Quality assurance and development in vocational education and training
Issues relating to quality assurance in vocational education and training have become significantly more relevant both at a national and European level. The professional competence of people in Europe is viewed as a crucial resource for the competitiveness of European national economies.
The Copenhagen Process is based on the thesis that high quality vocational education and training is the prerequisite for a good performance in global competition. This topic has also been accorded a higher degree of importance at the national level. Evidence of this is provided in the form of continuing developments that have taken place at a system level, such as the reform of the Vocational Training Act in 2005 (cf. §§ 79/83). The legislation requires the federal state committees and VET committees at the competent bodies “to strive for a continuous development of the quality of vocational education and training”.
Factors influencing the German vocational education and training system
The German system of vocational education and training enjoys a high degree of international esteem, particularly since the serious consequences of the financial crisis began to affect labour markets. The fact that youth unemployment in Germany is low in European comparative terms is seen as an indicator of the positive effects exerted by the dual system, which is characterised by its two learning venues and a linking of theory and practice1.
Despite this high reputation, it needs to be borne in mind that demographic change2 and the tendency towards higher educational qualifications are putting vocational education and training under pressure. On the one hand, young people are increasingly likely to opt for higher education study3. On the other hand, companies are experiencing ever greater problems in recruiting suitable applicants for their apprenticeships. This is shown by a rising number of unfilled training places4. The danger is that companies will withdraw further from the dual system and that the shortage of skilled workers will be exacerbated5.
The central role of quality assurance
In light of this, the focus needs to be on retaining and strengthening the attractiveness of vocational education and training. The factor of “quality of VET” and the question of how this can be secured and developed thus plays a crucial role.
One specific element of Germany’s vocational education and training system is that the country has binding structures and standards in place for the purpose of securing quality in VET nationwide. The quality of vocational education and training is governed by the provisions set out in the Vocational Training Act (BBiG), by relevant recommendations made by the BIBB Board and by the minimum quality standards laid down in the initial and advanced training regulations.
The most important binding stipulations stated in the BBiG include:
the development of initial training, advanced training and re-training regulations with the involvement of the social partners and experts from occupational practice. Insofar as regulations relating to advanced training and re-training examinations are enacted by the competent bodies, the BBiG also stipulates standards that must be followed. Around 330 training regulations are currently in place. They stipulate aspects such as the training profile, duration of training and examination requirements, as well as including instructions on the imparting of the minimum elements of the qualification in terms of content and scheduling.
A supervisory and advisory function is exercised by the local chambers. The chambers decide on matters such as suitability of the companies and trainers (on the basis of the Ordinance on Trainer Aptitude, AEVO), scrutinise training contracts, and conduct the examinations via relevant boards. The latter process take place in accordance with the principle that trainees should be examined by third parties and not by those participating in the training.
BIBB’s involvement in the preparation of training regulations and other legal ordinances, such as advanced training regulations, forms part of the statutory remit which it is required to fulfil in accordance with a directive issued by the relevant federal ministry. These constitute core tasks for BIBB (§ 90 Paragraph 3 No. 1 Clause a) BBiG). The most important process within this context is the development of training regulations.
For this reason, at a meeting on 27 June 2008, the BIBB Board adopted a recommendation for quality assurance and quality management in regulatory processes. As part of the regulatory work, both the content and structural design and the implementation of dual training are investigated within the scope of evaluation studies and research projects with the aim of achieving quality assurance.
The statutory tasks that BIBB are required to fulfil on the basis of a directive from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in its capacity as the responsible ministry pursuant to § 90 Paragraph 3 No. 1 d of the Vocational Training Act (BBiG) also encompass the design concept and execution of out-of-school pilot projects and evaluation research. Pilot projects in trade and industry are one of BIBB’s core tasks. Their purpose is the qualitative and innovative further development of initial and continuing vocational education and training. Since 2005, quality deficits in company-based VET have been addressed more thoroughly by policy makers, academic research and trade and industry in a process triggered by the reform of the BBiG. These problems were and are becoming more serious and frequent in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this context, a pilot programme focusing on “Developing and securing quality in company-based vocational education and training” and comprising ten projects was initiated and realised between 2010 and 2014. The aim of this programme was to pilot the development, testing and research of practicable concepts, methods and instruments to increase the quality of dual VET. The results from the pilot project have been processed and are now available.
- 1 cf. "Vocational Education and Training in Europe – Perspectives for the Young Generation", Memorandum on Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training in Europe, Berlin, 10 -11 December 2012. https://www.bmbf.de/
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2
Federal Statistical Office: Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes, GENESIS online database, table 12411-0011.
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3
Studienanfänger und Anteil der Studienanfänger an der altersspezifischen Bevölkerung, Federal Statistical Office, subject-matter series 11, series 4.3.1, 1980-2011.
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4
cf. BIBB REPORT 22: "Jugendliche mit Hauptschulabschluss in der betrieblichen Berufsausbildung: Wer bildet sie (noch) aus, welche Erfahrungen gibt es und wie können ihre Chancen verbessert werden?“
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5
Esser, Friedrich Hubert: "Wo Licht ist, ist auch Schatten!“, BWP 4/2013, p. 3.