How can dual vocational education be transferred to other countries? Study provides answers

30.11.2023 09:00:00 EET | Bertelsmann Stiftung | Press release

Share

Germany’s dual vocational training is considered a model of success - but how can it be transferred to other countries? Professor Dr. Dieter Euler answers this question in a new study "Roadmap to high-quality dual VET" commissioned by the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Gütersloh, 30. November 2023 - The German dual vocational education system is regarded as a success around the world – but how can this German success story be transferred to other countries? Professor Dieter Euler answers this question in his recently published study: "Roadmap to high-quality dual VET" (Vocational Education and Training), commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation. The study is available in German, English, Spanish and French.

What is it about? Dual education systems have been extremely popular internationally for years: Closely meshing vocational education and practical experience in the workplace is seen as a recipe for success for the qualification of skilled personnel. But such a system cannot simply be transferred from one country to another, as the underlying educational and socioeconomic environments differ greatly. With this in mind, Dieter Euler does not propose a 1:1 transfer, but divides the dual vocational education system into eleven components, each of which can be considered seperately: How should a dual system be financed? How can theory and experience at work be meaningfully combined? How will assessments be made? The analysis shows what a transfer of individual elements could look like, along with the options for substitution. It also looks beyond the German system to take in the international landscape: Other countries also have vocational education systems with dual elements that could equally serve as examples.

Each of the eleven elements are further subdivided into four stages of implementation – allowing for a highly nuanced approach. The resulting overview is illustrated with a wide range of practical examples. This matrix provides ideas for reform or can be used to analyse existing reform processes in a structured way and from a historical and content-related perspective. The author illustrates this by means of two extensive case studies of reforms in vocational education in Albania and Spain.

"Change is a journey, not a blueprint" – this quote aptly describes the factors that need to be taken into account when implementing a dual education system. Anyone wishing to reform an existing educational system in the direction of a dual system must take into account the existing framework and align the transfer to the educational, social and economic objectives already in place. In other words: While dual education in German-speaking countries may serve as an example, it is not a blueprint. The present study is intended to stimulate a learning process among political, administrative and academic decision-makers in countries planning to embark on reforms – both from each other and with each other.

Links and shortlinks to the four versions (in German, English, Spanish and French):

Contacts

Clemens Wieland
clemens.wieland@bertelsmann-stiftung.de
+49 5241 8181352

Subscribe to releases from Bertelsmann Stiftung

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Bertelsmann Stiftung by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Bertelsmann Stiftung

Reinhard Mohn Prize awarded to Maia Sandu and Michael Otto20.2.2025 16:00:00 EET | Press release

Gütersloh – February 20, 2025. The Bertelsmann Stiftung today awarded the 2025 Reinhard Mohn Prize to the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and to entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Otto. In keeping with the title of this year’s prize – “Strengthen democracy!” – it presented the award in recognition of both recipients’ commitment to democratic values and a free society. At Gütersloh Theater, before an audience of some 500 guests, Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Liz Mohn, honorary member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Board of Trustees and the foundation’s global representative, gave the presentation speeches. The two award winners will share the prize money totaling €200,000 euros and will donate it to non-profit projects and initiatives. The Bertelsmann Stiftung broadcast the ceremony via livestream. “In a crisis-torn world, democracy faces enormous challenges,” said Liz Mohn. “Maintaining, developing and strengthening democracy was one of t

Climate neutrality: The OECD and EU countries best equipped to lead the way17.12.2024 09:00:00 EET | Press release

How determined are OECD and EU countries in pursuing the goal of climate neutrality by 2050? A recent monitoring report by the Bertelsmann Stiftung reveals that Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Spain are setting the pace with their effective policy strategies. In contrast, Canada, Australia, Israel, Poland and Hungary need to significantly ramp up their efforts. The analysis compares the effectiveness of national policies in climate protection, energy transition and circular economy practices.

More than half of all young people in the EU feel lonely16.12.2024 09:00:00 EET | Press release

Gütersloh, 16.12.2024. Many young adults in the EU share the feeling that they are lonely. Around 57 per cent of young Europeans aged from 18 to 35 feel moderately or strongly lonely, according to a new Bertelsmann Stiftung study entitled “Loneliness of Young People Compared across Europe in 2024.” The data for the EU-wide survey derive from the European opinion research tool eupinions. While loneliness among young people has been an issue across the EU since the coronavirus pandemic, there are significant differences between the member states. Young people in France, for example, feel lonely very often: 40 per cent of young French people feel at least moderately lonely, and 23 per cent of them are extremely lonely. This means that almost two thirds of young people in France suffer from loneliness. These are the highest levels in the seven EU countries that permit comparison on account of the sample size. Young adults in Germany are affected by loneliness slightly less often: 39 per ce

World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye