Friday, May 15, 2015

An Adaptive Institution? The German Vocational Education System and Pressures for Change

Abstract:
This article outlines the main elements of the German system of vocational training and looks at recent pressure for change in the system. It identifies two central elements in the system, the notion of the occupation and the dual structure of training delivery. These characteristics are embedded in an array of institutional arrangements which include co-determination within companies, industry-level collective bargaining, national legislation defining occupational categories, and state provision for apprenticeship schools. Several criticisms of the German vocational training system have emerged in recent years, reflecting changes in the German economy and society and the influences of external economic pressures for change. A review of some of the criticisms of the vocational training system and of the legislative responses suggests that the system has managed most of these pressures by adapting its institutional arrangements rather than abandoning them.

The German System: An Overview

  • The definition of occupations
  • The dual system
  • The institutional framework
  • The impact of the dual system on German employers

Changes in the Participation of Employers and Trainees in the System

  • Involvement of employers in the training system
  • Shift in the demand and supply of training places
  • Cost of training

Adapting to Pressures for Change

  • Responses to claims of rigidity in the dual system
  • Curriculum design and delivery


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