A City of Education

Essen is one of the leading education centres in Germany. Some 5,000 teachers teach over 89,000 students at about 200 general schools, vocational colleges and the International School. Approximately 370 institutions and companies reinforce "education" as a location factor. About 16,500 people are employed in this sector.

Numerous small and medium-sized education and training establishments, well-known nationally and internationally recognised training and research institutions as well as regional and pan-regional networks and initiatives promote education and training in Essen. About 16,500 people are employed in this sector. Examples include:

• the University of Duisburg-Essen: the Essen campus has some 16,000 students
• the Folkwang Hochschule (Folkwang University)
• the Haus der Technik (HdT) (Technology Centre)
• the Berufsförderungszentrum (BfZ) (Centre for Vocational Development)
• the Kraftwerkerschule (KWS) (Power Station College)
• the BildungsCentrum der Wirtschaft (BCW) (Business Training Centre)
• the Journalistenschule Ruhr (Ruhr College of Journalism)
• the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Berufskolleg für Hörgeschädigte (Rhine-Westphalia Vocational College for the Hearing-Impaired)
• the IREBS Immobilienakademie International (Real Estate Business School)
• the RAG Bildung
• the FOM Hochschule für Ökonomie und Management (University of Applied Sciences)
• the Verwaltungsakademie (Administration Academy)
• and many more

Essen's tertiary education institutions enjoy an outstanding reputation abroad. Foreign firms send their managerial staff to Essen for further training, while the educational experts here are much in demand throughout the world.

It is essential that fundamental decisions are also made in secondary education. Given the context in particular of the removal of national borders, school students must be given practical preparation for an international labour market. SWE - Schulen und Wirtschaft Essen e.V. (Association for the Promotion of Collaboration between Schools and Business in Essen) is the point of contact for business and schools in Essen. It acts as an interface between schools and businesses and is co-ordinated by the EWG-Essener Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH (Essen Economic Development Corporation). The Europa-Schulen Essen (European Schools Essen) is a non-profit-making grouping of twelve schools of all categories and forms from Essen whose aim is to promote vocationally-oriented training, flexibility and multilingualism in teaching and to enhance the opportunities of accessing the labour market. Both models are considered exemplary.

That is why education and training in Essen are  a considerable location advantage in international competition and why Essen boasts outstanding quality in this location factor.