Best practices

Research focus

During our search for European good practices for smoothing the transition from school to the workplace, we paid particular attention to how comparable the examples were to Germany’s vocational training system—a key prerequisite for the transferability of successful models. Dual-system learning makes up the core of our professional education and training system. It combines practical, on-the-job skills learned in the workplace with theory and general knowledge learned in a vocational school. Although the dual system is coming under increasing pressure in the information age, it is certainly not on its way out, either in Germany or abroad, despite fears to the contrary. Many international programs are instead strengthening their dual elements, but with an emphasis on more flexibility and modularity. Thus, our international comparison mainly looked at countries that also use dual-system vocational training or emphasize hands-on training in the workplace. Aside from Germany, the in-depth analysis included Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium’s Flemish. As examples of best practices, we looked for approaches that excelled in

• promoting autonomy and responsibility among young people,
• contributing to long-term integration of the younger generation into the working world,
• focusing on imparting skills and building confidence,
  supporting young people in “marketing themselves.”

For the most promising findings from our research project, please click on downloads at the right.