From a special case to a model that is in demand - what makes dual VET attractive abroad?

Not too long ago, the German model of VET and its combination of school-based and company-based learning venues was considered to be a vocational training pathway all of its own, and Germany regularly had to face criticism from the OECD that its rate of persons with academic qualifications was too low. The OECD 1 is now recommending that others look to Germany and Switzerland. What is the reason for this recent interest in dual vocational education and training? On the basis of experiences from the international cooperation in which BIBB is engaged, the present article develops responses to this question and outlines the prospects for supporting the promotion of dual training in European partner countries.

In the light of high international levels of youth unemployment, the dual model is currently an attractive training approach that is in demand all over the world. Austria's and Germany's rates of youth unemployment are 8.0 and 7.5 percent respectively, significantly below the average EU figure of 23.5% (EU 27).² For this reason, the principle of acquiring employability skills via "work-based-learning" seems to be obtaining a certain steering function at the present time. The hope is that company-integrated and trade and industry related training will deliver possible solutions for existing deficits or problems. Work-based learning is, however, merely one of the elements that secures the successful implementation and quality of dual training models and that is of interest from an international point of view.

Ongoing continuing development and adaptation of vocational education and training to meet economic, technological and societal changes are a further fundamental characteristic exhibited by the dual system. This is primarily ensured by close cooperation and joint responsibility between the state and trade and industry (cf. e.g. GREINERT 2012). Companies invest in the training of qualified skilled workers, such training being delivered in close conjunction of labour market requirements. Relevant cost-benefit analyses (cf. e.g. SCHÖNFELD et al. 2010) demonstrate that the effects for the companies are largely positive. The quality of training is guaranteed via cross-company training and uniform examination standards, which are jointly developed by the state, trade and industry and the social partners and thus enjoy a high degree of societal acceptance. The pedagogical qualification of teaching and training staff, minimum standards for which are laid down for company-based trainers via such mechanisms as the Ordinance on Trainer Aptitude (AEVO), constitutes a further quality characteristic (cf. ULMER/GUTSCHOW 2013).

Institutionalised research and advisory services are also key features of the profile of dual vocational education and training in Germany. Whilst vocational information and advice provide support with the choice of initial and continuing training measures and with making the transition to the employment system, VET and labour market research facilitate evidence-based management and further development of vocational education and training. Relevant instruments for the early recognition of training needs, such as model calculations, skills projections (cf. e.g. HELMRICH/ZIKA 2010) and report formats on the effectiveness of the VET system (cf. e.g. the annual Report on Vocational Education and Training drawn up by the Federal Government and the Data Report to accompany the Report on Vocational Education and Training published by BIBB)³ are in regular demand in the field of international consultancy.

Foreign interest in the German training system was manifested on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference "Vocational Education and Training in Europe - Perspectives for the Young Generation". At this conference, which was staged in Berlin in December 2012, ministers with responsibility for vocational education and training in seven European countries (Spain, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Greece, Latvia and Germany) came together to announce their willingness to cooperate in VET and to work jointly on the development and promotion of dual, company-integrated or alternating training. The subsequent Memorandum was drawn up in accordance with the Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training ("ET 2020"⁴), the European Strategy for Intelligent, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth and the European "Copenhagen-Bruges Process" in vocational education and training. The initiative undertaken by the seven European countries also acts as a component of the future European Alliance for Apprenticeships, to be adopted at the beginning of July 2013 on the occasion of the World Skills.

The Berlin Memorandum encompasses five fields of activity. Two of these relate to the topics of mobility and European orientation of VET as a contribution towards the European labour market and European Education Area. The aim is for mobility to apply to both training staff and trainees and assist with double qualifications or continuing training. Two further fields of activity address the management aspects and structural characteristics of vocational education and training. These areas are directed towards the role of the social partners and of trade and industry in their capacity as the partners with responsibility for VET. The focus is on financing issues, on the interlinking of school-based and company-based learning venues and on the development of labour market and skills requirements analyses.

The fifth field of activity aims to "increase the attractiveness and quality of vocational training". This mainly relates to improving vocational guidance, orientation and information and at increasing permeability. In addition to the staging of information campaigns and VET advertising measures for various target groups and the introduction of practical components into school-based teaching, the objective is to enhance the permeability of training pathways (initial training, continuing and advanced training, higher education). This field of activity thus indicates one important aspect that maintains the attractiveness of a vocational qualification - facilitating career and advancement opportunities together with the earnings options associated with these and ensuring that occupational training is not a vocational or social dead-end.

Peer learning activities, joint exchange of information and the development of pilot projects were agreed in order to implement the fields of activity. These pilot projects are evidence of the interest shown in the German training model by the European project partners. Nevertheless, these project partners face the difficult task of developing company-integrated training in countries where VET is largely school-based. For this reason, the first stage of cooperation is the establishment of bilateral working groups involving all stakeholders able to make a relevant contribution towards the promotion of dual training structures.

The Berlin Memorandum addresses the quality characteristics of German vocational education and training and thus documents the attractiveness of dual training abroad. The further structuring of the projects will comprise flexible, needs-oriented solutions embeded within the respective national contexts. The central points of focus will be on questions relating to the creation of training places, the acquisition of companies to provide training and increasing the participation rate in initial training. These points are closely linked to economic, labour market and social policy issues.

A needs-oriented approach and the broadly based consensus that good quality training needs to adapt to a changing world (of work) on an ongoing basis are important determinants of an attractive vocational education and training system which learners and citizens perceive to be capable of becoming a viable alternative for occupational career development, for societal participation and for the securing of the requirement for skilled workers.

BIRGIT THOMANN,
Head of the "Internationalisation of Vocational Education and Training / Knowledge Management" Division at BIBB

ISABELLE LE MOUILLOUR,
Head of the "Basic Issues of Internationalisation / Monitoring of Vocational Education and Training Systems" Division at BIBB

Translation from the German original (published in BWP 4/2013): Martin Stuart Kelsey, Global Sprachteam Berlin