving the eligibility of our programs for funding is a constant goal of Rahnschule, and we are currently working on ways to add educational vouchers to our support options in the future.

Our premises, featuring an outdoor area and a spacious lounge with a break room, are centrally located in the "Fuchsbau" building in Kaiserslautern. The train station and bus stops are just a few minutes away.

Detailed information is available from our office.

Opening hours: Mon – Fri 9:00 – 16:00 or by appointment.