Vocational Training Report 2017: Economic performance and social equality of opportunities of the vocational training system at federal state level - funded by the Bertelsmann Foundation
Projekt duration: December 2016 to November 2017
Brief description:
The project "Vocational Training Report 2017" illustrates strength and weaknesses of the vocational training system within the Federal Republic of Germany from the perspective of performance and equality of opportunities. In this context, specific features of the 16 federal states are presented in detail. It is aimed at a differentiated analysis of the vocational training system including - apart from the training offer and the demand in the dual as well as in the full-time school-based training sector - the vocational transition system and whatever follows subsequent to vocational training. The analysis perspectives with the central concepts of performance and equality of opportunities of vocational training are first of all justified and operationalised from the perspective of educational sociology and education economics. For this purpose, a set of meaningful indicators for the analysis of performance and equality of opportunities of vocational training are identified and developed at federal and federal state level. The indicator-based illustration of the vocational training activities is effected at federal and federal state level by input and outcome factors. The input indicators include the features which structure, extend or restrict the training offer such as activities by companies and state actors of vocational training. They provide the basis for the supplying of the economy with qualified staff and the skilled workers with professional development and earnings opportunities. The outcome indicators cover all results of vocational training which provide information about how to supply the regional labour market with qualified staff and how to support the employment chances of young people by means of training. The input and outcome indicators are evaluated for the 16 federal states as well as at federal level, thus making visible the performance and equality of opportunities within the vocational training system. The socio-economic context of vocational training is described and referred to in addition to the indicators for the interpretations of performance and equality of opportunities of the vocational training system. Furthermore, a state report is prepared for each federal state on the vocational training situation - framework conditions, specific features, differences with regard to the performance level and to the equality of opportunities.
The "Vocational Training Report 2015" was published in 2016 as the first report on state-specific features of the vocational training system(https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de//de/unsere-projekte/chance-ausbildung/laendermonitor-berufliche-bildung/). With the current project the report on performance and equality of opportunities of vocational training federal state level is continued and enhanced. The current project will include an in-depth analysis of vocational education and training offers of small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, we will investigate aspects of inclusive education in VET as well as the inclusion of refugees at federal und federal state level.
As part of the project an expertise about „The development of Vocational Education and Training in small and medium-sized companies" was published in July 2017. This study analyses quantitative data from 1999 to 2015 about the development of training and work places in small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). SMEs are of utmost importance to the employment and training systems in Germany. Businesses with a minimum of six and a maximum of 250 employees supply more than two-thirds of all jobs and 70 per cent of all training places. In addition, a further set of influencing factors is considered and included in a sector comparison. The study reveals, that the number of employees has been increased during the last two decades, in partiuclar in SMEs, but in the same period, the training places in SMEs have declined substantially. If this development continues, the risk of too few skilled workers fort he labor market will increase. Additionally, it must be feared that students with lower school leaving certificate und lower competences will have fewer chances of an apprenticeship (Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2017, p. 60) . The full report can be downloaded at the following link: (https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/fileadmin/files/BSt/Publikationen/GrauePublikationen/Entwicklung_Berufsausbildung_2017.pdf).53441
Project lead:
- Prof. Dr. Susan Seeber
Project staff:
- Dipl.-Pol. Meike Baas
- Dr. Christian Michaelis
- Robin Busse, M.Ed.
Joint project partners:
- Prof. Dr. Martin Baethge, Dr. Maria Richter, Sociological Research Institute at the University of Göttingen (SOFI)