The changing nature of international mobility in vocational education and training

The international mobility of learners in VET remains a popular object of policy debate. In Germany, the focus is on the unqualified support for the expansion of mobility in VET that comes from policy makers, the social partners and the trade and industry associations alike. Over recent decades, mobility in vocational education and training has become one of the major action areas in European educational policy.
This article explains this development, presents the altered funding strategies and their effects, and describes how these have become embedded in political discourse. It also indicates a new narrative that has emerged in the wake of the European integration crisis. Namely, mobility fosters personal competencies and European citizenship.