On November 18, 2019, an agreement was signed between Corporate Training and Service Alliance of Thuringia, Germany and Sino-German Ecopark, which marked the establishment of China Office of Corporate Training and Service Alliance of Thuringia, Germany in the Ecopark. Hayek Shuerle, president of the alliance and Xu Haijie, deputy director of the Ecopark addressed the ceremony and unveiled the project together.

Corporate Training and Service Alliance of Thuringia will leverage its China Office to engage in cooperation in dual system vocational education, phase-based training of skilled talent, international certification and accreditation, student internship and employment, etc. A dual system vocational education center will be set in the Ecopark to promote the dual system vocational education of Germany in China. Qingdao will serve as the base for enrollment and training facing the whole country. Opportunities for study, internship and jobs will be available for eligible students taking part in this program. A HWK/IHK center covering the whole China region will also be founded.

This is the first Germany-invested dual system education project in the Ecopark since the official launch of the China(Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone). It will provide the companies in the FTZ with high-level vocational education and specialized talent, promote in-depth cooperation between colleges and companies, and facilitate high-quality development of Sino-German vocational education cooperation. An innovative operation model covering all the educational institutions and companies in the park and a system for training high-caliber and highly-skilled talent will be improved so as to produce quality talent resources that will support the competitiveness of the companies in the park and contribute to economic and social development.

Corporate Training and Service Alliance of Thuringia was founded in 1996. It is a union of Corporate Service Association of Thuringia, Corporate Service Association of Northwest Thuringia and Corporate Service Association of South Thuringia. As a non-profit institution, its mission is to promote vocational training and continued education. By now, it has organized courses for 2100 apprentices in 120 trades from nearly 120 regional companies. It has also helped about 3,000 trainees with their career orientation.