Conclusion Australia’s vocational education and training

6 PARTNERSHIP MODELS OF VET AND INDUSTRY: GERMANY EXPERIENCES IN FIRST AND CONTINUOUS EDUCATION. Prof. Dr. Thomas Köhler Abstract The German educational system has a serious strength concerning the organization of the vocational and technical education. A core component of the TVET is the strong inter-organizational, even inter-sectorial linkage between vocational institutions and industry. The principle of the German model is to interlink training components coming from both sides, VET and Industry. Whereas in some other European states more than 50 of the workforce received a mainly academic training, taking place at a colleges and universities, in Germany the majority of the workforce is trained within the VET programmes. Due to the core role of the two key players, VET and Industry, it is labelled the “Dual System”. However over the last 25 years the Dual System did not always receive high appreciation. Indeed also in Germany the vocational education training has lost some attention not only among the young. Even policy was more concerned about the Europe-wide harmonization of the academic education sector, labelled as the Bologna process. Also young people tend to prefer office oriented professions, for example in an administration or in the media industry, what has led to further difficulties. Now, with the demographic change due to a decreased birth rate, for the first time since decades there are more apprenticeships in VET offered than young people exist These influences are among others currently leading to a renewed attention given to the VET in Germany. The paper will discuss two examples for new development lines in a case study like manner, concerning both challenges and related approaches for structural developments of the VET in Germany. Measure 1 deals with the European Framework for Education, an 8-step-scale that defines how to interlink the different levels of any education provided in Europe. Indeed the national VET schemes lead sometimes to dead ends of education, when the highest vocational level is reached but the transfer to other educational routes would not be allowed. It will be discussed what consequences such a unified qualification scheme does have for the Dual System in VET and how the German educational sector tries to keep up, perhaps even advances by adopting it. Measure 2 deals with need of an improved collaboration of VET and Industry in the training process. Here the duality leads to some weakness because education is not delivered by one institution only. Indeed even different regulations need to be applied to determine the targets and contents of the VET. Introduced is a research project of Dresden University of Technology, one of Germanys leading academic institutions, which aims to promote social interaction between learners and teachers to encourage the building of vocational online- communities of learners and teachers in vocational education but also of practitioners who are located at different places but need to exchange knowledge and information

1. Measure 1: The European Framework for Education and its meaning for the TVET in

Germany The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning EQF is a relatively new eight- step scale that defines how to interlink the different levels of any education provided in Europe. The EQF, Which is intended to act as a vehicle for linking the various national qualifications system via so-called National Qualifications Framework in order to create greater understanding of national qualifications at a European level profiles cf. EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 2008. Following the recommendation of the European Parliament and European Council of 23 April 2008 on its establishment the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning should be linked to the national system of qualifications until 2010. However, the new scheme does not directly fit the German legal situation as defined by the Vocational Training Act cp. Federal Ministry for Education and Research, 2005. To implement this new European specification in Germany it has been agreed to develop a national qualifications framework, the DQR. Following the adoption of the DQR see DQR Working Group, 2011 in the group DQR also been afforded an opportunity to begin the mapping of national qualifications levels to the DQR. As described by Esser 2012 already during the phase of drafting the DQR drew a dissent in the positions between the TVET affiliated institutions and the Standing Conference of the Education of the German states KMK occurred. In particular the allocation of professional qualifications and general university entrance qualification could not be resolved, even until now. 7 Indeed the subsequent VET leads sometimes to dead ends of education, when the highest vocational level is reached but the transfer to other educational routes would not be allowed. It will be discussed what consequences such a unified qualification scheme does have for the Dual System in VET and how the German educational sector tries to keep up, perhaps even advances by adopting it. In its German version the qualification framework is linked to the levels of vocational and professional education as follows cp. Esser 2012 in table 1. Table 1: German version the qualification framework and related levels of vocational and professional education