Apprenticeship in Germany – A Dual or ‘Parallel Systems’ ?

On the macro level (federal level) and exo level (state or regional level), the German Dual Apprenticeship System shows a high degree of institutionalised collaboration. However, the companies and vocational schools on the meso level (institutional level and level of the actors), in contrast, are just loosely coupled with a dominant partner (i.e., companies) and a subordinate partner (i.e., schools). The term ‘Dual System’ was invented in the 1960s, and the intention was to emphasise equal responsibilities, partnership of equals, lively encounters and close collaboration between companies and schools. This vision is not yet a reality, as the presented empirical survey demonstrates. A majority of companies do not or rather seldom cooperate with ‘their’ vocational schools. The term ‘Parallel Systems’ seems to be more appropriate to characterise the actual situation on the meso level than the term Dual System.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Collaboration between Companies and Schools in the German Dual Apprenticeship System