TVET in Germany –

Role of the Social Partners in the context of

economic transformation processes
Jan Krüger,
German Trade Union Confederation (DGB)

Susanne Müller, Dr. Jupp Zenzen,

Confederation of German Employers‘ Associations (BDA)
I. Overview – Dual VET: a common path to employment

Labour Market
2 - 3.5 years

Full-time Dual VET

2 - 3.5 years

3.5 - 6 years
Vocational
Schools System Higher Education

10 - 13 school years
General Education
I. Overview – Dual VET facts and figures

Trainees Employers Government

• On average 52.9% of the population • 427,227 out of a total 2.16m • Shares expenses for VET system
enters Dual VET companies provide training (19.8%) with employers
• of which 92,8% graduate from Dual • Train more than 500,000 new trainees • Public expenditure for Dual
VET every year VET: € 6.84bn
• 1.32m trainees in 325 recognised • Hire 74% of Dual VET trainees as • €3.07bn for 1,550 public
training occupations temporary or permanent employees vocational schools providing
• 4.9% of all employees are trainees after training part-time VET
• High employment security
(96.4% of Dual VET graduates • Employers invest on average • €2.39bn for steering, monitoring
employed; only 82.1% employed €18,000 per apprentice per year and further supporting measures
among people who are untrained) (62% of which is training allowance) • Employers contribute €7.7bn
• Receive average training allowance • 70% of investment is refinanced by (= overall net cost of Dual VET
of about € 908 per month the productive contribution of 2012/2013; gross cost = € 25.6bn)
trainees during the training period

Contributes to National Economy / Society

• Strong SME competitiveness on international markets Sources:
BIBB Data Report (2019),
• Relatively low youth unemployment in Germany (4.7%)
Federal Statistical Office
1. Motivation for Dual VET engagement
Employer
"I want employees who can competently
fulfil the tasks and duties needed in my
company, both now and in the future."
"I want workers to be loyal
to my company."

"I want the productive and

innovative contribution of "I want to save job familiarisation
trainees." and retraining costs."

Seek and find a trainee

"I have a social responsibility
to offer training." • Obtain certification to
provide training
• Offer training place(s)
"I want to • Asses applications of trainees
provide training." • Select young person for VET
1. Motivation for Dual VET engagement
Young people
"I want to work in a
skilled occupation."
"I want to earn money."

"I want to learn

something practical."

"I want further

qualification."

Seek and find a training place

"I want to attend upper
• Look for information on local
secondary education."
employers providing VET
• Search for a training place offer
"I want to become a …" • Apply for training places at
(e.g. Mechatronics Fitter) companies
• Select a company
3. Two coordinated learning venues
Dual VET training plan for a given occupation (example)

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

In-company training Vocational school education

• Based on in-company training standards • Based on vocational
(minimum standards) defined in "training education standards
regulations" defined in the framework
• Step by step, trainees take over duties curriculum for vocational
and tasks in the workplace, and in the subjects (2/3)
process contribute to production • Based on framework curriculum for
general school subjects (1/3)
• Classroom-based learning

In-company VET and vocational school education may instead also take place provided each in
separate long-term blocks.
7. Dual VET standards based on requirements of world of work
Demand-driven Dual VET standards guiding VET delivery in both learning venues

In-company training standard Vocational education standard

("training regulations") includes ("framework curriculum") includes
• Set of competencies for occupation to be • Learning objectives and content (structured
trained (occupational profile / standard) in “learning fields”) which form the basis for
• How a company must teach this coordinated
the schooling in vocational subjects in the
occupation, as minimum requirements vocational school
(training standard) • Vocational subjects provide the vocational
• What a trainee needs to know in order to theory needed for working in a given
pass the exam (examination standard) occupation
6. Stakeholders monitor, supervise and support
Business community, social partners and government are all involved in Dual VET

Chamber organisations Government

• Advise companies on VET • Finances, supervises and monitors
• Train in-company trainers public vocational school system
• Assess and certify companies
and trainers for in-company
training provision • Federal government conducts
• Monitor in-company training institutionalised VET research (BIBB)
(facilities, instructors, etc.) • Organises the (continuous)
• Support companies in finding develop-ment of Dual VET standards
trainees • Provides support to the
• Register training contracts unem-ployed and disadvantaged to
• Organise interim and final exams enter
• Mediate disputes between Social partners Dual VET
trainees and companies • Labour unions and employer • Provides support for disabled
• Organise events associations negotiate training people to enter Dual VET
allowances for trainees • Provides vocational orientation
• Works councils monitor • Raises awareness aboutDual VET
in-company training
• Are involved in the development of
in-company training standards
• Are part of the examination boards
7. Dual VET standards based on requirements of world of work
Impetuses for updating/development of national Dual VET standards by the economy

Duration: max. 1 year

Employers Social partners and

identify new government negotiate Dual VET standards
areas of tasks at and adopt new standards
the workplace for in-company training
requiring new (training regulations)
occupational under the guidance of the
qualifications BIBB
=
Development/updating of Dual VET standards guide delivery,
education standards for monitoring, supervision and
vocational schools support of Dual VET nationwide
(framework curricula) in
coordination with in-
company training standards
(training regulations)
III. Benefits of Dual VET

Trainees Employers Government

• Gain occupational proficiency • Gain highly competent employees • Reaps political rewards of positive
necessary for employment meeting the needs of the company economic and social impact of Dual VET
opportunities and gainful income (versus hiring externally)
• Improve productivity as well as • Meets national labour market demand
• Earn training allowance during quality of services and products for qualified labour with contribution of
training employers (training)
• Save recruitment and retraining
• Learn in real and state-of-the-art costs • Has VET system highly capable of
work environment (machinery, • Realise high return on investment
work processes) modernizing itself (in line with
in the long run
technological change)
• Learn how to identify with • Participate in defining company-
company and occupation based training content and • Able to efficiently steer VET system and
• Become capable and certified to development of standards assure its quality
access different occupational • Supports corporate social • Strengthens formalisation of economy
and educational opportunities responsibility (CSR)
by regulating in-company training
• Gains early indications of labour
market demand/supply

Contributes to National Economy / Society

• Economic performance and competitiveness
• Labour-market matching (employers / employees)
• Social and economic integration of young people (inclusiveness)
III. Current challenges for Dual VET

Trainees Employers Government

• Finding a Dual VET training place: • Finding young people for Dual • Dealing with expected shortage of
number of unplaced applicants for VET: number of vacant training skilled workers
Dual VET (2018: 78,600); number of places rising from 2010: 19,800 • Dealing with the decrease in the
companies (esp. SME) providing Dual to 2018: 57,700
VET decreasing from 24 % (2009) to supply of young people for the
19.8 % (2017) • Finding competent trainees for labour market caused by
• Increasing demands at the Dual VET who have the skills, demographic change
workplace / learning venue knowledge and attitudes • Countering the trend of more and
(foreign languages, etc.) necessary for entering Dual VET more young people choosing
• Improving life-long learning ("trainability") university over Dual VET
opportunities in Dual VET • Including disabled people • Dealing with strong regional
(especially for older applicants) • Including large number of disparity with regard to Dual VET
• Gaining access to Dual VET and migrants since 2015 training place demand and supply
work through informally acquired
competencies • Including disabled people
• Including large number of migrants
National Economy / Society
Contributes to • Many people have difficulty entering Dual VET and hence
the labour market and gainful employment
Sources:
• Difficulty meeting demand of employers for skilled workers BIBB Data Report (2019),
Federal Statistical Office
Sectors of education
Young people without
professional education
Alliance for Initial and Further Training

 Founded in december 2014

 Partners: Central business organisations, Trade Unions, Federal
Government, Federal States, Federal Employment Agency
 Focus: Improving and strengthening the dual system
 Strategic fields of action:
 Enhance the significance and attractiveness of vocational
training
 Provide each person interested in training with a "path" which
can lead him or her as quickly as possible to a vocational
qualification
 Achieve a lasting reduction in the mismatch between applicants
and companies, both in regional and occupational terms
 April 2020: Joint declaration to ensure quality/quantity of vocational
training during the Corona pandemic (e.g. „Summer of vocational
training“)
 Positive Signals für Recovery of German Labour Market
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after Corona-Pandemic
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 Zweite Ebeneunemployment & short-time work
Employment,
in tsd.
 Dritte Ebene
– Vierte Ebene
 Fünfte Ebene

employees subject to social

security contributions

unemployment + short-time-work

unemployment

Source: Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit

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 Demografic Change: Driving Force for Skills Shortage
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Projection: Germanbearbeiten
population in age group 20 - 65 years
 52,0
Zweite Ebene
 Dritte Ebene
51,0 – 50,7
Vierte Ebene
 Fünfte Ebene
50,0

49,0
Persons in Mio.

- 11 %
48,0

47,0

46,0
44,9
45,0

44,0
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040

Source: Statistisches Bundesamt

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 Structural Change and Digitalization:
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Job-Gains & Job-Losses 2018 -bearbeiten
2035
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 Zweite Ebene
 Dritte Ebene
4,00

– Vierte Ebene
3,00

 Fünfte Ebene gains

2,00
3,25
1,00
Jobs in Mio.

0,00

-1,00

-2,00 -4,00

-3,00

losses
-4,00

-5,00

Source: Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung

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