The perception of the world of work and professional careers and the development of child-orientated career management skills (CMS) require a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to the qualification of nursery school staff. WARBEKi can be integrated into existing curricula or offered as a separate programme. The (direct) target group for the programme is childcare staff (during studies, in training or further education). The aim is to promote important skills in this target group in order to open up the children's opportunities for experience, action and cognition. The (indirect) target group is children of pre-school age. The aim is to awaken children's motivation and ability for continuous and self-directed exploration at an early age in order to pedagogically counter fears of personal failure, social exclusion and cultural discrimination, among other things. Professional exploration by children has so far received little attention in science and practice. Other target groups are the teachers responsible for qualification (universities, educational institutions), parents, teachers in the elementary school sector and counsellors in education and vocation.
The OECD and the EU Commission have previously pointed out that the foundations for the ability to steer one's own career are laid in early childhood, but that there are only very limited or no opportunities for systematic career guidance (OECD, EU Commission 2004). This is astonishing because studies repeatedly come to the conclusion that children know far more about the world of work and careers than many people believe (Niles, Harris-Bowlsbey 2014). In the statutory educational mandate for daycare centres, the references to this topic are clear in different ways and indirectly. However, it is unanimously emphasised that the respective living environment of the child and their family must be taken into account when providing support in the daycare centre. WARBEKi addresses this need and serves to develop and test a qualification programme for nursery staff. The programme focuses on the "perception of the world of work and professional careers in early childhood education". The aim is to enable nursery staff to sensitise children of pre-school age to the world of work and the world of work, without, however, training them for specific professions.