Vocational and professional education and training (VPET) in Switzerland is internationally recognized as a success. It is based on a partnership between the main actors involved: schools, companies, and employers' organizations. To make VPET competitive for future challenges, all partners involved continually strive to improve the training for young adults. Consequently, schools of VPET (as one of the three learning locations) are compelled to adapt their training programs on a consistent basis to ensure – among others - better synchronization with company practices. These adaptations include a more flexible learning environment which is independent of time and place, self-regulated learning strategies, or talent fostering. These changes and innovations are frequently implemented to enhance apprentices’/students' competencies in the workplace. However, the question remains as to whether this objective is being achieved. Furthermore, what is the perspective of companies on these innovations? Do in-company trainers observe any changes in apprentices’/students’ behavior and learning outcomes?

In evaluations of VPET innovations, the perspectives of different stakeholders, including the apprentices/students themselves, their teachers at professional schools, and the trainers at their companies are often included. In this contribution, a review of the findings from six projects, which took place in the last five years in schools in vocational and professional education and training has been conducted. The innovations encompass a wide range of areas, including digitalization, flexibilization concerning time and place of learning, curriculum innovations, talent fostering, and practice-driven learning. The sectors investigated are diverse, including pedagogical programs (social pedagogy and child pedagogy), ICT, logistics, and gastronomy. Depending on the size of the program, the perspective of the in-company trainers was incorporated through workshops, individual interviews, or web surveys. In total, the perspective of approximately 200 in-company trainers was included.

The projects addressed a variety of evaluation questions and objectives. Schools frequently seek to ascertain whether in-company trainers observe changes in the apprentices'/students’ behavior and competencies, whether they have been adequately informed of the modifications, and whether they endorse the adaptations.

First results show that in-company trainers often lack awareness of the precise nature of adaptations, even though some schools make explicit efforts to engage them in the process. Some in-company trainers harbor reservations regarding these adaptations, assuming that they will either have little impact or, worse, that some apprentices/students will be overwhelmed and learn less. However, this perception varies between projects. In the presentation, a focus will be on the examination of context variables influencing the perception of in-company trainers, as well as general conclusions across all projects.

Countries like Switzerland, Austria, or Germany have long served as global models for vocational education and training (VET) — above all in its dual-track education variant. However, these countries are (almost) the only ones where this Dual System is the norm. This creates an unintended problem: namely for adult immigrants who have already completed their vocational training at home and now like work in these countries. They often lack practical on-the-job training considered normal by native employers. My study investigates this potential effect of on immigrants’ economic integration on the micro- and country-of-origin level with representative survey data for Germany.

When it comes to formal or informal recognition of vocational training from abroad, previous research has shown that native institutions and companies often refer to insufficient or total lack of work experience (i.e., attendance only of vocational schools), when they legitimizing their non-recognition of foreign vocational credentials (Sommer, 2021; (Kogan, 2012)). For this on-the-job learning forms an integral part of vocational training in the German dual system. However, if the institutional mismatch of the German VET system and the one though which migrants has passed in their home country, the degree of institutional mismatch should matter for explaining the variation of labor market success between migrants from differing EU-states vis-à-vis native Germans (with vocational training).

My investigation uses the European Labour Force Survey (LFS), especially wave 2021, to generate country-level indicators and to match them with the individual-level data of pooled German-Mikrozensus (MZ) waves (from 2017 to 2021 so far). The most important indicator is based on a newly introduced question to younger LFS-interviewees in how far the educational program they last completed included working at a firm (none, 1 to 6 months, 7 months or more), an indicator fit for operationalizing the degree to which vocational training in the respective country approaches the ideal of the German dual system. Other origin-country indicators pertain to, e.g., the share of vocationally trained persons or the unemployment rate of vocationally trained citizens in the countries of origin (i.e., economic push factors to emigrate to Germany).

The MZ-subsample of migrants (N = 13 286) encompasses those having entered Germany between the age of 18 to 65 from fifteen EU-member states in the years 2000 onwards and who obtained their vocational qualification in their home country (plus N = 932.875 natives with a vocational degree). Their vocational certificates pertain to level 3 to 4 of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). Migrants from these 15 countries are each represented by at least n >= 100 interviewees. The sending countries include Poland, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, France, Spain, and Portugal. Our target variable is complexity of tasks required at the job, measuring whether they are overqualified in a position for the un- and semi-skilled, in the correct position for skilled workers or whether they have climbed up the ladder and master (highly) complex specialized tasks. We gather the information on complexity of tasks from the 5th digit of the German occupational classification (Klassifikation der Berufe 2010).

Empirical results include bivariate and multivariate results on the relationship between the degree of (dis-)similarity of the German vocational training system and that of the European countries of origin (duration of learning on the job in the training context) and the quality of employment position. Controlling for important individual features such as the immigration motive or gender which impact upon the rungs attained in the hierarchy of Germany’s labor market, the multivariate multinomial-logistic regression shows a significant moderate net-effect of the duration of on-the-job training typical for the country of emigration.

UNESCO (2016) has published its Strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, which stresses that vocational education and training (VET) must be refocused on its primary vocation: “a learning path that contributes to equity, social justice, lifelong learning and sustainable development” (p. 5). The majority of studies on the role of VET in social justice focus on the impact of VET in terms of social and professional integration of people (e.g., getting a job), particularly those in vulnerable situations. On the other hand, few studies focus on the more subjective factors that can account for VET's potentially transformative role in terms of full potential, such as the possibility to be and do what people really value.

Using Sen's capability approach (1992) as an analytical framework, the comparative analysis of two VET systems reveals specific operating logics, each with its own enabling or limiting aspects, promoting or hindering openness to learners' choices and possibilities. The capability approach has been used in various works in education to identify the role of study contexts on people's possibilities of achievement (Olympio, 2013; Otto and Ziegler, 2006; Picard, Olympio, et al., 2015; Joncas, 2018, Joncas and Pilote, 2019; Robertson, 2015; Verhoeven et al., 2007; Walker, 2012; Wilson-Strydom, 2015). According to the capability approach, a school environment that promotes social justice takes into consideration not only the resources and treatments granted to individuals, but also their opportunities to choose and to achieve what they really want.

While capability theory is a powerful tool for comparing education systems (Olympio & Picard, 2016), it has never been used to compare VET systems. In this communication, we compare France and Quebec’s VET system by highlighting the capabilities (and capabilities failures) of each system. In this regard, comparing VET systems imply to take into account the socio-historical and institutional contexts in which they emerged and are embedded (Heininger & Imdorf, 2018; Maurice et al., 1986, Verdier, 2008, 2018). As remained by Marhuenda-Fluixá (2022), VET system is more complex than others academic education and may evolve to several scenarios: to a civic logic promoting equal opportunity and universal education or to a market logic satisfying corporate needs for instance. Our results are based on a monographic analysis of VET systems, with a focus on the possibilities in terms of capabilities (and capabilities failures), and on a qualitative analysis of learners’ career.

France’s educational system is historically characterised by the importance of the “academic logic” (Verdier, 2008, 2018), a system based on strong academic competition and an overemphasis on academic knowledge. The result is a form of precedence given to characteristics of general education over VET (Verdier & Doray, 2021). Several reforms have made it possible to revalue VET and open up capabilities for learners by developing the permeability and diversity of career paths (for instance by developing access to higher education for VET students). However, it would seem that for some people the opening of the field of possibilities is more formal than real.

The Quebec vocational training system is marked by tensions. The initial project, as defined by the Quiet Revolution, characterized by the versatility, accessibility and democratization of education, did not withstand social and economic constraints (Beaucher et al., 2022). Constantly on the lookout for learners, VET has been built and developed under the pressure of antagonistic forces that have destabilized its purpose, moving further and further away from its initial vision (shorter training courses, circumvention strategies, complexity, dematerialization, etc.), reproducing social inequalities and reducing opportunities for learners (Doray et al., 2021).

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (the D-A-CH countries) are prime examples of the dual-track vocational education and training (VET) system combining company-based and classroom-based education. Each country is monitoring the development of its system. For instance, each year ibw Austria provides an overview of the current situation of its dual VET system (ibw 2024). In Germany, the BIBB publishes the annual Data report on VET (BIBB 2024), which has become a standard publication reporting information on a detailed level. The Swiss Observatory for Vocational Education and Training publishes a report every two years (Graf et al. 2024).

Nevertheless, detailed comparative data on apprenticeship training in the D-A-CH countries are scarce. Most available information comes from the UNESCO, OECD or Eurostat, which focus on a broader range of countries and rely on highly aggregated data. This limitation is also due to the underlying concepts, definitions, classifications, and measurement methods varying in detail. Comparisons between the three countries are therefore mostly dependent on ad hoc analyses and individual projects (e.g., DC dVET 2016; Ebner & Nikolai 2010; Graf 2016; Lassnigg 2023; Schlögl & Mayerl 2017). An evidence-based, comparative assessment of key indicators for VET could deliver important insights and stimuli but is not easy to establish for the reasons mentioned above. Our project contributes to filling this gap by developing a set of key indicators for the monitoring of developments in dual-track VET systems in the D-A-CH region.

The underlying question is which data are accessible and comparable with what effort and validity? In a first step, we investigate different publicly available national statistics about key figures of the respective dual-track VET systems. As an intermediate result, we present and evaluate indicators useful for current and future comparisons that are available and comparable. The selection of indicators focusses on the upper-secondary level and includes, for example, the number of learners enrolled in dual-track programs, the share of women, or completion rates. As the main result of our pilot project, we display the development of the chosen indicators during the last two to three decades, which partly diverge substantially across countries. For instance, Germany is the only country in the D-A-CH region where the share of women enrolled in dual VET has fallen, from a level comparable to Switzerland to a level now close to Austria. We furthermore establish and discuss variables to determine relevant occupations that exist in all three countries and are sufficiently large enough for future in-depth comparisons.

We find that the establishment of comparative indicators remains complex and difficult in detail and discuss how these challenges can be overcome. Our collaboration between authors from the three countries delivers new, comparative insights on how the dual VET systems could be reformed to potentially address challenges such as skills shortages. Further work on the project aims to extend the analysis to differences between occupations and regions and to tertiary level education.