Studies On Continuing Vocational Training In Germany

This book offers a comprehensive empirical analysis of continuing vocational training in Germany. Specific issues concerning continuing training that are debated in academia as well as in public are discussed. Wage and productivity effects of training are analyzed, explicitly accounting for the heterogeneity of training participants. In addition, evidence is given on whether positive externalities of continuing training exist.

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.

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)

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.

Recoge: 1.Continuing vocational training in Austria - 2.Continuing vocational training in Fladers (Belgium) - 3.Continuing vocational training in the French-speaking community (Belgium) - 4.Continuing vocational training in Denmark - 5.Continuing vocational training in Finland - 6.Continuing vocational training in France - 7.Continuing vocational training in Germany - 8.Continuing vocational training in Greece - 9.Continuing vocational training in Ireland - 10.Continuing vocational training in Italy - 11.Continuing vocational training in Luxembourg - 12.Continuing vocational training in The Netherlands - 13.Continuing vocational training in Portugal - 14.Continuing vocational training in Spain - 15.Continuing vocational training in Sweden - 16.Continuing vocational training in the UK - 17.Continuing vocational training in Norway - 18.Continuing vocational training in Japan - 19.Continuing vocational training in the United States.

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.

Recoge: 1.Background to the funding of vocational education and training - 2.Initial vocational training - 3.Continuing vocational training - 4.Initial and continuing training for the unemployed - 5.Combined training programmes - 6.Future of vocational education and training funding - 7.List of abbreviations and German institutions - 8.Legal provisions.