The German VET-system: Overview of the system, it’s structure and recent reform measures

2.1 Structure of VET-system

The German VET-system can generally be divided into three main pathways: Initial vocational training, continuing vocational training and retraining. It is characteristic of the German Vet-system that the three pathways are institutionally relatively independent and differ in their core features and mechanisms:

Initial vocational training (i.v.t.) provides basic formal vocational training for young people between from 16 to 20 years according to state-recognised training occupations within the dual vocational and training system or according to school-based state-recognised training occupations. Opposed to most other countries in the world, where initial vocational training is carried out mainly in schools, Germany has a long tradition of initial vocational training within the dual system and about 80% of young people who opt for VET are trained in the dual system.

Initial vocational training in the dual system does not only take place in alternate training places - in the enterprises and in part-time vocational schools. Furthermore, enterprises bear the whole costs for the provision of training at their own premises. Formally, the only precondition for access to vocational training is completion of lower secondary schooling. Duration of initial vocational education and training varies from 2 to 3,5 years. In generally it comes up to 3 or 3,5

years. It may be shorted for young people with upper secondary leaving certificates and for high-performance trainees.

Due to the rapid changes in economy and society there is no doubt: all efforts to foster initial vocational training activities will not be sufficient to ensure of up-to-date competent labour force.

Therefore it will be no less important to provide continuing vocational training (c.v.t.) for the existing labour force, even to those labourers and employees who are beyond the age of 50. But quite in contrary to i.v.t., which is characterised by a regular system of training ordinances, occupational profiles and recognised certifications, c.v.t. in Germany cannot be characterised as an coherent and regular system.

Retraining in a recognised training occupation under the German retraining model provides adults the opportunity to obtain vocational qualification for the first time or, if the current occupation no longer offers any job prospects in the labour market, to be trained for a new occupation. This opportunity to acquire a new vocational qualification is of special importance to many working persons as a result of economic and structural change and the resulting need for people to reorient themselves occupationally.

2.2 Challenges and recent reform measures

For decades Germany’s VET system, especially the Dual System, has been widely praised for its close contacts to the workplace as training venue, for its leadership in marrying labour market and educational needs and for its capability to provide the majority of each age group with high quality training opportunities. In the mid - nineties the provision of training places went down significantly and the growing need for qualified personnel in the new labour markets like information technology, media and in services was not met by an adequate offer of graduates from the Dual System. All of a sudden the long time champion in education found itself in a system crisis debate and was blamed for the rigidity and inflexibility of its standards and regulations, for not delivering “enough and at the right time”, and for the lack of links with continuing vocational training.

Federal Government and the Federal Institute for Vocational Training were accused for not having recognised the labour market needs early enough and for not being willing to accept a

change of paradigm: from the occupational pathway concept (“Berufskonzept”) of two to three year training tracks to a fragmented vocational qualification concept (“Modularisierung”) which recognises that work organisation is changing from occupational orientation to process orientation. Not only government and research, but also employers and trade unions, as social partners the stakeholders of the Dual System, came under strong political and media pressure for not being able to change their traditional habits of long negotiations on new and flexible standards.

In 1996, after a rather short period of preparation, the social partners, government and research reached a break through. Within an up to then unmatched short development period of six months they presented four new VET standards and occupations for the cross sector field of information and communication technology (ICT), which became the prototypes of more flexible and adaptable VET standards. Not only this, the development process itself set new standards for early recognition of change, revision and a new concept of basic and occupational skills, knowledge and capabilities.

Since 1995 almost 40 new training occupations and VET standards have been created and some 120 have been updated and modernised. The total number of training occupations, however, has been reduced to 348 by 2002. New assessment schemes have been developed, additional qualifications like foreign language, communications skills have been introduced and can be acquired by trainees in the course of training.

At the beginning of the new millennium the “dual training system”, already looked upon as being outmoded in the mid-nineties, is back in the market. Some 620.000 training contracts were concluded in 2000, some 50.000 more than in 1995. New training standards, namely in the ICT field, have caused an increasing demand for training in the new occupations; in ICT occupations alone some 70.000 young people are trained currently. Drawbacks, however, are still in the discussion, although flexibility and responsiveness have significantly improved:

• the links between initial training and continuing training in other occupational fields than those of the new economy are still weak and efforts have to be strengthen to provide VET throughout life;

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access to continuing vocational training must be promoted – particularly with a view to the needs of diverse target groups (e.g. unskilled labour, unemployed people, older employees);

recognition of occupational learning achievements to further and higher education has made very little progress; the number of “meister” (supervisor) studying at university – though legally entitled to – is too small to be mentioned;

the early recognition of qualification needs often neglect educational and labour market research findings. Chamber proposals for new training occupations more often follow short term economic interest than a sustain-able concept of a long term training perspective for generations to come.