Reform of Vocational Education and Training

The German dual system of vocational training is worldwide renowned and exemplary. To maintain this status, training as such as well as the legal basis must keep track of current challenges. The German Bundestag therefore passed the Vocational Training Reform Act on 27 January 2005; the Bundesrat gave its consent on 18 February. The objective of the reform is to secure and improve training opportunities as well as the high quality of vocational training for all young people - irrespective of their social or regional background. The Reform Act entered into force on 1 April 2005.

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The dual system of vocational education and training is worldwide renowned and essentially still provides all young people with an opportunity to enter skilled employment and thereby take responsibility for their life. At the same time, the system secures future skilled labour for industry and thus contributes decisively to competitiveness and prosperity in Germany.

In order to maintain this status, vocational education and training must meet the new challenges. The system of vocational education and training will only be able to make its contribution to sustainable changes in the world of work and society as a whole in future by means of targeted innovations.
The Vocational Training Act (BBiG), which was comprehensively amended by the Vocational Training Reform Act, provides the required legal framework. The objective of the reform is to secure and improve training opportunities as well as the high quality of vocational training for all young people - irrespective of their social or regional background. The Federal Government's task is to achieve this objective nationwide in Germany, not least in order to secure the innovative ability and competitiveness of industry by skilled young labour.

The new vocational training law gives decision-makers at Federal Government, Länder and regional level more room for manoeuvre to obtain these goals. It thereby also facilitates a competition for the most successful pathways.

Benefits for Apprentices

It is very important for young apprentices to receive good vocational education and training. There are often several pathways to learn an occupation, and often different ones are attempted until vocational training is successfully concluded. The new Vocational Training Act is to facilitate this process.
A number of young people participates in a measure organized by the Federal Employment Agency or by some other special programme after leaving school. Here, they acquire initial vocational qualifications. Crediting of the qualifications acquired in these measures in a subsequent vocational training period is facilitated under the new Vocational Training Act.

Over 190,000 apprentices are currently participating in full-time schooling outside the remit of the BBiG. In the past it could be observed that school-based vocational training was accepted less well by the labour market than dual vocational training. About 40 percent of these young people therefore upgrade their school-based vocational training by undergoing an additional dual vocational training. This is a waste of young people's living time as well as of resources and skills.

A certificate by the chambers of industry and commerce still provides the best access to the labour market. The new Vocational Training Act therefore provides for easier access for pupils to examinations by the chambers by means of a Land government authorization. The amended BBiG stipulates that the Länder are responsible for modifying school curricula in such a way that school leavers are able to pass the examinations offered by the chambers and can thus benefit from the new opportunities. Additionally, a vocational training qualification can now be linked with secondary or advanced school qualifications.

These measures are to support apprentices in obtaining better qualifications and concluding their training faster.
Innovation by regional cooperation

In future, many different new forms of content and time patterns can be agreed locally for cooperation between in-company and school-based education and training in order to increase training quality, optimally use all training capacities and better adapt to structural changes in industry. Training collaborations between schools and business enterprises will also become possible with schools as managing partners.

This new combination of business enterprises and vocational schools can

• balance a regional deficit in in-company training places.
• facilitate access to vocational training for companies which have not provided training so far.
• cover new qualification needs, for example in newly developing industries and for new occupations, even if in-company training capacities are not yet sufficient.
• enable a more suitable response to the percentage of theory which is rising in many training occupations.

This becomes possible because the new Vocational Training Act provides the Länder with an opportunity to ensure that vocational training periods in schools are credited for recognized training occupations to the same extent as in-company training periods.

Innovation by means of rapid modernization

The rapid modernization of the system of training occupations is a centrepiece of the Federal Government's vocational training policy. About 76 occupations have been modernized and 26 new ones have been introduced since 2000. There were over 30 in 2004, and there will be 21 in 2005. This is the most extensive modernization since 1969, when the Vocational Training Act entered into force. Far more than 50% of the new training contracts are being concluded for recently modernized occupations.

There will be no further delays in modernization. Proposals for modernized and new occupations for skilled personnel which provide for additional training opportunities and good employment prospects will be implemented within a year even if the social partners cannot reach consensus on the matter.

The new Vocational Training Act supports rapid modernization by reducing the number of statutory advisory bodies:

• The Länder Committee of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) will be abolished.
• Discussion and agreement of new training ordinances with the Länder ministries for cultural affairs will be focused on the Bund-Länder Coordination Committee which is not statutory but regulated by agreements with the Länder.
• Only the final hearing of the BIBB board with representatives from industry associations, trade unions and the Länder will be regulated by law in future.

Different occupational profiles and different training periods (two to three years) enable young people to choose from demand-oriented training occupations. Furthermore, the new Vocational Training Act facilitates the continuation of two-year training in more demanding occupations without any loss of time by means of

• a modified tiered training regulation
• the explicitly stated possibility of recognition of relevant prior qualifications in vocational training.

Anyone who has no opportunity to immediately continue training after the two-year initial training will be able to take the final exams in the more demanding occupation already after two and a half years of employment.

Innovation by means of networking

For the first time, the new Vocational Training Act makes training periods abroad an equal part of recognized training under the dual system.
Germany furthermore participates in the European activities to improve the mutual recognition of qualifications within the European Union. A credit point system for vocational qualifications is to be developed for this purpose.

The new Vocational Training Act contributes to removing rigid borders between the different areas of education: Vocational schools are given the opportunity to participate in dual vocational education, and this strongly improves the possibilities of the Länder to combine vocational education and training with advanced general qualifications up to the level of higher education entrance qualifications.

The new Vocational Training Act introduces additional qualifications which go beyond the topics specified in the training regulations as independent qualifications with separate examinations and separate certificates. Parts of upgrading training can thereby also be accomplished already during initial training.

These interlinks of national and international training, of general and vocational training as well as initial and continuing training provide specific perspectives for the career progress of young performers. In response to increasing quality demands in a globalized world, these interlinks increase the attractiveness of dual training for high performers in particular.

Innovation by means of transparency

Since entering into force in 1969, the Vocational Training Act has become a solid basis for vocational training, further training and re-training. The Vocational Training Reform Act builds on these proven structures. Furthermore, it also integrates the findings of more than 30 years of vocational training research and adapts the regulatory framework to the terminology of modern vocational training. The many existing special and individual regulations, in particular on the subject of qualification of instructors and on determining the competent body, will be harmonized within a single and transparent system. New modalities in the area of examinations now provide for holding final exams in two parts. Examination results from vocational schools can be used towards final examination results. The implementation of exams is made considerably easier by giving members of the examination committees the possibility to conduct individual parts of an examination. The newly developed testing clause provides for opportunities to adapt training occupations to new developments which cannot currently be predicted.

Clear objectives, competitive pathways

Quality vocational education and training continues to be a national task. Young people as well as business enterprises justifiably expect that their education efforts are embedded in a system which ensures access, quality, mobility and innovative ability. The legal framework of the Vocational Training Act and its training regulations are indispensable for this.

New challenges and new opportunities demand new pathways. The reform of vocational education and training gives room for flexibility and competition.

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