Building (and extending) bridges between higher and vocational education through cross-cutting education programmes

It is clear from the example of the IT occupations that rising demand for skilled workers cannot be addressed solely with more higher education qualifications, but that differentiated competence profiles are necessary. Additional options are called for, which integrate elements of academic and vocational education and thereby facilitate reciprocal transitions between the different educational sectors. The article presents how the “DQR Bridge 5” project is developing cross-cutting education measures at Level 5 of the German Qualifications Framework (DQR), for which credit transfer can be granted within the framework of an upgrading training programme and a Bachelor’s degree programme.