Continuing Education And Training In Germany

Germany has a strong skill development system. The country's 15-year-old students performed above the OECD average in the last (2018) edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), continuing a trend of significant improvement since PISA's first edition in 2000. Its adult population also has above-average literacy and numeracy skills, according to the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). A strong and well-respected vocational education and training system is seen as one of the success factors behind these achievements. However, participation in learning beyond initial education lags behind other high-performing OECD countries and varies considerably across different groups of the population. This is problematic in a rapidly changing labour market, where participation in continuing education and training is a precondition for individuals, enterprises and economies to harness the benefits of these changes. This report assesses the current state of the German continuing education and training (CET) system. It examines how effectively and efficiently the system prepares people and enterprises for the changes occurring in the world of work, and identifies what changes are necessary to make the CET system more future ready. The report makes recommendations for the further development of the CET system based on international good practice.

Germany has a strong skill development system. The country’s 15‐year‐old students performed above the OECD average in the last (2018) edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), continuing a trend of significant improvement since PISA’s first edition in 2000.

This monograph examines vocational training (VT) in the Federal Republic of Germany. Section 1 presents background information/framework data on the following: Germany's political and administrative structures, population and demographic trends, economy and employment, and education system. In section 2, the historical development of VT in Germany is traced from the Middle Ages through German unification in 1990. Discussed in sections 3-7 are the following: initial VT (definition, Germany's dual system, VT in schools, special forms of initial training, and programs conducted by labor authorities); continuing VT (continuing VT's basic data and structures, target groups/participants, providers, personnel, and legal structural conditions); organization and responsibilities (organization and competence structure in the dual system, collaboration between employers and employees, and competent authorities of continuing VT); financing of VT in enterprises, schools, and external (non-plant) training centers, financing of the promotion of VT through the Federal Labor Office, and financing authorities dealing with VT; and developments and future prospects (problems/trends/developments in the new Lander, VT, and continuing VT and international dimensions in VT). Thirty-five tables/figures are included. Appended are the following: 32-item bibliography; bilingual list of selected institutions, legislation, and key terms; and lists of important addresses, key terms, and related publications (in languages other than German). (MN)

With digitalisation, deepening globalisation and population ageing, the world of work is changing. The extent to which individuals, firms and economies can harness the benefits of these changes critically depends on the readiness of adult learning systems to help people develop relevant skills ...

Following the Introduction, the emergence of lifelong learning as the central strategy in the EU’s education and training policy is described in Chapter Two. Illustrated in a historical and international context, it reveals where the idea of lifelong learning has come from and how it has developed up to the present day. A particular focus is on EU policy after the mid-1990s as well as on the EU’s concept of lifelong learning and its objectives. Since lifelong learning is a complex concept, the provision of a broad perspective on VET in Germany and England seems inevitable in order to examine how VET fosters lifelong learning. Therefore, Deißinger’s concept of qualification styles, which explicitly aims at providing a multidimensional approach that reveals the complexities and singularities of VET systems, serves as the basis of Chapter Three to describe the main patterns of VET in Germany and England. The focus lies on initial training, though the whole system is taken into account. Chapter Four explicitly builds on Chapter Three. It examines the role of VET in promoting lifelong learning in Germany and England. The six Key Messages of the EU’s Memorandum on Lifelong Learning serve as the analytical framework for the investigation. Chapter Five summarises the findings and draws conclusions. It reveals that the approaches for promoting lifelong learning as well as the perceptions of lifelong learning differ. These findings are embedded in the wider context of EU education and training policy. The EU policy on lifelong learning is regarded critically, and attention is drawn to further research questions. Appendices provide additional information to illustrate specific aspects of some of the issues in the main text in greater detail.

This report analyzes the function of a continuing education and training (CET) counseling service in a regional context on the basis of the experience of the CET Counseling Center (CETCC) of the city of Cologne, Germany. Section 2 describes the methodology and considers the role of a CET counseling service as a platform for regional structural development. Section 3 describes the structure of CET provision in Germany and the regional impact of general continuing vocational training conditions. Section 4 puts the CETCC into a regional context by discussing the social and geographical structure of the region. It describes the two main fields of CET counseling: individual and institutional. Section 5 analyzes four long-term projects with reference to cooperation among CET establishments, authorities, counseling services, and social agencies and the regional impact of such cooperation. Section 6 evaluates the cooperative projects. Methodological, content-related, and organizational aspects are compared, their effects on the region estimated, and infrastructural improvement examined. Contains 15 references. (YLB)

Recoge: 1. General political context - 2. Current political developments - 3. Institutional framework - 4. Initial vocational training - 5. Continuing vocational education and training - 6. Training of VET teachers and trainers - 7. Skills and competence development - 8. Validation of learning - 9. Guidance and counselling - 10. Financing vocational training - 11. European and international dimension.