Vocational Education and Training

Every year Germany’s dual system of vocational training offers around two thirds of all school-leavers the prospect of learning one of some 350 trades. Currently, just under 1.6 m trainees in nearly 500,000 businesses are taking advantage of this offer. Combining practical training at work with continued education at a vocational school, the dual system enables young people in Germany to be integrated into the workforce relatively successfully, as the low level of youth unemployment relative to other countries shows.

Regina Flake / Svenja Jambo / Markus Körbel / Susanne Seyda / Daniel Wörndl / Michael Zibrowius ·
Expertise ·
19 Jun 2018

Promoting Social Partnership in Employee Training

In the wake of global trends like the digitalisation of the economy, employees are faced not only with higher demands for competences but also with the requirement to continuously adapt and further develop their skills to maintain their employability. This study was conducted on behalf of the European social partners, ETUC, BusinessEurope, CEEP and UEAPME, with financial support of the European Commission.

Susanne Seyda / David B. Meinhard / Beate Placke ·
IW-Trends ·
24 Apr 2018

Further Training 4.0: Digitalization as a Driver and Innovator of In-Service Training

Digitalization is leading to a growing need for training. Firms which have digitalized further are thus more likely to be active in further training and to invest more time and money in developing their workers’ skills.

Susanne Seyda / Beate Placke ·
IW-Trends ·
4 Dec 2017

The 9th IW Survey of Further Training

In 2016 some 85 per cent of companies in Germany were active in continuing vocational training, using a broad mix of methods.

Yet there is no reason for us to rest on our laurels, as this transition is seldom seamless. The average age of those starting an apprenticeship is 19 years, with many school-leavers first having to complete a preparatory course. Companies are encountering increasing difficulties in finding suitable applicants.

Additionally, there is a need for improvement at the interfaces between vocational training, further training and tertiary education. Too often skills which have already been acquired are not recognised. Moreover, the traditional German belief in apprenticeships does not extend to further training. Companies are setting a good example in this respect, investing an average of over a thousand euros a year on the further training of their employees. However, the challenges of demographic change and technological progress mean that such measures will have to be expanded and vocational training systematically developed if the economy is not to run out of skilled workers.