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Vocational Training in the Dual System - Federal Republic of Germany
Source: Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Two-thirds of young people in Germany undergo vocational training in the dual system (dualesSystem) for two to three and a half years, depending on their chosen occupation. It is described as a "dual system" because training is carried out in two places of learning: at the workplace and in a vocational school (Berufsschule). The aim of training in the dual system is to provide a broadly based basic vocational training and impart the skills and knowledge necessary to practise a skilled occupation within a structured course of training. Those successfully completing the training are entitled to do skilled work in one of about 355 recognised occupations requiring formal training (anerkannteAusbildungsberufe).
Compulsory full-time schooling must be completed before commencing vocational training. There are no other prerequisites for admission to the dual system; training in the dual system is generally open to everyone. The training is based on a training contract under private law between a training company and the trainee. The trainees spend three or four days a week at the company and up to two days at the Berufsschule. The training companies assume the costs of the on-the-job training and pay the trainee a training allowance in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement in the sector concerned.
The skills and knowledge to be acquired in the course of training at the workplace are set out in the Ausbildungsordnung (training regulations) and broken down in terms of content and time in a framework training plan, the particulars of which are specified by the training company in an individual training plan. Berufsschule classes cover the material for each recognised occupation requiring formal training as set out in the training regulations in line with the Rahmenlehrplan (framework curriculum).
Through the 1969 Vocational Training Act (BBIG) the German state mandated the entire field of out-of-school vocational training to German society as a whole, with responsibility for implementing that training being entrusted primarily to private-sector industry and the administration.
Rights concerning consultation and decision-making in the planning of vocational training are spread equally between all parties involved in implementing vocational training (enterprises and chambers, trade unions, governments of the federal states, and the Federal Government.)
On August 13, 1990, the government of the GDR adopted the Vocational Training Act as the legal basis for its vocational training system. This meant that even before German unification, the new federal states had laid the foundations for the transition to training structures and contents which had been developed in the Federal Republic of Germany since 1969.
The bodies with responsibility for vocational training are generally the various chambers and associations (e.g. Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Chamber of Skilled Trades, Chamber of Agriculture, Medical Association). They enter training agreements into the Register of Apprenticeships and Traineeships, advise on all training issues (training advisers), monitor the performance of in-company training and run the examinations (e.g. interim and final examinations, further training examinations).
Each occupation that requires training is governed by a separate set of training regulations (in accordance with §§ 25 BBiG/HwO), which are issued in the form of a statutory order by the German Minister of Industry and Commerce, or other responsible minister, in coordination with the Ministers of Education & Science and Research & Technology. The training regulations state the designation of the occupation that requires training, the length of the training period, the knowledge and skills to be imparted, the general training programme and the examination requirements.
Vocational training places outside school (on the job) are available in industry and the civil service sector, in independent professions and in private households. Based on the Ausbildungsordnungen (training regulations), the training companies impart specific and general technical skills for practical application on the job. The theoretical knowledge acquired at the Berufsschule is combined with work experience and applied in specific situations. The binding Ausbildungsordnungen (training regulations) have been established to set uniform national standards that are independent of the companies' current operational needs and meet the requirements in the respective occupation. Training may only be provided in training companies in which the skills demanded by the training regulations can be imparted by training personnel with the necessary proven qualification. The qualification of training companies and in-company training personnel is determined and continually reviewed by the competent autonomous organisations (chambers) of the various occupations and branches of industry. The chambers also monitor the training to make sure it is conducted properly.
In the context of the dual system of vocational education the Berufsschule is an autonomous place of learning. It works together on an equal footing with the companies participating in vocational training. The function of the Berufsschule is to provide pupils with general and vocational education, having particular regard for the requirements of vocational training. Berufsschulen are also expected to offer courses preparing for vocational education or accompanying professional activities. Berufsschulen equip their pupils with basic and specialised vocational training, adding to the general education they have already received. The purpose is to enable them to carry out their occupational duties and to help shape the world of work and society as a whole with a sense of social and ecological responsibility.
About a third of total teaching time at the Berufsschule is taken up with general education subjects, namely German, social studies and economics, religion and sport. Foreign languages are included in vocational education to the extent they are likely to be of importance in the pupils' future career, e.g. office jobs. Pupils attend the Berufsschule on a part-time basis and usually have at least 12 periods per week. Together with the companies providing training, the school supervisory body and the relevant bodies from industry, the Berufsschule decides on how to organise teaching time, drawing on a wide number of possibilities. Teaching can, for example, be provided two days a week every week throughout the course or may alternate between one day and two days from week to week. Instruction may also be given in the form of coherent blocks. The aim of the various different ways of organising the course is to guarantee the best possible attendance rate of the pupils within the companies providing training and, at the same time, to create a favourable situation in terms of educational gain and learning psychology.
It is also possible to follow a one-year course of basic vocational training, either in the form of full-time schooling or on the basis of a cooperative arrangement between a company and the school (so-called Berufsgrundbildungsjahr). The purpose of this basic vocational training year is to provide general knowledge and skills required in every occupation and every field as well as special theoretical and practical education in one particular career area and in this way to lay the groundwork for subsequent vocational training in this field. Pupils may choose one of the 13 currently existing career areas (business and administration; metallurgic engineering; electrical engineering; construction engineering; woodworking techniques; textiles and garment making; chemistry, physics and biology; printing technology; colour technology and interior design; body care; health; nutrition and home economics; agronomy). Successful completion of a basic vocational training year may be counted as the first year of training in the specific recognised occupations requiring formal training associated with the chosen career area.
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