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62AICGSPOLICYREPORT

BUILDING A ROBUST U.S.WORK-BASED EDUCATION ANDAPPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM AT SCALE:CAN LESSONS FROM EUROPE HELP?

Robert I. LermanVolker Rein

AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY GERMAN STUDIES THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

PR62 cover:AICGS.PR11.Cvr.qxd 5/20/2015 3:59 PM Page 2

The American Institute for Contemporary GermanStudies strengthens the German-American relation-ship in an evolving Europe and changing world. TheInstitute produces objective and original analyses ofdevelopments and trends in Germany, Europe, andthe United States; creates new transatlanticnetworks; and facilitates dialogue among the busi-ness, political, and academic communities to managedifferences and define and promote common inter-ests.

©2015 by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies

ISBN 978-1-933942-53-7

ADDITIONAL COPIES: Additional Copies of this Policy Report are availablefor $10.00 to cover postage and handling from the American Institute for Contemporary GermanStudies, 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite700, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202/332-9312,Fax 202/265-9531, E-mail: [email protected] Pleaseconsult our website for a list of online publications:http://www.aicgs.org

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) alone. They do not necessarily reflectthe views of the American Institute for ContemporaryGerman Studies.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword 3

About the Authors 5

Executive Summary 7

Introduction 11

Economic Context and Economic Concerns FacingMany Countries 13

Variations in Skill Development Strategies 15

Thrust of U.S. Education and Training Approach 16

European VET and Work-Based Education Models 20

VET and Work-Based Education in Germany,Switzerland, and the United Kingdom 23

Lessons for Expansion in the U.S. 36

Next Steps in Expanding U.S. Apprenticeship 41

Notes 43

Support for this publication was generously provided by theRobert Bosch Stiftung.

High youth unemployment in the United States and Europe is a result not only of sluggish growth, but alsoa skills mismatch—the new generation of workers lacks the skills that employers need. Economists now predicta looming shortfall of 3 million skilled U.S. workers by 2018. Meanwhile, there are 2 million job vacanciesacross the European Union, despite high levels of unemployment. In response, the U.S. government and theEuropean Union have both sought to expand career and technical education (CTE) opportunities in key indus-tries, like the European Union’s Copenhagen Process and President Obama’s initiatives to build a “middle-skill” workforce and renew American manufacturing through the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership 2.0.

Previous scholarship on apprenticeships has been limited due to the difficulties of comparing the Germansystem of education and other European systems with that of the United States. The AICGS Project onEmployment, Education, and Training, of which this Policy Report is a part, provides a unique assessment ofEuropean and American approaches to developing the skills of the future workforce, pointing out strengthsand shortcomings on both sides of the Atlantic and offering practical suggestions to policymakers, businesses,and educators engaged in enhancing tomorrow’s work force

This publication is an example of AICGS’ commitment to expanding the German-American dialogue to thestate and local levels and increasing awareness in the United States of EU member states’ long experiencein the area of workforce development. AICGS is grateful to the authors for sharing their expertise, to the RobertBosch Stiftung for its generous support of this Policy Report, to Parke Nicholson and Kimberly Hauge fortheir thoughtful contributions to and execution of the project, and to Jessica Riester Hart for her editorial efforts.

Jackson JanesPresident, AICGS

FOREWORD

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building a robust u.s. work-based education and

apprenticeship system at scale

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr. Robert I. Lerman is an Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute, Professor of Economics at AmericanUniversity, and a Research Fellow at IZA in Bonn, Germany. A leading expert on apprenticeship, Dr. Lermanrecently established the American Institute for Innovative Apprenticeship. His published research coversemployment issues, inequality, family structure, income support, and youth development, especially as theyaffect low-income populations. In the 1970s, he worked as staff economist for both the Congressional JointEconomic Committee and the U.S. Department of Labor. Dr. Lerman was one of the first scholars to examinethe patterns and economic determinants of unwed fatherhood and to propose a youth apprenticeship strategyin the U.S. He served on the National Academy of Sciences panel on the U.S. post-secondary education andtraining system and recently on the Maryland Task Force on Economic Development and Apprenticeship.Among Dr. Lerman’s recent publications are “Expanding Apprenticeship in the United States: Barriers andOpportunities” (in Contemporary Apprenticeship, Routledge 2012), “Are employability skills learned in U.S.youth education and training programs?” (IZA Journal of Labor Policy 2013), “Expanding ApprenticeshipOpportunities in the United States” (Brookings Institution 2014), and articles on marriage and men’s earn-ings. Dr. Lerman earned his A.B. at Brandeis University and his PhD in Economics at MIT.

Dr. Volker Rein is a social scientist specialized on developments in education and training systems and policyas well as on skills requirements in Germany, Europe, and the U.S. He is working as a senior research asso-ciate and as an advisor in the Department of Professional Learning and Teaching at the Federal Institute forVocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Bonn, Germany. He has long-term experience in research anddevelopment work on competence-oriented qualification standards and qualification transparency instru-ments in Germany and the European Union since 1999. He was involved in the implementation of the BolognaFramework (EHEA) at the University level and in the development of the European and the GermanQualifications Frameworks for Lifelong Learning (since 2004). His research focus is on the compatibility poten-tial between VET and Higher Education in terms of competence and proficiency. He carried out research oncompetence intersections between advanced VET Programs and Higher Education in Germany (2013-2015)and on Short Higher Education (Associate Degrees) in the US and the European Union as a research fellowof the Center on Education and the Workforce at the Georgetown University in Washington, DC, in 2010-2011. From 2004 to 2010 he coordinated the cooperation between the BIBB, the American Association ofCommunity Colleges (AACC), and the U.S. Department of Education on work-based learning and lifelonglearning. He holds a PhD and an MA in Social Sciences (Social Anthropology and Communication Science,Free University of Berlin).

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The combination of youth joblessness, weak wagegrowth, and shortages of well-trained workers in keyoccupational areas is limiting the economic progressof Americans. The nature of the problem is highlycontested, but some prominent analysts see thesechronic problems as part of a “new normal” with loweconomic growth and high economic inequality.Rarely, however, do analysts ask whether other coun-tries have avoided at least some of these problems.Among the countries with success in maintaining highlevels of employment, education and training, wagegrowth, and robust manufacturing sectors are Austria,Germany, and Switzerland. One well-recognizedadvantage of these countries is a high quality careerand technical education system that emphasizeswork-based learning through apprenticeships.England is a recent convert to the apprenticeshipapproach, more than doubling the number of appren-ticeships, many of whom work in jobs that have in thepast required at least a Bachelor’s degree.

National commissions have highlighted problems withthe U.S. school-to-career transitions for decades.Despite federal legislation and some state initiatives,the weaknesses of the transition process haveremained, youth joblessness has worsened, andwages for workers with low or moderate levels ofeducation have stagnated.

Meanwhile, many U.S. companies are reporting greatdifficulty finding workers in certain occupations. A2014 report by Accenture argues that skill shortagesare threatening the growth of U.S. manufacturing.While some economists argue that skill shortages areminimal, the concerns expressed by German firmsoperating in the U.S. add credence to the claims ofshortages in certain occupations.

International organizations buttress the claim that arobust work-based education and training systemusing apprenticeships can lessen the problems ofhigh youth unemployment, low wages and produc-tivity, skill mismatches, and economic mobility. Whilea consensus is emerging that expanded apprentice-ship is desirable, many question whether such expan-sions are feasible in the highly competitive U.S.market. Leadership will be necessary first to spreadthe word that academic skills are necessary but notsufficient, occupational and employability skills arevital, skills can often be learned best in the context ofpractice, and work places can be a cost-effectivesetting for learning.

In undertaking any expansion of apprenticeship in theU.S., it makes sense to learn from countries that useapprenticeship effectively as a mainstream path avail-able to late secondary and early postsecondarystudents. After reviewing in detail the apprenticeshipapproaches operating in Germany, Switzerland, andEngland, this Policy Report draws several lessons forhow the U.S. can build a robust apprenticeshipsystem in the U.S.

The European experiences indicate the need to askwhether apprenticeship focuses on youth or adults,how to develop stackable apprenticeship programsbeing part of seamless career pathways, whatgovernment financial support is appropriate, how bestto stimulate employers to offer apprenticeships, howbest to create and maintain skill standards, and howpublic policies can encourage firms to offer appren-ticeships.

Existing U.S. apprenticeships largely reach adults intheir mid-20s, while the most successful Europeanmodels mainly cover youth in their late teen years.

The English approach involves giving preference tothe youth side of apprenticeship while not excludingadults in many age groups. From a U.S. perspective,encouraging all types of apprenticeships, using abottom-up approach, makes sense. States could beoffered incentives to replicate existing initiatives inGeorgia and Wisconsin. Another option is toencourage youth apprenticeship demonstrations withCareer Academies and regional vocational educationschools, schools where youth already have anindustry or occupational major.

Most apprenticeship programs in Europe and else-where pay all or most of the costs of the trainingoutside the workplace, typically classroom instruc-tion. Under a youth apprenticeship approach similarto what operates in Germany and Switzerland, thepublic sector within the U.S. could pay for off-jobclasses as part of the educational system’s universalfunding for all high school students. EmulatingEngland would involve financing training throughprivate training providers and community collegesbased on the age of the apprentices.

Helping apprentice completers transition smoothly tohigher education is increasingly stressed in Europeancountries. The Swiss system offers the mostcompelling structure for smoothing transitions fromapprenticeship to university programs.

In any initiative, marketing will be critical. Jumpstartinga major expansion will require attracting largenumbers of employers. England offers a goodexample for engagement. Alongside the NationalApprenticeship Service and industry skill sector coun-cils, the British government provided incentives tolocal training organizations to persuade employers tocreate apprenticeships. A successful effort will needa staff with marketing dynamism, sales talent, andpassion for expanding apprenticeship. Pay forperformance is recommended: technical educationand training organizations would earn revenue only foradditional apprenticeships that each college ororganization managed to develop with employers.

Finally, the European experience demonstrates theimportance of information, research, and develop-ment. The U.S. government should sponsor an infor-mation clearinghouse, a technical assistance

component, a peer support network, and a researchprogram on apprenticeship. The information clear-inghouse should document the occupations thatcurrently use apprenticeships not only in the U.S., butalso in other countries along with the list of occupa-tion skills that the apprentices master. The researchprogram should analyze the quality of skill standardsused to guide training. It should assure that masteringthe standards will prepare apprentices for a rewardingcareer and that the topics are relevant to employers.Research should cover the returns to apprenticeshipfrom the employer perspective and best practices formarketing apprenticeship, for incorporating class-room and work-based learning by sector, and forcounseling potential apprentices.

U.S. policymakers and employers are beginning torecognize the desirability and feasibility of appren-ticeship. Now, what is required is leadership at thepolicy and program levels and effective implementa-tion to begin to scale up apprenticeships at both theyouth and adult levels. Institutional change of thismagnitude is difficult and will take time. But buildinga robust apprenticeship system offers the country anopportunity to increase earnings by raising theproductivity of workers, enhancing occupation iden-tity as well as career and job satisfaction, andexpanding the middle class.

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introduction

The transitions of American youth from school tocareers have proved problematic for decades. In1979, the National Commission for EmploymentPolicy viewed the weak employment outcomes ofdisadvantaged youth as resulting from the economy’slimited ability to generate jobs, educational handi-caps, and discrimination and leading to declininginterest in schooling. It called for targeted jobsprograms and renewed efforts to remedy educationaldeficiencies. By 1990, two reports (by the William T.Grant Foundation and the Commission on the Skillsof the American Workforce) moved the conversationtoward systemic weaknesses that limit the careeropportunities for at least half of all American youth.1

These and other reports called for improving thenation’s approach to the transition from school tocareers. Despite federal legislation and some stateinitiatives, the weaknesses of the transition processhave remained and youth joblessness has worsened.As Andrew Sum and colleagues recently argued,“Employment prospects for teens and young adults inthe nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas plum-meted between 2000 and 2011. On a number ofmeasures—employment rates, labor force underuti-lization, unemployment, and year-round joblessness—teens and young adults fared poorly, and sometimesdisastrously.”2

Since the mid-1960s, the federal government hasfunded several programs to improve career outcomesfor disadvantaged youth and all non-college youth,but most have achieved limited success. A study ofJob Training Partnership Act youth programs foundthat they yielded no real gains.3 An evaluation of JobCorps, a residential education vocational trainingprogram for youth ages 16 to 24, found that theprogram raised earnings of older youth but the gainsdissipated for most youth.4 Summer youth employ-

ment programs, funded at varying scales in citiesacross the country, offer only temporary assistancewith limited long-term benefits.

These career training programs represent a fractionof state and federal government efforts at raisingskills. Most funding goes to increase skills, mobility,and earnings almost entirely through an “academic-only” strategy. Unfortunately, the results of theseefforts are uneven at best. Although the vast majorityof high school graduates attend college, only about45 percent of American workers ages twenty-five tothirty-four achieve an Associate’s or Bachelor’sdegree.5 Recently, President Barack Obama calledfor making tuition free in order to expand communitycollege enrollments beyond the nearly 7 millionstudents they already serve. Such an approach isunlikely to succeed for many young people, espe-cially those lacking a high school diploma or GED andhave little access to federal grant funds and theacademic skills required for college success.Moreover, even among those able to enter commu-nity colleges, only about 20 percent graduate withinone-and-a-half times the normal period. Finally,although tuition is low at community college, federal,state, and local governments spend about $11,400per year at public two-year colleges.6

How can public policy initiatives for American youthdo better? What does the experience from othercountries and selected programs in the U.S. suggestabout productivity enhancing ways of preparing youthfor rewarding careers? A consensus is emerging, onehighlighted by international organizations, that arobust work-based education and training systemusing apprenticeships should be expanded substan-tially to deal with high youth unemployment, lowwages and productivity, skill mismatches, and

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economic mobility. As the Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD) points out,

Work experience is also found to positively affectwages early on as well as generic skills.Nevertheless, in several countries, few youth appearto combine work and study, and most students whowork do so outside such formal programs as voca-tional education and training (VET) courses orapprenticeships. This suggests that, in order to famil-iarize students more closely with the labor market, notonly should work-based modules in VET and appren-ticeship schemes be introduced or expanded, butmeasures that make it generally easier for students togain work experience should be strengthened.7

Are such steps feasible in the U.S.? Yes, but only ifpolicymakers recognize that

Academic skills are necessary but not sufficient,

Occupational and employability skills are vital,

Skills can often be learned best in the context ofpractice, and

Work places can be a cost-effective setting forlearning.

Existing apprenticeship systems embody theseelements and can serve as useful examples of how todo better in preparing American youth for rewardingcareers. Apprenticeships offer a model for masteringand certifying occupational skills through a combinedprogram of work-based learning and related class-room or academic instruction. Under apprenticeshipprograms, individuals undertake productive work fortheir employer, earn a salary, receive training prima-rily through supervised, work-based learning, and takeacademic instruction that is related to the appren-ticeship occupation. The programs generally last fromtwo to four years. Apprenticeship helps workers tomaster not only relevant occupational skills, but alsoother work-related skills, including communication,problem-solving, allocating resources, and dealingwith supervisors and a diverse set of co-workers. Thecourse work is generally equivalent to at least oneyear of community college. Completing apprentice-ship training yields a recognized and valued creden-

tial attesting to mastery of skill required in the relevantoccupation.

This Policy Report examines lessons from Europeabout how best to build a robust apprenticeshipsystem in the U.S. We begin by taking a brief look atthe economic context in the U.S. and the thrust of theU.S. education and training system. What follows isan overview of alternative approaches to skill devel-opment and preparation for careers. Next, we examinein some depth current practice and emerging patternsin European vocational education and training (VET).The final sections consider how the U.S. can draw onlessons from the European experience in developingsystems that reduce youth unemployment, lessen skillmismatches between jobs and workers, and expandpathways into rewarding careers.

Modest economic growth and moderate unemploy-ment rates have returned to the United States, afteryears of struggle during the financial crisis and theGreat Recession. The unemployment rate hasdeclined to 5.5 percent in mid-2015, after reachinga high of 10 percent in October 2009. Yet, like manycountries, the U.S. faces difficult economic chal-lenges, especially with respect to the job market. Theemployed share of the adult U.S. population remainswell below pre-recession levels. Joblessness amongyouth, especially minority youth, is especially severe.Among black males, only one in six 16-19 year-oldsand one in two 20-24 year-old black males hold jobs.

Youth unemployment is widespread in Europe as well.Among 15-24 year-olds, the average unemploymentrate across the twenty-eight European Union (EU)countries stood at over 21 percent (February 2015).However, the average does not capture the wide vari-ation across countries, with youth unemploymentrates reaching well over 40 percent in Greece, Italy,and Spain; 21-25 percent in Finland, France, andSweden; but only about 10 percent or less in Austria,Germany, and Denmark. High rates of youth jobless-ness negatively affect adult outcomes in the labormarket8 and weaken the formation of healthy families.A recent European Union report sees youth unem-ployment as posing a serious threat to social cohe-sion and political stability, resulting in a lostgeneration. For African-American young men, theproblems are particularly severe, from dropping out ofhigh school and high rates of joblessness to engage-ment with the criminal justice system and having crim-inal records that make them even less employable.Their rates of unwed fatherhood rise during thisperiod of the life cycle, subsequently triggering highchild support obligations that sometimes makeconventional employment untenable.

Wage stagnation and wage inequality add to theconcerns about the functioning of job markets. In theU.S., wages have stagnated for middle class workersand have declined for the least educated. David Autorfinds that jobs in middle-skill occupations aredeclining rapidly relative to high- and low-skill posi-tions.9 One of the main reasons is the increasedpower of computers to automate routine tasks thatmany middle-skill positions have long undertaken.Expanding international trade, declining unionization,and the erosion of the minimum wage are otherfactors that Autor sees leading to the “hollowing out”phenomenon. Moreover, similar trends are apparentlyoccurring in other countries. Autor cites a recentpaper by Maarten Goos, Alan Manning, and AnnaSalomons that finds middle-wage occupationsdeclining as a share of employment in all sixteencountries they studied.10 However, most of thedecline was offset by a rising share of high wageoccupations.

Although slow growth in demand is responsible formuch of wage stagnation and high unemployment,skills of youth workers are too often weak ormismatched to the available jobs. Scores on interna-tional tests show U.S. students performing well belowaverage in reading and math literacy. Years ofschooling and degree completion have increased inthe U.S. but these gains have not led to a high-skillwork force. Meanwhile, the costs of education, espe-cially postsecondary education, have increaseddramatically. Increasing education can in principleenhance skills, reduce unemployment, and lead tohigher education. However, mismatches betweenwhat is learned in school and what employersdemand are widespread. One measure of themismatch reported for all OECD countries indicatesthat over 30 percent of youth with jobs are

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economic context and economic

concerns Facing many countries

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mismatched with their field of study.

The scale of mismatch in the U.S. is hotly debated,with companies in the U.S., Australia, and the UnitedKingdom reporting difficulty finding skilled workers inspecific occupations and various economists arguingthat little shortage exists.11 A 2014 report byAccenture argues that skill shortages are threateningthe growth of U.S. manufacturing.12 German firmsoperating in the U.S. have reported that skillmismatches can be severe enough to impact theirinterest in investing in the U.S. Their voices becameloud enough to influence the German Embassy in theU.S. to launch the German Skills Initiative to enlistpartners helping to develop high quality occupationskills in the U.S. context.

Why do skill shortages and youth unemploymentcoexist in the U.S.? What limits the ability ofjobseekers from filling available jobs? One answer isthe failure of the U.S. educational system to prepareyoung people sufficiently for today’s world of work. Inan effort to educate young people sufficiently, theU.S. invests a higher dollar amount per student thannearly all other OECD countries. However, far toolittle is devoted to the development of occupationaland employability skills. Some European countrieswith a similar “academic only” focus experience evenmore acute youth unemployment and skill mismatchproblems. France, Italy, and Spain spend almost asmuch on education per student as does Germany, yethave experienced far higher youth unemploymentrates, even before the disastrous levels of joblessnesstaking place in the current recession.

Although employment levels, productivity, living stan-dards, and economic mobility depend on manyfactors, including business cycles, trade, immigra-tion, regulatory policies, and tax-transfer programs,we believe each country’s education and trainingapproach plays a critical role. What is the U.S.approach to skill development?

Countries vary widely in the way they prepare workersfor careers. Nearly all countries rely on schools toteach students basic capabilities in literacy,numeracy, and physical and social sciences. At age13-14 and beyond, the variations across countriesbecome prominent.

Many countries rely almost entirely on formalschooling to develop the skills needed for careers.Although some courses are designed to prepare forspecific occupations, often the jobs and careers arenot closely linked to what students are learning inschool. Only when students exit the school system dothey seek jobs and enter careers. The hierarchy ofskills goes together with the hierarchy of schoolattainment; that is, the longer one stays productivelyin school, the higher skills individuals attain. Thus,reaching a well-paid salary involves attaining as higha level of formal education as possible and then goingout to find a job or career. This image may understatethe linkages that occur in practice between workers,employers, and school programs, since manystudents work part-time, take internships, and a fewcourses have industry partners. Still, the models areoverwhelmingly school-based. In these countries,employers are expected to undertake training them-selves for skills not learned in school, such as occu-pational and firm-specific skills.

In recent years, countries with school-based systemshave experienced large increases in the share ofyoung people participating in post-secondary educa-tion. One view is that the increased enrollment repre-sents a kind of academic drift, whereby the addedlevels of schooling correspond to individual incen-tives but not to the actual skill needs of employers.The OECD reports that the incidence of a skillsmismatch is about 60 percent of youth.

One alternative to school-based strategies is the dualsystem that mixes employer-related training withrelated coursework. Under this approach, youngpeople prepare for a wide range of careers by gainingoccupational mastery though study and practice. Asapprentices, young people contribute to theiremployer’s output, receive some compensation, learnon the job, and take related courses. Employers payfor the wages and for the time of trainers as youngpeople. Usually, the government pays the cost of theacademic instruction. The search for an employertakes place by late secondary school, with thestudent having to find a workplace position wellbefore leaving formal schooling.

Other variations in skill development have to with thetiming of training. Most large dual systems focus onyoung workers. Under these programs, it is natural forthe government to finance the related courses, sinceeducating students at least through high school isnormally a government function. When the dualsystem focuses on working with young people wellbeyond the normal secondary school ages, fundingeven for the academic component of the trainingbecomes more of a discretionary expense.

Most countries provide support to train disadvan-taged and displaced adults. These programs gener-ally help a small share of the workforce and the resultsare mixed. The type of career training varies acrossprograms from formal community college programs toshort-term on-the-job training programs. These arecommonly viewed as second-chance programs. Theevidence from U.S. programs indicates that partici-pants gain enough to offset the costs but not enoughto have a significant effect on living standards orcareer development.

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Variations in skill deVelopment

strategies

U.S. policymakers and researchers focus almostentirely on schools and on other government-spon-sored education and training. Public and privatespending on formal education at all levels is nearly 8percent of GDP (over $1.1 trillion in 2010), a higherpercentage than nearly all other OECD countries.Although employers are the eventual users of workerskills, policymakers have weak contact with theemployer community. Spending on occupational andother work-related training in the U.S. represents asmall fraction of education spending. In part, theresource allocation reflects the way the U.S. meas-ures the quality of preparation of students for theworkplace. The key indicators are years of schoolingand level of degree as well as general academic testsof reading, writing, and math. Rarely do policymakersand policy researchers use information on whatemployers report they value most, occupational skillsand workplace skills such as problem-solving,communication, responsibility, and punctuality.

What is measured with regard to skills and humancapital investments affects policy in several ways.Policymakers and researchers citing racial and ethnicgaps in skills rely almost exclusively on differences ineducational attainment and academic tests. Withskills defined almost solely in educational terms, it isnot surprising that the policy debates and fundingare directed primarily toward fixing education andschools. Charter schools, vouchers, and teacherincentives are among many reforms that generateheated discussions and political conflicts. The latesteducational fix is the adoption of the “common core”standard for what students should learn to be collegeor career ready. In fact, the curricula is clearly orientedtoward college and not careers. Another example isPresident Obama’s goal for the U.S. to reach thehighest proportion of college graduates in the world

by 2020. Achieving the goal would require raising theshare of young people graduating a two-year or four-year college from about 40 to about 60 percent. Thisprescription draws the support of academic econo-mists, such as Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz.They argue that the slowdown in the growth ofcollege graduates, together with expanding demandfor skill linked to technological change, played thecentral role in rising college-high school wage differ-entials.13 By implication, resuming healthy growth incollege completion is likely to reduce or at least slowthe increase in wage inequality.

Notwithstanding high levels of spending in the U.S.on education, educational outcomes are at bestmixed. Economic returns to a college education arehigh, but highly variable.14 This result is hardlysurprising, giving the heterogeneity of colleges in theU.S. and wide differences in salaries by major. U.S.rates of BA completion have inched up in recentyears to about 36 percent, a level only slightly abovethe OECD average.15 The share with a degree froma two-year college program, or Associate’s degree,has remained constant at about 8 to 9 percent.According to international tests of adult literacy, only24 percent of adult college graduates reach thehighest two levels of literacy proficiency and only 18percent the highest two in numeracy.16 The overallfigures for the U.S. show much higher than averageproportions of adults at the lowest levels of literacyand numeracy than the average for all participatingcountries.17 In addition, rates of high school comple-tion fall short as well.18 Turning to sub-BA programs,the results are again highly uneven. Only about 20percent of the nearly 1 million students enteringpublic, two-year colleges complete their degreeprograms within 150 percent of the normal time. Atthe same time, nearly 200,000 receive certificates in

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thrust oF u.s. education and training

approach

an occupational area based on one to four years ofstudy. Average returns to those completingAssociate’s degree programs are high, but againhighly variable by major.

Another striking result of the U.S. education systemis the wide variation in outcomes by sex and byethnicity. As of 2014, only 40 percent of 25-34 yearold men reported having completed at least a two-year degree, a level far below the nearly 50 percentof females with at least a two-year degree. For minori-ties, the gap is even wider. In 2012-2013, blackfemales earned about 124,000 BA degrees whileonly 67,000 BAs were awarded to black males.

Given the U.S. educational system’s limited focus andits mediocre and variable results, it is not surprisingthat employers complain about weaknesses in occu-pational skills. What about job training in the U.S.?Here, the focus is almost entirely on the funding andresearch of government-funded programs designatedas training programs. However, far more students aretrying to learn occupational skills in communitycolleges and career colleges than in federally-spon-sored training programs. Evidence suggests that aneven larger amount of dollars are spent by employerson training for their own workers.19 Yet, no system-atic surveys of training activities by representativesamples of employers have been undertaken sincethe mid-1990s. Thus, it is not surprising that policydiscussions address mostly government-sponsoredtraining policies. Only recently has the U.S. govern-ment begun collecting the occupational certificationsof individuals. Perhaps the limited data on occupa-tional skills is one reason it is difficult to resolve ques-tions about the importance of the structural characterof unemployment—joblessness that results from skilland geographic mismatches. Moreover, the decliningamount of work experience among youth, especiallyminority youth, is no longer viewed as a seriousproblem because students are expected to accumu-late skills almost entirely from schooling.

Potential Gains from ExpandingApprenticeship in the U.S.

Apprenticeships combine classroom-based voca-tional education, structured work-based learning, andpaid work and production to help youth master an

occupation. They are subject to externally imposedtraining standards, usually last between two and fouryears, and lead to a recognized credential certifyingthe apprentice’s capabilities to perform the requiredtasks of a fully qualified worker in the occupation.Unlike the normal part-time jobs of high school andcollege students, apprenticeships integrate whatyoung people learn on the job and in the classroom.Unlike internships, apprenticeships require far morein-depth training, involve paid work, and lead to arecognized occupational credential. Unlike paid workexperience, apprentices learn skills in formal classesand absorb their learning at the workplace in a highlystructured setting.

Apprenticeship beginning during the high schoolyears can play a positive role in reengaging Americanyouth, as evidenced in other countries. As researcherRobert Halpern discovered, “Apprenticeship providesexperience that young people can acquire in no otherway,” as they work in disciplines that are interestingand new.20 The benefits extend to the developmentof young people. Youth apprenticeship helps youngpeople develop independence and self-confidencethrough their ability to perform difficult tasks. Bymastering tasks that other young people cannot,apprentices gain a strong sense of pride that a B-student is unlikely to feel when passing a test or evencompleting a paper. While apprentices are expectedto demonstrate professionalism and care, they arenot expected to be perfect. Youth try out new identi-ties in an occupational arena and experience learningin a context of production, of making things.

Apprenticeships offer a way of involving constructiveadults that makes sense to young people.Apprentices work with adult mentors experienced ina given field, who offer guidance but allow youth tomake their own mistakes. Youth see themselvesjudged by the established standards of the occupa-tion in actual working environments, facing deadlinesand the constraints and unexpected difficulties thatarise in a profession. Supervisors’ monitoring helpsapprentices focus on performing well at work and inthe classroom. Often, apprentices who do notperform well in their courses lose their jobs asapprentices. Unlike typical part-time jobs, high schooland college students in apprenticeships integratewhat they learn on the job with what learn in the class-

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room.

Apprenticeships can accommodate differences inlearning styles. Apprenticeships give workers whoare bored in school or who doubt the value of educa-tion increased confidence that their efforts and invest-ment in skill development will pay off. Althoughlearning-by-doing is appealing to most students, thedifference between a model based solely on class-room learning and one taking place mostly on the jobmay be of special importance to men. Thus, a robustapprenticeship system can narrow the gender gapsin postsecondary credentials. Currently, only 24percent of 25-34 year old African-American and 17percent of Hispanic men had attained an Associate ofArts (AA) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree as of March2013. In contrast, AA or BA completion rates were 37percent for African-American women and 27 percentfor Hispanic women.

One important advantage of apprenticeships is theirlow costs. Employers pay wages for the work ofapprentices as well as the costs of work-basedtraining. But, they often recoup the costs during theapprenticeship itself though the productivity of theapprentices. Participants forego little or no earningsbecause apprenticeships are jobs that pay market ormodestly below-market wages. The governmentcosts are modest in comparison to full-time schooling.Even if the government shoulders the full costs offormal classroom instruction linked to the appren-ticeship, the time and costs are far less than for acommunity college student.

Additionally, apprenticeships are a useful tool forenhancing youth development. Young people workwith natural adult mentors who offer guidance butallow youth to make their own mistakes.21 Youth seethemselves judged by the established standards of adiscipline, including deadlines and the genuineconstraints and unexpected difficulties that arise inthe profession. Supervisors provide the close moni-toring and frequent feedback that helps apprenticeskeep their focus on performing well at the work siteand in the classroom.

Apprenticeships are distinctive in enhancing both theworker supply side and the employer demand side ofthe labor market. On the supply side, the financial

gains to apprenticeships are strikingly high. U.S.studies indicate that apprentices do not have to sacri-fice earnings during their education and training andthat their long-term earnings benefits exceed thegains they would have accumulated after graduatingfrom community college.22 The latest reports fromthe state of Washington show that the gains in earn-ings from various education and training programsfar surpassed the gains to all other alternatives.23 Abroad study of apprenticeship in ten U.S. states alsodocuments large and statistically significant earningsgains from participating in apprenticeship.24

On the demand side, employers can feel comfortableupgrading their jobs knowing that their apprenticeshipprograms will ensure an adequate supply of well-trained workers. High levels of apprenticeship activityin Australia, Great Britain, and Canada demonstratethat even companies in labor markets with few restric-tions on hiring, firing, and wages are willing to investin apprenticeship training. While no rigorous evidenceis available about the apprenticeship’s costs andbenefits to U.S. employers, research in other coun-tries indicates that employers gain financially fromtheir apprenticeship investments.25

Firms reap several advantages from their apprentice-ship investments. They save significant sums inrecruitment and training costs, in reduced errors inplacing employees, in avoiding excessive costs whenthe demand for skilled workers cannot be quicklyfilled, and in knowing that all employees are well-versed with company procedures. One benefit tofirms rarely captured in studies is the positive impactof apprenticeships on innovation. Well-trainedworkers are more likely to understand the complexi-ties of a firm’s production processes and thereforeidentify and implement technological improvements,especially incremental innovations to improve existingproducts and processes. A study of German estab-lishments documented this connection and found aclear relationship between the extent of in-companytraining and subsequent innovation.26 In the UnitedStates, evidence from surveys of more than 900employers indicates that the overwhelming majority ofthem believe their programs are valuable and involvenet gains.27 Nearly all sponsors reported that theapprenticeship program helps them meet their skilldemands—87 percent reported that they would

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strongly recommend registered apprenticeships, andanother 11 percent recommended apprenticeshipswith some reservations. Other benefits of appren-ticeships include reliably documenting appropriateskills, raising worker productivity, increasing workermorale, and reducing safety problems.

Although apprenticeships work well in the U.S. forparticipants and employers, apprenticeships make uponly 0.2 percent of the U.S. labor force, far less than2.2 percent in Canada, 2.7 percent in Britain, and 3.7percent in Australia and Germany. In addition, govern-ment spending on apprenticeships is tiny comparedwith spending by other countries and spending onless effective career and community college systemsproviding education and training for specific occupa-tions. While total government funding for apprentice-ship in the U.S. is only about $100-200 perapprentice annually, federal, state, and local govern-ment spending annually per participant in two-yearpublic colleges is approximately $11,400.28

Clearly, there is vast room for expansion, in terms ofboth apprenticeships and government support. But,what should be the focus of the expansion? Whatmodels should the U.S. emulate? Currently, appren-tices in the U.S. typically start when they are in theirmid-20s. German and Swiss apprentices begin intheir teen years, when schooling is still universallyprovided. Should U.S. efforts cover both groups orconcentrate on youth? How should the expandedapprenticeships in the U.S. be administered, funded,and linked with higher education? The next sectionspresent perspectives on and the experience of threeEuropean countries with apprenticeship models inorder to shed light on these questions.

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Since the European Copenhagen process started in2002 to establish a common transnational area ofVocational Education and Training, VET has under-gone significant transformations in Europe.29

Coupled with the Bologna Process for HigherEducation in 1999, the two traditionally distincteducation sectors have established a two-pillarsystem of quality and standards that offer greatertransparency, transferability, and permeability. Toolsand principles, like European frameworks for qualifi-cations and quality assurance, credit transfersystems, principles for validating non-formal andinformal learning, or the Euro-Pass to record people’scompetencies and qualifications and to make themeasily understood across Europe, have helped toportray VET’s value. Initiatives promoting work-basededucation and apprenticeships have been instru-mental in strengthening VET as a core element innational education and training systems.30

European countries are at different levels of devel-opment in VET, given the variety of socioeconomiccontexts and starting points in the education andtraining sector. Given the high unemployment in manyEuropean countries, VET in general, and apprentice-ship in particular, is looked upon as a crucial tool forthe European Union and national policymakers. It is aprinciple strategy for preparing young people fortoday’s and tomorrow’s labor market in a world ofrapid technological change, demographic change,and economic restructuring. VET should not be seenin isolation, but as part of strong national educationand training systems. In European policy, initial andcontinuing VET share the dual objective ofcontributing to employability and economic growth,and responding to broader societal challenges, inparticular promoting social cohesion.31

The creation of National Qualifications Frameworks(NQFs) for Lifelong Learning across Europe is one ofthe most tangible outcomes of the Copenhagenprocess to promote VET in Europe. Prior to 2008,NQFs only existed in Ireland, France, and the UK.They were triggered by the launch of the EuropeanQualifications Framework (EQF) in 2008 by theEuropean Parliament and the Council of the EU. TheEQF was developed to assist with lifelong learningand mobility by making qualifications from differentcountries easier to understand and to recognize. Thelevels span the full scale of qualifications, from basiceducation, to VET, to doctorates. The participatingcountries agreed on the focus on competencies andlearning outcomes as a basis for better communica-tion and cooperation in education and training, andbetween education and the labor market. The consis-tent use of the learning outcomes principle is directlyrelevant to end-users. Furthermore, this supports acommon language between different types of VET,general and higher education, to better address therequirements of lifelong learning.32

Traditionally, general education and vocational educa-tion are viewed hierarchically, with general educationlinked to higher academic tracks and a higher soci-etal recognition. Vocational or professional traininghas been regarded as being functionally linked to theworld of work. With the increasing emphasis on theglobal competitiveness of European economies, aswell as to overcome traditional societal perceptionsof education, reform debates currently focus on reor-ganizing upper secondary general education towarda stronger job orientation and improved lifelonglearning.

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european Vet and work-based

education models

Features of Work-Based Education

Sustainable and inclusive growth requires continuousinvestment in people’s skills and lifelong learning. VETin Europe is an important part of that investment.Today, about half of all jobs in Europe requiremedium-level qualifications, many of which areacquired through VET. To have a labor market relevantqualification largely defines the employability of theindividual and contributes to economic developmentand competitiveness. Work-based learning isbecoming increasingly popular in Europe. It has beenpart of the response to alleviate the impact of theeconomic downturns and make labor marketmismatches more visible.

In some European countries, skills shortages in partic-ular sectors remain high, limiting growth potential andcurtailing opportunities for economic recovery.Increasing work-based learning is not a magic solu-tion to resolving the current high youth unemploy-ment (22.9 percent in the EU33), but it contributes toa better functioning labor market. Countries withstrong VET and apprenticeship systems tend to havelower youth unemployment rates (for example,Germany, with 7 percent34). Work-based learningcan comprise:

apprenticeships or similar schemes that alternatelearning in a VET school and in an enterprise to asubstantial share,

on-the-job training periods in companies withinschool-based VET, i.e., internships, work placements,or traineeships up to 30 percent of the program, and

learning in workshops, labs, and firms of VETschools and training centers or in business andindustry facilities.

Increasing recognition of the benefits of work-basedlearning has led to a renaissance of apprenticeshipprograms and became central to EU and nationalpolicy agendas. The European Commission recentlylaunched the European alliance for apprenticeships toboost new initiatives, to develop or strengthenapprenticeships.35

Work Experience in Compulsory GeneralEducation vs. Work-Based Learning

Bringing work experience to the classroom helpscompulsory education learners get acquainted withthe world of work. Half of all EU countries have estab-lished specific services to help organize work experi-ence within compulsory education provided by aministry, an agency, schools, or the municipality.Simulated or real business experience that provideslearners with an understanding of what it means to runa company is a more common practice, with manycountries having long traditions.

To acquaint young people with VET at an early stage,most EU countries include VET elements in compul-sory general education. Since 2010, new schemeshave been introduced in compulsory general educa-tion, for example, in the UK. Teachers play a crucialrole in integrating theory with work experience. InFrance and Austria, professional and social partnerorganizations help learners and teachers find relevantwork experience in most of the occupational areas,such as business administration, IT, and health care.In Denmark, recent reform of compulsory educationalso aims to forge stronger links with the businessworld. Regional initiatives introduce VET elementsinto compulsory schools and bring the teachers ofboth sectors together. The Dutch technology pactaims at introducing science and technology classesin all primary schools by 2020.36 In Ireland, theoptional transition year that provides work experienceand focuses on nonacademic subjects to preparestudents for work life, has become more popular inthe last years.37

Apprenticeships and other forms of work-basedlearning provide high-quality training for young peopleand help match learning outcomes to the skillsrequired. They can provide young people and adultswith a mix of job-specific and transversal skills that aredifficult to acquire in classroom environments.Evidence confirms better employment prospects foryoung people who have had some work experience,in particular apprenticeships.38 Relatively low youthunemployment, as, for example, in Austria, Germany,the Netherlands, and Switzerland, has been attrib-uted to the provision of apprenticeships.39

Apprentices of today could also be the entrepreneurs

21



22



of tomorrow. These schemes have therefore movedhigh up on national, EU, and international policyagendas and are clearly visible in the policy develop-ments of recent years, e.g., the youth guarantee.Increasing apprenticeship places requires a sufficientnumber of enterprises that are ready to train and youthwho select this path. However, only a quarter ofEurope’s enterprises with more than ten staff take onapprentices and upper secondary VET are largelyschool-based in many countries.

Work-based elements have been part of school-based VET for a long time in almost all EU countries.In-company training is the most popular type of work-based learning. VET students can acquire businessexperience in training firms and small scale businessin most of the countries. Some recent examples ofmeasures include entrepreneurship camps and simu-lation games in Germany as well as micro-enterprisesin France. Other forms include work simulations inschools, as provided in France and in Denmark.40

Employer Involvement and Incentives

Enterprise cooperation in VET goes beyond arrange-ments to enable and promote relevant and high qualitywork-based learning. Employers, as social partners,are involved in developing and updating VETprograms in many countries. In working groups forcurriculum development, employers have a decision-making role in countries such as Germany, while theymainly advise in countries such as France. Employerinvolvement in curriculum design can also take placeas consultation (e.g., in Ireland) or through national,sector, and VET program councils. Sharing responsi-bility for VET quality assurance or accreditation ofinstitutions are factors driving employer participationin the development of VET and cooperation.41

European countries follow different approaches toidentify business partners for VET cooperation. Theycan be led by social partners (e.g., in Denmark) or asan agency or office (e.g., in Belgium), via web plat-forms (e.g., in the UK) or networks and stakeholdergroups (e.g., in Germany, France, Austria, and theUK). Some countries with staff exchange arrange-ments in place use practitioners from enterprises asguest teachers in VET schools (e.g., in France and theUK). By 2010, seventeen EU member states,

including Germany and Austria, were training theirVET teachers and trainers to help learners acquireentrepreneurship skills, a measure that not only illus-trates VET cooperation, but also supports entrepre-neurship. This includes company managementtraining programs, manuals and guidelines, organizedvisits to companies, and updated teacher trainingstandards. Several countries have introduced guide-lines for VET teacher development that include enter-prise traineeships. While some of the trainingmeasures for VET teachers or trainers focus on busi-ness setup skills, most of them aim at stimulating anentrepreneurial mindset in a more general sense.42

Governments and social partners are striving toincrease the number of apprenticeship places as theeconomic crisis in 2008 has reduced the opportuni-ties for VET learners to find one. Since 2010, newincentives for enterprises to provide training havebeen introduced and adjusted in most of the EUmember states. Subsidies to enterprises are the mostpopular incentive and can take the form of a grant andreimbursement of training costs and allowances. Taxbenefits appear less popular. In 2013 a one-timebonus for companies offering apprenticeship trainingwas introduced in Austria. In Denmark, all employers,both public and private, pay an amount into a fundcalled the “employers’ reimbursement scheme.” Thisfund finances both VET and adult vocational contin-uing training. In 2012, all employers were obliged topay an annual contribution of €393 per full-timeemployee. These funds are then allocated to theplaces offering apprenticeships, so they do not bearthe cost of training alone. Employers receive wagereimbursement during apprentices’ periods ofcollege-based training. Ireland currently has a pilotdirect cash incentive to encourage private, commu-nity, nonprofit, and voluntary sector employers to hirelong-term unemployed individuals. France has abonus-malus system. Companies not reaching thethreshold of 4 percent of staff being employee-apprentices or employed under vocational trainingcontracts, pay a contribution. But companies abovethe threshold are paid a bonus of €400 for eachlearner, up to a limit of 6 percent of the total work-force.43

The predominant strategies of countries in Europetry to achieve parity of esteem between practical-training and school-based forms of secondary voca-tional education via vocational enhancement,linkages, or variation of both.44 Vocational enhance-ment can be regarded as an attempt to upgrade insti-tutionally organized VET. Vocational education as awhole being clearly job-oriented receives a greaterappreciation (e.g., in Germany). Recent reform devel-opments concerning vocational education addition-ally focus on the integration of apprentice-based andacademic-based education, e.g., in dual studyprograms. The strategy to link workforce-based andschool-based VET, e.g., in the United Kingdom,focuses on an identical system of certification andrecognition for general education and vocationaleducation, which simplifies the connections betweenthe two education system components. Furthermore,Scotland tries to eliminate the distinction betweengeneral education and vocational education andtraining by unifying the whole education system.Switzerland’s education policy successfully followsboth strategy types.

Germany

In the German dual initial VET system, training placesare offered by both private and public enterprises, inpractices of the liberal professions, and, to a verylimited extent, in private households as well. In 2012,21.3 percent of enterprises provided apprenticeshipsincluding smaller firms covering over 80 percent.Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are oftenunable to provide all the practical learning content.They may lack suitable training personnel, or, owingto their particular specialization, they do not cover allthe training content themselves. There are variousways to overcome these problems. Educational insti-

tutions offer inter-company training periods in specificvocational training centers, designed to supplementin-company training. They are often sponsored byautonomous bodies in the relevant sectors of industry.Enterprises form the following coherent training struc-tures:

“Lead enterprise with partner enterprise” model:the lead enterprise bears overall responsibility fortraining, but parts of the training are conducted invarious partner enterprises.

“Training to order” model: some periods of trainingtake place outside the regular enterprise, perhaps ina nearby large enterprise with a training workshop, onthe basis of an order and a cost reimbursement.

“Training consortium” model: several SMEs worktogether taking on trainees. If one enterprise cannotprovide a specific learning content the trainee will betrained by a partner enterprise (rotation principle).

“Training association” model: Cooperating enter-prises establish a training organization, which coversthe administrative tasks, while the master enterprisesoffer the training.

The Federal Ministry for Education and Research(BMBF) supports these institutions and cooperationforms with investments and subsidies via the FederalInstitute for Vocational Education and Training(BIBB).45

Complementing the enterprise training, the appren-tices attend part-time vocational schools on one ortwo days per week and are taught theoretical andpractical knowledge related to their occupation. Inaddition, they attend classes on general subjects

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Vet and work-based education in

germany, switzerland, and the united

kingdom

such as economic and social studies and foreignlanguages. Systematic teaching at vocational schoolbased on subjects and learning fields is a necessarysupplement to process-oriented training in the enter-prises, which is rather more based on specific in-house requirements. Vocational schools andenterprises have a joint educational responsibility andtheir tasks are not rigidly divided. The VET school isnot exclusively reserved for teaching theory, and in-company training involves more than simply practice.The apprentices are examined and certified by thechambers of industry and commerce or chambers ofcraft depending on the occupation for which they aretrained.

In Germany, the federal states drive full-time voca-tional schools that cover a period of two or threeyears depending on the respective occupation andinclude company placements as well. The final schoolexaminations are supervised by the educationauthority and governed by the training regulations ofthe respective occupation. Full-time vocationalschools introduce students to one or more occupa-tions and provide them with partial vocational trainingas well. Today one-year vocational foundation coursesare provided at the full-time vocational schools or ata higher general school. The range of training provi-sion in schools of this type is extremely diverse. Thereare full-time vocational schools, e.g., for occupationsin commercial services, craft, health care, and arts.46

Almost one of two (48 percent) upper secondarystudents is enrolled in pre-vocational or vocationalprograms that combine school and work. The majority(55 percent) of 25 to 64 year old citizens in Germanyhave attained a vocational qualification at either uppersecondary or post-secondary level. They have above-average employment rates, especially among youngeradults, of up to 85 percent.47

At the same time, the proportion of upper secondaryschool leaver starting a Bachelor study program hasbeen steadily increasing. Due to rising demand on thelabor market and in society, in 2013 more qualifiedschool leavers started a Bachelor program than anapprenticeship. Still, in 2012, over 550,000 learnersstarted an apprenticeship and 210,000 started a fullschool VET education. Over half of the “dual” starterswere under 18 years old and 44 percent were 19

years and older. Less than 4 percent of the starterswere over 25.48

The dual VET system does not have any formal admis-sion prerequisites. Regardless of their school-leavingcertificate, by law all school leavers can learn anyrecognized occupation requiring formal training. Infact, the admission and the actual number of peoplewho successfully start an apprenticeship depend onthe prior qualifications. Most of the dual traineesacquired an intermediate secondary school leavingcertificate (43 percent) or a lower secondary schoolleaving certificate (33 percent). Less than 20 percentof new trainees acquired an upper secondary schoolleaving certificate combined with a higher educationentrance qualification in 2014. Those who could notjoin an apprenticeship program in Germany arecovered by public funded training measures of the so-called transitory system.49

GOVERNANCE, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, AND KEYSTAKEHOLDERS

The dual VET system in Germany is based on a closepartnership between employers, trade unions, thefederal government, and the state governments.Social partner labor experts exert considerable influ-ence on the content and form of VET to ensure thattheir requirements and interests are taken intoaccount. Responsible action by all participants,regardless of specific group interests, is a precondi-tion for the efficiency of the dual system. Socialdialogue and co-determination are important for anydevelopment in the German VET system.

The German Federal VET Act (BBiG) regulates allmajor framing legal and operational aspects for voca-tional training in private and public enterprises. Thisincludes the establishment of training regulations, theoccupational titles, the training content and duration,as well as examination or assessment standards. Thetraining regulations establish occupations, which arerecognized nationwide and increasingly abroad.Furthermore the VET act regulates the VET qualityassurance, the role of the social partners and of thecompetent bodies in terms of all major aspects of thedesign, the implementation and the monitoring oftraining, the apprenticeship contract, and the apti-tude of instructors. The Federal Crafts Regulation Act

24



regulates vocational training in the crafts sector andthe Federal States Acts regulate vocational schooleducation in accordance with the federal VET.50

The chambers of commerce, industry, and craft aswell as the professional organizations as intermediaryorganizations are private entities with a statutoryresponsibility. They have important legally-definedtasks: to review the training agreements concerningthe conformance of the VET act provisions, to issueregulations pertaining to training, to advise instructorsand trainees, to review the suitability of instructors andtraining facilities, to register, to modify training agree-ments, to administer trainees’ intermediate and finalexaminations, to monitor the execution of training, tocontribute to the workplace curricula, to accredittraining companies, and to maintain training centers.They also carry out the examinations and certify theawarded occupational qualifications. The examinationcommittees include VET experts from the trade unionsand from the VET school as well.51

Before a trainee’s training starts, the enterprise andthe trainee must sign a written training agreement.The minimum required contents of such agreementsare regulated by the VET act and it fixes the trainingremuneration. The agreements are subject to federallabor law provisions as well and they must besubmitted to the relevant chamber or professionalorganization.

The Federal VET act regulates as well the functions,structure, and tasks of Federal Institute for VocationalTraining (BIBB), which operates on behalf of theGerman federal government and is supervised by theFederal Ministry of Education and Research. It carriesout all federal administrative, research, development,and advisory work on initial and advanced VET relatedtopics in Germany and abroad. The board incorpo-rates representatives from the government on thefederal level and the federal states level, as well asfrom the social partners.52

VET OCCUPATIONS AND TRAINING REGULATIONS

Apprentices are awarded a nationally-recognized VETdiploma in a specific occupation; this diplomaprovides a basis for a wage grading. As of 2014, 329occupations were regulated on the federal level.

Following the VET act, both the enterprise and theVET school have to use complementary educatingand training strategies so that the apprenticesdevelop their occupational, societal, and personalcompetencies. The professional competenciesrequired by the occupations are described along thelines of knowledge, skills, and abilities in the dual VETcurricula specified in each training regulation. Trainingregulations provide the formal basis for an orderly,standardized training in occupations. These bindingrequirements guarantee a uniform national standard.Due to the dual character of the apprenticeship, thecurricula for the enterprise and the vocational schoolare designed in a complementary way for eachtraining occupation. This requires a close cooperationbetween the federal government and the states andgives the social partners, i.e., the employers’ and theemployees’ VET experts, an important role.Furthermore, the training regulations lay down thecontext and time frame for the training phases andcourses and the requirements and criteria for exami-nations.53

As a multi-stakeholder system, dual VET in Germanyis financed both by public and private funding. Thisincludes the Federal Ministry of Education andResearch, Economics, and Technology as well asLabor and Social Affairs, the Federal EmploymentAgency, the relevant state ministries, the EuropeanUnion, local authorities, enterprises, trade unions,chambers, and last but not least, by the apprentices.In this respect, the financing system of VET andcontinuing general and vocational education differssubstantially from the public funding of the schoolsand universities sector.54

Switzerland

The Swiss Vocational and Professional Education andTraining system (VPET) enables young people toenter the labor market and ensures that there areenough qualified workers and managers in the future.It forms the basis for lifelong learning, opens up awealth of job prospects, and offers a broad selectionof available education and training options. The VPETsystem is closely correlated with the labor market andis an integral part of the education system. It is dividedinto upper-secondary level vocational education andtraining (VET) and a post-secondary level professional

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education and training (PET).

VPET occupations and professions are focused onrequired competencies. This direct correlation withthe labor market is one of the main reasons whySwitzerland has one of the lowest youth unemploy-ment rates (5 percent) in Europe. About 30 percentof employers in Switzerland train apprentices andmore than two-thirds of young people between theages of 16 and 19 leaving the compulsory educationenroll in a work-based VET program which providesthem with a solid foundation in a given occupation.55

Dual-track VET programs covering part-time appren-ticeships at enterprises and part-time classroominstruction at vocational schools are the mostcommon form of vocational education and training inSwitzerland. At the host company, the apprenticeslearn the practical know-how, knowledge, and skillsneeded for their chosen occupation. Learners activelytake part in the host company’s production and busi-ness processes. In some cases, host companies maywish to combine their strengths to offer one or moreapprenticeships in a modular format. Vocationalschools provide classroom instruction in vocationalsubjects as well as general education subjects, forexample, language, communication, and societaltopics. Classroom instruction intends to develop thetechnical, methodological, and social skills of learnerswhile imparting the theoretical and general principlesneeded to perform occupational tasks. It covers oneor two days per week. Vocational schools also offerpreparatory courses for a Federal VocationalBaccalaureate Examination, an advanced VET track.Branch courses are offered to complement class-room instruction at vocational schools and appren-ticeship training at host companies by providinglearners with essential practical skills. They are oftencarried out at third-party training centers run by theindustries involved.56

Less common are school-based VET programs, i.e.,full-time classroom instruction with few practicalphases in companies. School-based VET programsare generally offered by trade schools or commercialschools. School-based VET programs at vocationalschools are more popular among learners in theFrench and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerlandthan among those in the German-speaking region,

which might be influenced by the predominantschool-based VET systems in France and Italy.57

Adults may acquire VET qualifications by variousmeans. In this regard the Federal Vocational andProfessional Education and Training Act offer severalavenues from regulated, structured procedures foroccupational categories to individual recognitionprocedures.58

GOVERNANCE AND FINANCING

The federal government plays a mediating role. It safe-guards the conditions for enterprises, encourages theprovision of apprenticeship positions, and helpsyoung people choose an occupation. The VPETsystem is collectively governed by the Swiss federalgovernment, the regional cantons, and the profes-sional organizations. These three main partners worktogether to maintain a high level of quality within theVPET system. They also strive to ensure that there isan adequate supply of apprenticeship positions andtraining options. This partnership and the respectiveareas of responsibility of each partner are set forth inthe Federal Vocational and Professional Educationand Training Act and its corresponding ordinances.The main purpose of involving vocational schools,host companies, and sector training centers is toensure high quality within the VPET system. Theresponsibilities of each stakeholder depend on thetasks assigned to each of the three main partnerswithin the VPET system. In areas where responsibili-ties overlap, they work together on the specific situ-ations and matter at hand. The VET sector is fundedby the Confederation, the cantons, and professionalorganizations, each to their own degree.59

The current Swiss VET Act implemented in 2005enacted a fundamental reform of the VET system. Itconfirmed the administrative autonomy of the cantonsand the legislative power for the entire VET system atthe federal level. The Swiss Federal Institute forVocational Education and Technology (SFIVET)became the central institution for the coordinationand the support of the VET system. It encompassesbasic and continuing training of vocational teachersand trainers as well as research and development forthe government and for professional associations.The Federal Office of Economic Affairs safeguards a

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strong system of career guidance and counseling toadvise and support students at key transition pointsin education and career development.60

Nongovernmental VET stakeholders have a formalconvening role to contribute to the development inVET in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity:

Employers and trade unions as social partnerscontribute to the design, the implementation, and themonitoring of VET programs.

Chambers of commerce and professional organi-zations, being private entities, have statutory respon-sibility to contribute to the workplace curricula,accrediting training companies, examinations testingand certifying qualifications, and maintaining trainingcenters.

Professional organizations structured in clusters ofindustries or occupations contribute as well to allprogram-related process such as design and revi-sions of training regulations.

The VET act includes detailed rules for establishingoccupational titles, the content and duration of thetraining, as well as examination or assessment stan-dards stipulating the requirements to be met for certi-fication. VET programs are based on definedcurricula, training options, and national qualificationprocedures. There are around 230 occupations tochoose from. Depending on the occupation, anapprenticeship takes two to four years.Apprenticeships include all kinds of professions, fromcraft, mechanics, carpentry, baker, and hairdressing tooffice work such as office assistant, bookkeeper, ITspecialist, etc. VET qualifications are highly portablewithin the country and increasingly abroad.Apprentice graduates are awarded a legally protectedtitle of a qualified professional. Revisions of trainingregulations involve vocational trainers and teachers,cantonal experts, employer and union representatives,instructors for intercompany training coursesconcerning the objectives autonomy, process orien-tation, reflection, self-assessment, action orientation,and technical, social, and methodological skills.61

Apprenticeship marketing is a cantonal task becausecantonal VET offices are familiar with the conditions

in their regions. They also establish and maintaincontacts with local businesses. Accordingly, they arethe best placed to assess the number of availableapprenticeships, to take suitable measures at the righttime, and to offer individual support to young peoplein their search for an apprenticeship position. If theapprenticeship situation is strained, then the federalgovernment may step in to offer additional financialincentives. The most important apprenticeshipmarketing measures are information and advice oncareers, apprenticeship records, creation of hostcompany networks, provision of state-sponsoredtransitional options, dealing directly with companiesvia VET agents, encouraging them to create appren-ticeship positions, and placement and individualmentoring of young people who have been unable tofind a suitable apprenticeship.62

TRANSITION BETWEEN LOWER AND UPPER-SECONDARY LEVELS OF EDUCATION

Transitional options are available to young peoplecompleting compulsory education who have beenunable to make an immediate transition to the upper-secondary level. They include practical trainings andpre-apprenticeships and are generally designed toprepare young people for enrollment in VETprograms. Two-year VET programs provide youngpeople with more practical skills to achieve a recog-nized qualification for a specific occupational profile.Graduates of the two-year VET program may enrolldirectly in a three or four-year VET program leading tothe Federal VET Diploma. Three-year or four-year VETprograms provide learners with the competencesneeded to work in a specific occupation and openaccess to tertiary-level professional education andtraining (PET). Learners also have the option toprepare for the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate(FVB) either during their training or after graduation.63

United Kingdom

A large number of VET qualifications exist within thequalifications frameworks in the UK, offering a broadchoice of programs. VET is available across mostlevels of the qualifications frameworks in the UK,ranging from introductory initial VET courses insecondary schools and colleges to programs athigher education level. It can be found in the shape of

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school-based programs which combine generalacademic study with vocational elements, broadvocational programs, and specialist occupationalprograms that take place both in a school setting andthe work place. VET is offered on a full-time and apart-time basis and students may attend schooling ona block-release or day-release basis from employersor attend evening or weekend learning. Skills for Workcourses may be studied in secondary schools inScotland, often in partnership with a local tertiarycollege and employer. These programs form part ofthe National Courses, provide an introduction tovocational learning, and include experiential learning,which prepares learners for further VET and foremployment. Vocational subjects at upper secondarylevel are available in the General Certificate ofEducation Advanced level (GCE A level) programtoo. The GCE A levels in Applied Subjects replacedthe Vocational Certificate of Education (VCE) atAdvanced level. These are work-related qualificationsdesigned to combine a broad area of study with afocus on a specific industry sector.64

Although school-based VET is traditionally strong inthe UK, the government has successfully promotedapprenticeships in the last few years via the NationalApprenticeship Service and the figures areincreasing. There is a general political consensus inthe UK that apprenticeships are important in dealingwith the country’s intermediate skills deficit.

Apprenticeships in UK include a work contract and anoccupational qualification within the Qualificationsand Credit Framework. They are classified as paidjobs that incorporate on and off the job training.Following the Government Minimum Standards forapprenticeships, they require a minimum length of 12months, 280 hours guided learning off the job, beingemployed for 30 hours a week, and a Training level 2in functional skills or in math and in English.Apprentices have to sign an apprenticeship agree-ment with their employer. This is a contract stipu-lating the framework being followed and the skill,trade, or occupation the apprentices are working in.It is not a legally binding contract of employment, butwithout it an apprenticeship completion certificatecannot be issued. A successful apprentice willreceive a nationally recognized qualification oncompletion of his or her contract.

Apprenticeships are available at the intermediate level(QCF level 2), advanced level (QCF level 3), andhigher level (QCF levels 4 and 5). Scottish ModernApprenticeships correspond to Scottish Credit andQualifications Framework levels 5, 6, and 7. Recentchanges have introduced Technical Apprenticeshipsat SCQF levels 8 and 9 as well as ProfessionalApprenticeships at SCQF levels 10 and above inplace of Modern Apprenticeships at these levels.Technical Apprenticeships are studied alongsideScottish Vocational Qualifications level 4, whileProfessional Apprenticeships are available alongsideSVQ level 5.65

The number of employers currently taking on appren-tices has risen sharply in recent years.Apprenticeships increased from under 500,000 in2009/2010 to over 850,000 in 2013/2014. Themajority of people starting apprenticeships choseframeworks in the service sectors, such as businessadministration, retail, and health.

There were large increases in the number of startsbetween 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 for bothIntermediate and Advanced Level apprenticeships.The number of Intermediate Level apprenticeshipstarts has more than doubled since 2002/2003, whilethe number of Advanced Level apprenticeship startshas almost tripled. In 2009/2010, 11 percent ofunder-19s start an apprenticeship in England, 42percent for 19-24 year olds, and 37 percent for thoseover 25. Over 6 in 10 apprenticeship starts were atthe Intermediate level and only 1 percent were at ahigher level. Entrance requirements to apprentice-ships vary depending on the occupational area andthe level of the qualifications framework. Competitionfor apprenticeship places is fierce and good stan-dard grades in English and mathematics are some-times necessary.

The entrance age in vocational education and traininghas been raised in the UK to 18 in 2014. In England,the Young Apprenticeship program that offered 14-16 year old pupils the opportunity to undertakeindustry specific VET alongside the GCSE programwas closed for the last pupils in 2012/2013 as thecosts of running the program was considered toohigh in the current economic climate. Over 9,000pupils started the Young Apprenticeship program in

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2010.

The last few years have witnessed a rise in adultapprentices who now outnumber under-19 appren-tices. There has been a sharp rise in the number ofapprenticeships started by people aged 25 and oversince 2009/10: 161,600 people aged 25 or overstarted apprenticeships in 2013/14, more than threetimes as many as in 2009/10. In the Scottish ModernApprenticeship program, the figures for adult startershave increased in recent years as a result of asuccessful partnership between employers, trainingproviders, and the public sector.66

GOVERNANCE AND FINANCING

There is a big consensus in the UK among all stake-holders in business, trade unions, and government topromote apprenticeship in terms of labor, educationand training, and societal demands for work-basedlearning in the UK. In 2011, the Education Act modi-fied the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children, andLearning Act from 2009 to fund an apprenticeshipplace to all qualified young people aged 16-19 whoalready secured one place.

The Specification of Apprenticeship Standards(England) sets out minimum academic requirementsthat all frameworks must meet. It stipulates minimumqualification levels required of successful apprenticesunder the vocational, technical, and key skillselements of the apprenticeship. It also specifies stan-dards of attainment expected from successfulapprentices, including “team working” and “effectivepresentation.” The apprentice must be 16 to 24 yearsold when hired.

The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) hasresponsibility for apprenticeships in England. TheNAS was created in April 2009 and is responsible forpromoting apprenticeships to employers and learners,supporting employers through the process ofrecruiting and training an apprentice, and maintainingthe national online apprenticeship vacancies systemwhich allows employers to post vacancies for aspiringapprentices. Apprenticeship Training Agencies(ATAs) are organizations directly employing appren-tices. The enterprise hosting the apprentice operatesas the apprentice’s day-to-day workplace and

manager. The ATA coordinates the apprentice’straining and pays associated training costs. The hostemployer pays the ATA a fee based on the appren-tice’s wage and training costs. ATAs were first intro-duced in 2009 and are listed by region on the NASwebsite.

There are 170 different apprenticeship frameworksavailable in 13 broad sector subject areas. Themajority of people starting apprenticeships choseframeworks in the service sectors. Almost three-quar-ters of starts were in business, administration, andlaw; in health, public services, and care; and in retailand commercial enterprise.

A typical apprenticeship framework includes aNational Vocational Qualification, which examines theapprentices’ work-based skills; a TechnicalCertificate, which examines the apprentices’ theoret-ical knowledge; Key Skills, which examine the appren-tices’ transferrable skills, for example, numeracy andliteracy; and employer rights and responsibilities. Themain BTEC (Business and Technology EducationCouncil) qualifications comprise Awards, Certificates,and Diplomas at First (QCF level 2), National (level 3),and Higher National (levels 4 and 5) levels. Theseprograms combine theoretical and practical voca-tional education and can form part of an apprentice-ship program.67

Incentives are in place to further enhance employerengagement in apprenticeships with particularemphasis on small and medium enterprises. Costfactors to employers, such as administration, appren-tices’ time away from the workplace, and employees’time spent to train apprentices, has been found to bea reason for not participating, particularly by smalleremployers. Despite this, research has shown thatapprentices provide good value for money foremployers in the long term in terms of increased,specialized skills, employee loyalty, new innovativeideas, and as future management potentials. Thegovernment is working toward removing regulationsand bureaucracy that may discourage employers,SMEs in particular, to take on apprentices.68

The UK government’s Apprenticeship Grant forEmployers provides financial assistance for busi-nesses employing less than 1,000 people to take on

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16 to 24 year old apprentices within a formal appren-ticeship program.

In April 2012, the Small Employer Incentive to Employan Apprentice in England offers payments to smallenterprises that currently do not employ any appren-tices, but wish to do so. For 16 to 24 year olds underthis program, the grants are £1,500 per apprentice.Another scheme provides subsidies to firms with 50or fewer employees when they take on an apprentice.To be eligible for payment, the employer must nothave taken on an apprentice in the last 12 months.

For all employers, the government pays a proportionof the training costs for apprentices, depending ontheir age: 100 percent of the training costs if theapprentice is 16-18, 50 percent of the training costsif the apprentice is 19-24, and up to 50 percent of thetraining costs if the apprentice is aged over 25. Theapprentice’s employer will normally cover anyremaining training costs. If employers choose todeliver additional qualifications as part of an appren-ticeship on top of those identified by the relevantSector Skills Council, then these qualifications will bepaid for by the employer not by the government.Apprentices are entitled to minimum wages.

Advanced Learning loans can help apprentices aged24 and over studying at Level 3 and above. Employerscontribute up to half of the training costs and appren-tices are expected to contribute the remainderthrough Advanced Learning loans. This is the firsttime apprentices have been expected to contributetoward the costs of their learning.

Further standards are coming into use in the2015/2016 academic year. To give employers greatercontrol over spending on training delivery, the govern-ment will route apprenticeship funding throughemployers rather than paying training providersdirectly. The 2015 budget announced employers willbe given funding control through a digitalApprenticeship Voucher.69

OTHER WORK-BASED PROGRAMS IN THE UK

England introduced a new traineeship program in2013 for youth under age 25. It is designed to provideyoung, unemployed people who have little work expe-

rience and low qualifications with skills and workexperience in preparation for apprenticeships andemployment. The core content comprises literacy andnumeracy, work preparation training, and a workplacement. Traineeships provide education, training,and work experience to young people to help themget an apprenticeship or other job. They are suitablefor people who are unemployed and have little workexperience but can be prepared for employment or anapprenticeship within six months. Traineeships lastbetween six weeks and six months.

The Pathways to Apprenticeship program in Wales isa one-year, full-time CQF level 2 vocational qualifica-tion program designed to give 16-24 year olds thefoundation skills to progress on to and complete a fullapprenticeship. This training includes associatedessential skills and other relevant accredited voca-tional qualifications. Traineeships are also availablefor 16-18 year olds in Wales and provide demand-oriented training to help learners progress to furtherlearning, apprenticeships, and employment; mosttrainees (62 percent) successfully progressed to anapprenticeship, to an employment, or to a furthereducation.

The Steps to Employment scheme also helps unem-ployed adults to access work experience and trainingin preparation for employment and further learning.Scottish learning providers offer additional skillstraining opportunities, through the Targeted Pathwaysto Modern Apprenticeships scheme, that aredesigned to help young people gain the skills to enterapprenticeships or employment. The training istargeted toward seven key sectors and programsinclude employability skills, basic occupational skills,and employer experience, and leads to a recognizedvocational qualification or certification.70

Transitions from VET to Advanced VET andHigher Education

Europe faces an ongoing demand for advanced andhigher education qualifications to address theincreasing skill requirements of employers.Opportunities to acquire VET qualifications at thehigher education level are expanding. Modern tech-nology allows using learning offers both acrossgeographic and institutional boundaries. All European

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countries participating in the Copenhagen processagreed to promote seamless education, training path-ways, stackable VET qualifications, and appropriateprocedures to recognize prior learning.Simultaneously, the EU developed competency-oriented reference instruments like the EuropeanQualifications Frameworks to promote transparencyand permeability in education and training acrosssectors and countries. In European VET policydebates, improving the permeability between VET andacademic higher education is a primary issue. Theterms, apprentice-based and school-based postsec-ondary education, are being replaced by practice-integrated learning and full-time education. Anotherdistinction is training that makes advancement in theoccupation possible and further adaptive trainingaimed at maintaining or extending vocational knowl-edge, skills, and competencies and updating them inline with technical or economic developments.71

REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS

Under the German federal VET act, regulations onadvanced VET occupations are issued by the federalgovernment (BMBF) and by competent bodies.Advanced VET entitles the holder to practice a crafttrade independently and to employ and train appren-tices. In addition, it enables access to occupation-oriented programs at craft academies and universitiesfor applied science. Trade and technical schools offercourses in the fields of agronomy, design, engi-neering, business, and social affairs, with over 160individual subjects, examined under state law. Foradmission to a trade or technical school, an applicantrequires a qualification in a recognized training occu-pation relevant to the subject and the recent workexperience concerned, or a qualification from a full-time vocational school and relevant work experienceof at least five years.72

The Swiss postsecondary professional education andtraining (PET) builds from upper-secondary levelvocational education and training (VET). It providesprofessionals with specific competencies andprepares them for highly technical and managerialpositions. There are around 400 federal PET qualifi-cations as well as 57 professional college degreeprograms in 8 different professional fields. PETprograms combine classroom instruction with work-

based training as well. The work-based component ofPET programs is realized either through an internshipor a regular job. Internships are typically for full-timestudents, especially in professional colleges, wherethey form an integral part of the program. Part-timestudents typically continue to work in regular jobsalongside their PET studies. But in this case, thestudent’s work has to be related to PET studies. Mostof the costs of PET programs are borne by companiesand by individuals.

Labor market stakeholders are remarkably well inte-grated into the Swiss PET system. The qualificationsoffered are largely determined by labor market asso-ciations. Employer and professional organizationslargely define the content of professional examina-tions as well as professional college degreeprograms. The content is determined by differentemployers in order to build consensus on a profes-sional profile.

In contrast to other education sectors in Switzerland,PET is mainly steered on the federal level. The Officefor Professional Education and Training (OPET), theresponsible federal body, carefully manages a part-nership with labor market organizations and the rela-tionship with training providers, engages in a constantdialogue with PET stakeholders, and providesstrategic leadership. The main purpose of having allthree partners involved is to ensure high quality withinthe PET system. The responsibilities of each stake-holder depend on the tasks assigned in the PET act.In areas where responsibilities overlap, the stake-holders cooperate in the specific situations andmatter at hand.73

The United Kingdom Further Education and TrainingAct amended in 2007 regulates the entry require-ments, the quality assurance, the accreditation, andthe transfer to VET oriented academic programs.Advanced VET programs build on initial VET appren-ticeship programs. Further and Higher Educationcolleges offer courses and qualifications in a widerange of vocational and academic subjects at manylevels. The colleges often are linked to companies, sothat students studying vocational courses cancombine classroom learning with valuable work expe-rience and training phases in companies.74 VET-oriented Diplomas of Higher Education (DipHE) and

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the Higher National Diplomas (HND) address areas inadministration and business, agriculture, art anddesign, bio-technology, construction, businessadministration, nutrition, chemistry, craft, environmenttechnology, health and social care, IT, mechanics, andproduct development. These qualifications provideaccess to further academic Higher Educationprograms as well. However, these qualifications arenot standardized.

Private training providers in the UK offer a wide rangeof work-based training for students seeking to buildcareers in specific industries. Private training compa-nies work with colleges and employers to providepractical training and internationally-respected qual-ifications in subjects such as engineering, construc-tion, information and communication technology(ICT), and health and social care. Entry requirementsfor these programs are the acquisition of a GeneralCertificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), aScottish National Certificates, a higher apprentice-ship diploma but also the validated recognition ofprior work-based learning.

VET at postsecondary tertiary levels can be charac-terized by an integrated system of certification andrecognition in the UK. In fact, Scottish educationpolicy aims at eliminating the distinction betweengeneral education and vocational education andtraining by unifying the whole education system.75

The VET-oriented Short Cycle Higher Educationprograms, including Higher National Certificate(HNC), Higher National Diploma (HND), Diploma ofHigher Education (DipHE), as well Certificate ofHigher Education (CertHE), are offered by universi-ties and tertiary colleges. These institutions involvesocial partner experts from chambers of industry andcommerce in the program design and are funded bythe Scottish Funding Council (SFC). The programsare partially funded by industry sector associations aswell and the programs are open for employees, whostudy part time. The program duration is between oneyear (HNC/48 ECTS) and two years (DipHE/120ECTS). They are validated and awarded by theScottish Qualifications Agency (SQA). Due to theincreased labor market demand for these advancedVET qualifications, almost all graduates were appro-priately employed within the first six months after

graduation.76

PERMEABILITY

In Germany, the increasing demand for academiccompetencies on the labor market is leading to a risein advanced apprenticeships. Dual study programsare incorporating both initial apprenticeship programsand advanced VET programs linked to universities. Inspite of the rising demand, currently only 23 percentof a typical age cohort successfully completed ahigher education program and only 2 percent ofstudents did so without university entrance qualifica-tions but with a VET diploma. In order to promote life-long learning and permeability between the twoeducation sectors in line with the EU policy objec-tives, the German government is trying to facilitate thetransition from VET to academic Higher Education byadditional measures. The aim of improving perme-ability is to make VET more attractive and to shorteneducational pathways. Since 2000 the federalgovernment and the states have funded researchprojects and appropriate instruments related to thisgoal.

The federal program “Recognition of VocationalCompetencies on Higher Education Programs”(ANKOM) focuses on the development of proceduresto identify and evaluate competencies acquired inVET and regarded as equivalent to academic require-ments in the fields of industrial technology,commerce, IT, healthcare, and social affairs. The aimis to develop transparent and transferable evaluationand offsetting procedures. Furthermore, the federalgovernment together with the state authorities and thesocial partners developed and implemented variousqualifications framework to promote transparency,comparability, and quality development of qualifica-tions. The VET sector first implemented an AdvancedIT framework in 2002 and finally published a frame-work for all advanced VET qualifications in 2014. In2011 the German Qualifications Framework forLifelong Learning (DQR) encompassed all qualifica-tions within the German educational system acrossevery field of education and training for the first time.As the national implementation of the EuropeanQualifications Framework (EQF), the DQR considersthe specific characteristics of the German educationsystem and VET qualifications. The objective is to

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make equivalences and differences between qualifi-cations more transparent and to support permeabilityto promote the mobility of learners and employeesacross sectors in Germany and toward otherEuropean countries. This competency-based refer-ence instrument tries to promote quality assuranceand development of qualifications along learningoutcomes.77

In Switzerland, progression from upper secondaryVET to PET is well regulated in pathways, allowinggraduate apprentices both to deepen their profes-sional knowledge and to acquire general entrepre-neurship and leadership skills, supporting promotioninto management positions or independent profes-sional roles. Such good articulation helps to maintainthe high status of the vocational track. PET graduatescan often compete for the same jobs as graduates ofuniversities of applied sciences (UAS) or universitiesand often cover senior management positions. TheVPET system is characterized by a highly in degree ofqualification “stackability.” A credit system keeps trackof prior education and training and makes it mucheasier for learners to pursue further education andtraining opportunities, to switch between VET andPET pathways and general education/higher educa-tion pathways, and to change the course of theirworking lives.

Learners enrolled in three-year or four-year VETprograms for the Federal VET Diploma have theoption to prepare for the Federal VocationalBaccalaureate (FVB). A preparatory course coversgeneral education subjects and those who pass theFVB examination may enroll in a Swiss university ofapplied sciences (UAS) without having to take anentrance examination. About 50 percent of studentswho earn the Federal Baccalaureate enroll in a UAS.Moreover, holders of the FVB can prepare for theUniversity Aptitude Test (UAT), which opens the wayfor enrollment at a cantonal university or at a federalinstitute of technology.

The examination for the Federal PET Diploma isintended for professionals who wish to improve theirknowledge and skills and specialize in a given fieldafter completing upper-secondary level vocationaleducation and training (VET). Successful candidatesare awarded the Federal PET Diploma, which is

generally a prerequisite for admittance to the exami-nation for the Advanced Federal PET Diploma. Thisexamination is generally for professionals who haveacquired a great deal of expertise in their field or whointend to hold a managerial position in a company.PET programs in technology, economics, design,health, and social work lead to a professional collegedegree. Professional college degree programs areintended for professionals holding the Federal VETDiploma or equivalent qualification who wish toimprove their knowledge and skills and hold mana-gerial positions. These degree programs cover abroader and more general range of topics than thoseaddressed in the two federal examinations describedabove. Successful candidates are awarded a feder-ally recognized professional college degree.

Professional organizations, structured in clusters ofindustries or occupations, cooperate with UAS to setup traineeships at the BA level similar to German dualstudy programs. A very high proportion of youngpeople transfers via apprenticeship to employment, tofurther education, or to higher education due to thewell-regulated and respected seamless pathways inthe VPET system.

Unlike EU member states, Switzerland has rejectedthe idea of a sector-based national qualificationsframework along the lines of the EQF. Instead, theSwiss government has developed a NationalQualifications Framework for VET only. The objectiveis to promote the transparency of VET qualifications,the mobility of learners and the high value of the SwissVPET system. It is intended to link all VPET qualifica-tions to the EQF, when this national reference instru-ment is accomplished.78

The UK is developing its education and training policyalong the lifelong learning parameters used by otherEU states. Graduates of advanced VET-orientedShort Cycle programs can articulate their award andtheir prior work-based learning to a Bachelor programwithout any legal or procedural problems.Permeability within and between education andtraining pathways is further supported by a crosssector qualifications framework, alignment with theEQF, and promotion of transparency and qualitydevelopment of qualifications on behalf of the indi-vidual learners, education providers, and the labor

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market.

The Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF / 8levels ) for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland andthe Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework(SCQF / 12 levels) have been developed and imple-mented for these purposes to accommodate togetherthe education and training sectors and lifelonglearning in the UK. For example, the VET-orientedqualifications for National Certificates are aligned toSCQF level 6. The Higher National Certificate(HNC), Higher National Diploma (HND), Diploma ofHigher Education (DipHE), as well Certificate ofHigher Education (CertHE) are aligned to the SCQFlevels 7 and 8.79

Outlook on Work-Based Education inEurope

Germany, Switzerland, and the UK are Europeanexamples of national apprenticeship systems that arelegally regulated on the framing and operationalaspects of VET and that are supported by publicbudgets. In Germany and Switzerland, employers andtrade unions partner with government administrationsto control VET programs. The UK is currently trying toextend the apprenticeship sector with strong govern-ment encouragement and funding. In all likelihood,the rising input of England’s nongovernmental stake-holders (e.g., employer, chambers, trade unions, etc.)will probably displace the central role of the govern-ment bureaucracy in the long run.

All three systems use variations of public-private part-nerships to deal with the challenge of organizingsustainable linkages between theory-based and prac-tice-based learning on the initial and the advancedVET level. In contrast to the dual approach ofGermany and Switzerland, which predominantlyfocuses on youth apprenticeships, most apprenticesin the UK are adults who require general educationapproaches and funding that differs from the compul-sory general education for young apprentices.

One major reason for the success of the Swiss VPETsystem and its societal acceptance is the develop-ment of seamless and robust education and trainingpathways. The permeability between VET and HigherEducation benefits the individual learners, the

economy, and the society. Furthermore, Switzerlandsupports its system with excellent education andcareer guidance and counseling by government-driven institutions.

The Copenhagen process has been a major factor inpromoting VET in European countries. VET has takena more prominent position on national policy agendasand, for many national policymakers, the BrugesCommuniqué80 on enhanced European cooperationin VET has become both an inspiration and a catalystfor reform, which set the agenda for VET in Europe by2020. To improve the quality and efficiency of VETand to enhance its attractiveness, VET should havehigh relevance for the labor market and people’scareers. In order to increase the attractiveness of VET,the Communiqué encourages participating countriesto pursue the following actions:

Raise the quality of initial VET by improving thequality and competences of teachers, trainers, andschool leaders; introducing flexible pathwaysbetween all education levels; and increasing publicawareness of the possibilities which VET offers;

Encourage practical activities and the provision ofhigh-quality information and guidance that enableyoung pupils in compulsory education, and theirparents, to become acquainted with different voca-tional trades and career possibilities;

Ensure that key competences are integrated intoinitial VET curricula and develop appropriate means ofassessment;

Organize teaching and learning activities that fosterthe development of career management skills in initialVET;

Give learners in initial VET access to appropriateup-to-date technical equipment, teaching mate-rials, and infrastructures. VET providers shouldconsider sharing costs and equipment among them-selves and in cooperation with businesses. Work-based learning in enterprises that have the relevantinfrastructure should also be promoted;

Monitor the transition of VET graduates to the labormarket or to further education and training, using

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national monitoring systems.

Furthermore, the Bruges Communiqué stresses theimportance of a long-term perspective to promoteEuropean VET. Quickly raising the number of appren-ticeship places or adapting them continuously bytrying to follow every move of the labor market will notserve long-term goals. It is important to get SMEsinvolved and committed and recent policy measuresexplicitly target them. Information outlining the bene-fits of training apprentices, combined with appropriatefinancial incentives, helps to attract small andmedium-sized businesses. But SMEs have to besupported to secure sufficient availability of qualifiedtrainers, to establish and to implement appropriatequality assurance systems, and to organize fundingand other types of support for cooperation arrange-ments with VET institutions. Finally, strong VET-busi-ness links help to stimulate entrepreneurial spirit,which can increase employment options for VETlearners. VET stakeholders see talent developmentprograms and incubators as successful ways todevelop entrepreneurial attitudes.81

European countries are currently creating orexpanding their work-based learning opportunitiesthat face challenges and constantly need to updateand develop their programs, including countries withwell-established systems. Even VET systems withlong-standing apprenticeship traditions have faced alack of good quality apprenticeship places during theeconomic downturn. Strong work-based VETsystems, as in Germany, see Lifelong Learning oppor-tunities increasingly as crucial elements to promoteVET, especially work-based learning, forward.

The European alliance for apprenticeship, establishedin 2013, gathered the main stakeholders to promoteapprenticeship schemes and initiatives acrossEurope. The alliance encourages reforming appren-ticeship systems and promotes the benefits ofapprenticeships and smart use of funding andresources. It also stimulates important players, largecompanies as well as associations and social part-ners, to commit themselves to the theme. Developingcooperation to set up or reform apprenticeshipschemes that lead to tangible results is a time-consuming process. This is illustrated by the experi-ences of the German alliances of apprenticeships,

which started at the end of 2012 with formal memo-randa with six other EU member states. It takes timeto change perceptions and mindsets, raise aware-ness, adapt existing education and training institu-tions, obtain commitment and support fromemployers, ensure that teachers and trainers haveadequate training opportunities to help them supportapprentices, and inform the choices of potentiallearners and their families.82

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The European experience and U.S. studies showinghigh earnings returns to apprenticeship are stimu-lating U.S. policymakers to endorse expanding U.S.apprenticeship. In pursuing President Obama’s goalof doubling the number of U.S. registered appren-ticeships in five years, his administration has allo-cated $100 million in competitive grants for statesand other organizations to expand apprenticeshipslots and proposed increasing the federal allocationfor apprenticeship by $2 billion over ten years.Senators Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Tim Scott(R-South Carolina) introduced a bill to provide taxcredits to employers who start apprenticeshipprograms or who increase the number of apprenticesbeyond 80 percent of their recent levels. TheLeveraging and Energizing America’s ApprenticeshipPrograms (LEAP) Act would offer tax credits of$1,000 to $1,500 a year per apprentice for up to twoyears. Republican governors Scott Walker ofWisconsin and Nikki Haley of South Carolina areenhancing state efforts to increase the take-up ofapprenticeship.

While stimulating interest among high-level policy-makers is important, the hard part is achieving resultsin the labor market, especially by increasing thenumbers of apprenticeships offered by employers.Increasing opportunities for skill development andmobility requires a strategy to move apprenticeshipsfrom an unusual activity to a mainstream approach topreparing for the workplace.

The European experience indicates the need toconfront several questions, including:

Should the apprenticeship expansion focus onyouth, including high school students?

What are the best ways to stimulate employers tohire and train apprentices?

What mechanisms can create effective skill stan-dards and maintain quality apprenticeships?

What types of government financing are most cost-effective and appropriate for apprenticeships?

What links should apprenticeships have withexisting education providers?

How can apprenticeships integrate effectively withhigher education so that the links between appren-ticeship training and universities are permeable?

Focusing on Youth

The youth focus of Germany and Switzerland conveysseveral positive lessons for the U.S. It improves thelikelihood of government funding for academiccourses related to apprenticeships. Given theconsensus that the government should fund studentsthrough secondary school, paying for the relatedinstruction of high school apprentices becomes anon-discretionary part of budgets. When apprenticesare beyond high school, government funding forrelated instruction must come out of discretionaryexpenses. The European evidence demonstrates thefeasibility of youth apprenticeships; youth are able toattain serious occupational competencies whilecompleting secondary education. U.S. policymakerstoo often think youth should go through a pre-appren-ticeship program before entering a fully-certifiedapprenticeship.

Apprenticeships in the late teenage years improvethe non-academic skills of youth at a critical time. In

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lessons For expansion in the u.s.

countries with little or no youth apprenticeship, struc-tured work experience is less common, limiting theability of youth to develop critical employability skills,such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving,and responsibility. Early apprenticeships can helpengage youth and build their identity.83 Apprenticeswork in disciplines that are interesting and new; theydevelop independence and self-confidence throughtheir ability to perform difficult tasks. Youth try outnew identities in an occupational arena and experi-ence learning in a context of production, of makingthings.

From an economic perspective, apprenticeships foryouth can be less costly for employers. Wages can belower partly because youth have fewer medium andhigh wage alternatives and partly because youth havefewer family responsibilities, allowing them to sacrificecurrent for future income more easily. While Swissfirms invest large amounts of dollars in their appren-ticeship programs, they pay their young apprenticesvery low wages during the apprenticeship period.Another economic advantage is that starting earlier inone’s career allows for a longer period of economicreturns to training.

Advising plays a critical role. European programs canuse schools to provide a central location for advisingand for helping young people seek apprenticeships.Because secondary schools reach nearly 100percent of a cohort, coverage and cost-effectivenessare likely greater for youth than for adults. Theadvising takes place for nearly all students, whichencourages learning from peers, and deals with real,high stakes choices rather than theoretical options.

Not all European systems are youth-oriented. TheEnglish apprenticeships cover a broad age group,with workers age 25 and over accounting for 37percent of starts in 2013/2014. Some employers areless willing to take chances with teenagers than withworkers in their 20s. They often prefer investing inapprenticeships for incumbent workers they alreadyknow. Occupational safety provisions may limit theability of employers to hire youth, even as appren-tices.

In the U.S. context, scaling apprenticeship with ayouth focus is difficult for other reasons. Very few of

the existing registered programs involve youth. Theaversion to tracking students too early into an occu-pational sequence is a common objection to youthapprenticeship. Importantly, high school officials aregenerally averse to adding youth apprenticeship totheir already extensive agenda, including imple-menting common core standards and school andteacher accountability standards and dealing withcharter schools and vouchers. In the early 1990s,opposition to youth apprenticeship in the U.S. camefrom unions and others who worried about erodingthe apprenticeship brand with less intensive trainingprograms.

Still, given the European experience, the U.S. shouldincorporate a youth component into efforts atexpanding apprenticeship. Currently, at least two U.S.states already operate apprenticeships at moderatescale. State government spending on youth appren-ticeship programs amounts to about $3 million inGeorgia and $2 million in Wisconsin. Although theseprograms reach only a modest share of young people,the U.S. could make a good start on increasingapprenticeship by building on the skill standards andother elements of these programs, including extensiveadvising, integration with high schools, and outreachto employers.

Engaging Employers

Of the three European countries highlighted in thispaper, the most relevant for engaging employers isEngland. German and Swiss firms have long experi-ence with and knowledge about apprenticeship;many managers and existing employees went throughan apprenticeship. English firms were less familiarwith modern apprenticeships until the late 1990s,when the government developed and started policiesto attract employers into the apprenticeship system.Given the low familiarity with apprenticeship in theU.S. among employers and the general public, expan-sion will require an extensive marketing and technicalassistance strategy.

In the case of England’s major expansion, the govern-ment turned to a combination of national and localorganizations. Among the national-oriented groupsundertaking broad-based marketing are the NationalApprenticeship Service and industry skill sector coun-

37



38



cils. At the firm level, the British government has beenproviding incentives to local training organizationsand further education colleges to persuade employersto create apprenticeships. After developing appren-ticeships with firms, the training providers and furthereducation colleges receive funding for trainingoutside the workplace. This funding is sufficient toencourage training providers to market apprentice-ships to individual employers.

A similar model could be developed in the U.S. Stategovernments could build a state marketing campaigntogether with incentives and technical support tocommunity colleges and other training organizationsto market apprenticeships at the individual firm level.However, simply marketing to firms through existingfederal and state agencies may not work if the stafflacks the marketing dynamism, sales talent, andpassion for expanding apprenticeship. Pay forperformance is recommended: technical educationand training organizations would earn revenue only foradditional apprenticeships that each college ororganization managed to develop with employers.

Every apprenticeship slot stimulated by thecollege/training organization increases the work-based component of the individual’s education andtraining and reduces the classroom-based compo-nent. Assume the work-based component amounts to75 percent of the apprentice’s learning program andthe school-based courses are only 25 percent of thenormal load for students without an apprenticeship.By allowing training providers to keep more than 25percent of a standard full-time equivalent student(FTE) cost provided by federal, state, and localgovernments in return for providing the classroomcomponent of apprenticeship, the communitycolleges and other training organizations would havea strong incentive to develop units to stimulateapprenticeships. State and local governments couldprovide matching grants to fund units within tech-nical training organizations to serve as marketing armsfor apprenticeships. The marketing effort shouldencourage government employers as well as privateemployers to offer more apprenticeships.

South Carolina’s successful example involved collab-oration between a special unit within the technicalcollege system devoted to marketing apprenticeship,

and a federal representative from the Office ofApprenticeship. With a state budget forApprenticeship Carolina of $1 million per year as wellas tax credits to employers of $1,000 per year perapprentice, the program managed to stimulate morethan a six-fold increase in registered apprenticeshipprograms and a five-fold increase in apprentices.Especially striking is that these successes—including4,000 added apprenticeships—took place as theeconomy entered a deep recession and lost millionsof jobs. The costs per apprentice totaled only about$1,250 per apprentice calendar year, including thecosts of the tax credit.

Determining Skill Standards andMaintaining Quality

Countries vary in their methods for creating skill stan-dards. Germany and Switzerland undertake thoroughanalyses and involve social partners in developingnational standards for occupations. Although nationalstandards offer a compelling way of achieving credi-bility, transparency, and mobility, the failure of theNational Skill Standards Board in the 1990s castsdoubt on the ability of the U.S. to adopt such anapproach.

Both England and the U.S. allow for a decentralizedapproach to skill standards. Within the U.S. regis-tered apprenticeship system governed by federal andstate law, companies list the individual competenciesapprentices should devote a specified number ofhours to master. The Office of Apprenticeship and/orState Apprenticeship Agencies approve the programfor registration based on the list of competencies,referred to as “work processes.” In general, thesework processes are not developed through a lengthy,collaborative process involving government, groups offirms, worker representatives, and training providers.Although Labor Department regulations mandate thatregistered apprenticeships approved and operatingwithin one state should be recognized in all otherstates, the standards are not uniform across thecountry or across firms. The ability of firms to createtheir own apprenticeship provides flexibility andspeeds the approval process compared to waitingfor a national committee to agree on a standard. Onthe other hand, the lack of national standards limitstransparency and the mobility of workers.

One complicating factor is that not all U.S. appren-ticeships, even formal apprenticeships, register withthe U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). Thus, wereskill standards for registered apprenticeship tobecome more detailed and burdensome, firms couldsimply avoid registering. On the other hand, encour-aging firms to use recognized standards will promotequality and transparency. To simplify the developmentof apprenticeship standards, a joint team from theOffice of Apprenticeship and Department ofCommerce could designate one or two examples ofquality standards in consultation with selectedemployers who hire workers in the occupation. Onceselected, the standards should be published andmade readily accessible and designated as “safeharbor” standards such that employers who use theseestablished standards would automatically be grantedregistered apprenticeship status. Workforce profes-sionals trying to market apprenticeships would havea model that they can sell and that employers canadopt and/or make modest adjustments.Occupational standards used in other countries canserve as starting points to the Labor-Commerce teamand to industry groups involved in setting standardsand in illustrating curricula.

Already, the USDOL is learning from England’s use ofkey firms in particular industries as “Trailblazers” wholead the process of defining occupations and devel-oping standards. Designated as Leaders ofExcellence in Apprenticeship Development,Education, and Research (LEADERS), the partici-pating companies are expected to share innovativepractices in their fields. In addition, they could lead theway in establishing apprenticeship completion stan-dards.

Maintaining quality control of the system is difficult.Although the government undertakes audits ofapprenticeships on occasion, programs in the U.S.are rarely subject to external party tests of thosecompleting an apprenticeship. Some European coun-tries designate non-profit bodies to assure all appren-tices meet the appropriate qualifications; Germanyrelies on the local Chambers of Commerce to under-take this testing. As the U.S. scales up apprentice-ships, the Departments of Labor and Commerceshould collaborate to undertake pilots for determiningthe most cost-effective mechanisms for testing

apprentices.

Financing Apprenticeships withGovernment Funding

Most apprenticeship programs in Europe and else-where pay all or most of the costs of the trainingoutside the workplace, typically classroom instruc-tion. England funds a large share of these costs, butthe proportions vary by age; funding for relatedtraining is only about 50 percent of costs for appren-tices over 25. As noted above, under a youth appren-ticeship approach similar to what operates inGermany and Switzerland, the public sector within theU.S. could pay for off-job classes as part of theeducational system’s universal funding for all highschool students. Emulating England would involvefinancing training through private training providersand community colleges based on the age of theapprentices.

Direct government subsidies to employers for otherapprenticeship expenses (mostly wages of appren-tices) are uncommon in European systems. In someindustries in some countries, sector bodies levy feeson all companies in the industry to subsidize compa-nies offering apprenticeships. In Switzerland, wageregulations permit employers to pay very low wages.England provides direct subsidies to small firms andfirms just starting apprenticeship programs. A fewstates within the U.S. subsidize firms offering appren-ticeships and subsidize classes at communitycolleges. Under the proposed LEAP Act noted above,the federal government would offer tax credits of$1,000 to 1,500 a year per apprentice for employersincreasing their apprenticeships beyond 80 percentof the employers’ initial number of apprenticeships.

Linking Apprenticeship with EducationProviders

The European model relies heavily on publicly fundedvocational schools (mostly at the secondary level) toprovide related training to apprentices. England usesboth public further education colleges as well asprivate training providers for this purpose. Switzerlandis especially effective in making BA level educationaccessible to those completing apprenticeships.Apprentices can progress to Professional Education

39



and Training (PET) programs, with graduates able tocompete with graduates of universities of appliedsciences for highly technical and managerial posi-tions. Learners find it relatively easy to switchbetween vocational, professional pathways andhigher education. Germany and England have alsobeen pushing for closer linkages between appren-ticeship programs and universities.

One initiative begun in the U.S. is the RegisteredApprenticeship-Community College consortium(RACC), a national network of postsecondary insti-tutions, employers, unions, and associations workingto create opportunities for apprentice graduates whomay want to enhance their skills by ultimatelycompleting an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree.College members agree to provide credit for aRegistered Apprenticeship completion certificate asrecommended by a recognized third party evaluator.RACC will create a national network of colleges andRegistered Apprenticeship programs aimed athelping apprentices complete postsecondarydegrees.

Permeability of Apprenticeships withHigher Education Degrees

Several European initiatives aim to insure that appren-ticeships integrate well with university BA programs.As noted above, the seamless way in which Swissapprentices can enter universities is one reasonSwiss apprenticeships are so popular. Efforts areunder way in other countries to ease the transitionfrom jobs after the apprenticeship into a universityframework.

Until recently, U.S. registered apprenticeshipprograms have developed few linkages with highereducation. One reason for the RACC initiative is thatcurrently, U.S. apprentices rarely earn credit from theirapprenticeships toward a two-year degree. To theextent apprentices have an easier time achieving atwo-year college degree, through RACC or otherinitiatives, their path to a BA will become less difficult.However, such indirect linkages between appren-ticeships and BA degrees are not the same as formalpathways with seamless linkages from apprentice-ships through BA and graduate programs.

One rare, possibly unique, example of such a seam-less approach is taking place between Old DominionUniversity and Newport News Shipbuilding.84

Apprentices can become students at Old DominionUniversity and combine their four year apprenticeshipwith a BA degree in mechanical or electrical engi-neering. The apprentices spend a day or two perweek in the classroom and the rest of their workweekon the job at Newport News Shipbuilding. A fewuniversities, notably Temple and Northeastern, incor-porate work-based learning into their BA programsbut without formal apprenticeships.

Insuring permeability between apprenticeship trainingand university degrees is a worthwhile long-term goal,but one that emerges only with the expansion ofapprenticeships. Still, it is not too early to try to begintaking steps to build the linkages between highereducation and apprenticeships, certificates, andlicenses that are increasingly common postsecondarycredentials.

40



The current resurgence of interest in apprenticeshipin the U.S. is welcome news. The evidence is strongthat adding a robust apprenticeship system in theU.S. can enhance skills and wages, reduce youthunemployment, raise economic mobility, increase thequantity and quality of middle skill careers, andstrengthen the U.S. manufacturing sector. The expe-rience of several European countries documentsmany of the benefits of apprenticeship systems andoffers lessons for what a large system requires. Still,moving forward will be challenging. An initiative in theU.S. in the early 1990s to develop a major youthapprenticeship system faltered for a number ofreasons.85

One quandary is that the existing U.S. apprenticeshipsystem largely reaches adults with a median age of25 and has no connections with high schools, whilethe most successful European models mainly coveryouth in their late teen years and have close linkageswith public vocational schools at the secondary level.Thus, in bringing apprenticeship to scale, the ques-tion becomes: which models of apprenticeship?

In dealing with this question, we can draw on theexample of dramatic expansion of apprenticeship inEngland. The English approach involves giving pref-erence to the youth side of apprenticeship while notexcluding adults in many age groups. From a U.S.perspective, encouraging all types of apprentice-ships, using a bottom-up approach, makes sense. Asapprenticeships increase and attract more firms,employers and training partners will learn what worksbest. Already, in South Carolina, where theApprenticeship Carolina initiative increased thenumber of firms offering apprenticeships from 90 tonearly 700 in the 2008-2014 period, severalemployers have encouraged the system to move

toward a youth focus.

One way to provide incentives to promote appren-ticeship at the youth level is to offer states incentivesto replicate existing initiatives in Georgia andWisconsin. Another is to encourage demonstrationswith Career Academies, schools within high schoolsthat have an industry or occupational focus. Over7,000 operate in the U.S. in fields ranging from healthand finance to travel and construction. Theseprograms already include classroom-related instruc-tion and sometimes work with employers to developinternships in fields ranging from health and financeto travel and construction. Because a serious appren-ticeship involves learning skills at the workplace at theemployer’s expense, the academies would be able toreduce the costs of teachers relative to a full-timestudent. If, for example, a student spent two days perweek in a paid apprenticeship, the school should beable to save at least 15 percent of the costs. Applyingthese funds to marketing, counseling, and oversightfor youth apprenticeship should allow the academy orother school to stimulate employers to provideapprenticeship slots. Success in reaching employerswill require talented, business friendly staff well-trained in business issues and apprenticeship.

To implement this component, state governmentsshould fund marketing and technical support toCareer Academies to set up cooperative apprentice-ships with employers, either using money from statebudgets or from federal dollars. The first step shouldbe planning grants for interested and capable CareerAcademies to determine who can best market to andprovide technical assistance to the Academies. Next,state governments should sponsor performance-based funding to units in Academies so that theyreceive funds for each additional apprenticeship.

41



next steps in expanding u.s.

apprenticeship

Private foundations should offer resources for demon-stration and experimentation in creating apprentice-ships within high school programs, especially CareerAcademies.

In any initiative, marketing will be critical. Jumpstartinga major expansion will require attracting largenumbers of employers. England offers a goodexample for engagement. Alongside the NationalApprenticeship Service and industry skill sector coun-cils, the British government provided incentives tolocal training organizations to persuade employers tocreate apprenticeships. A similar model could bedeveloped in the U.S. State governments could builda state marketing campaign together with incentivesand technical support to community colleges andother training organizations to market apprenticeshipsat the individual firm level. However, simply marketingto firms through existing federal and state agenciesmay not work if the staff lacks the marketingdynamism, sales talent, and passion for expandingapprenticeship. Pay for performance is recom-mended: technical education and training organiza-tions would earn revenue only for additionalapprenticeships that each college or organizationmanaged to develop with employers.

Finally, the European experience demonstrates theimportance of information, research, and develop-ment. The U.S. government should sponsor an infor-mation clearinghouse, a technical assistancecomponent, a peer support network, and a researchprogram on apprenticeship. The information clear-inghouse should document the occupations thatcurrently use apprenticeships not only in the U.S., butalso in other countries along with the list of occupa-tion skills that the apprentices master. It shouldinclude the curricula for classroom instruction as wellas the skills that apprentices should learn and masterat the workplace. Included in the clearinghouseshould be up-to-date information on available appren-ticeships and on applicants looking for apprentice-ships. The development of the information hub shouldinvolve agencies within the Department of Commerceas well as the OA.

The research program should cover topics especiallyrelevant to employers, such as the return to appren-ticeship from the employer perspective and the net

cost of sponsoring an apprentice after taking accountof the apprentice’s contribution to production. Otherresearch should examine best practices for marketingapprenticeship, for incorporating classroom andwork-based learning by sector, and for counselingpotential apprentices.

U.S. policymakers and employers are beginning torecognize the desirability and feasibility of appren-ticeship. Now, what is required is leadership at thepolicy and program levels and effective implementa-tion to begin to scale up apprenticeships at both theyouth and adult levels. Institutional change of thismagnitude is difficult and will take time. But buildinga robust apprenticeship system offers a major oppor-tunity for increasing earnings by raising the produc-tivity of workers, enhancing occupation identity aswell as career and job satisfaction, and expandingthe middle class.

42



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21 ibid.

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25 robert lerman, “expanding apprenticeship opportunities in the

united states,” in Policies to Address Poverty in the United States, ed.

melissa kearney and benjamin harris (washington, dc: brookings

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26 stefan bauernschuster, oliver Falck, and stephan heblich, “training

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27 robert lerman, lauren eyster, and kate chambers, “the benefits

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28 stephanie cellini, “For-profit higher education: an assessment of

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29 council of the eu and the european commission, “the copenhagen

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30 council of the eu (eu Vet ministers), european commission,

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31 cedeFop, “lifelong guidance across europe: reviewing policy

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32 european parliament and council of the european union,

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33 eurostat, “unemployment by sex, age and nationality,” 2015,

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43



notes

34 ibid.

35 council of the eu, “council declaration on a european alliance for

apprenticeships,” luxembourg, 15 october 2013,

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en/lsa/139011.pdf>.

36 dutch ministry of economic affairs, “the dutch technology pact,”

2014.

37 cedeFop, “attractiveness of initial vocational education and training:

identifying what matters,” CEDEFOP Research Paper no. 39

(luxembourg: publications office, 2014),

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38 cedeFop, From education to working life: the labour market

outcomes of vocational education and training (luxembourg:



39 cedeFop, “developing apprenticeships,” Briefing Note (may 2014),



apprenticeships,” luxembourg, 15 october 2013,

<http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/

en/lsa/139011.pdf>.

41 cedeFop, From education to working life: the labour market

outcomes of vocational education and training (luxembourg:



42 cedeFop, “attractiveness of initial vocational education and training:

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europa.eu/en/Files/5539_en.pdf>.

43 cedeFop, “developing apprenticeships,” Briefing Note (may 2014),


44 michael young and david raffe, “the Four strategies for promoting

parity of esteem,” in Strategies for achieving parity of esteem in

European Upper Secondary Education, ed. Johanna lasonen and

michael young (Jyväskylä: institute for educational research, 1998).

45 bmbF, Berufsbildungsbericht 2014 (bonn: bundesministerium für

bildung und Forschung, 2014).

46 cedeFop, “germany – Vet in europe,” Refernet Country Report

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47 oecd, “education at a glance. a country note (germany),” 2014.

48 martin baethge, christian kerst, michael leszczensky, markus

wieck, “zur neuen konstellation zwischen hochschulbildung und

berufsausbildung,” Forum Hochschule no. 3 (2014); bmbF,

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49 bmbF, Berufsbildungsbericht 2014 (bonn: bundesministerium für

bildung und Forschung, 2014).



51 ibid.

52 ibid.

53 ilo and world bank, Towards a model apprenticeship framework. A

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international labour office, 2013).



55 eidgenössisches department für wirtschaft, bildung und Forschung,

“berufsbildung in der schweiz,” 2014.

56 mihaly Fazekas and simon Field, “a skills beyond school review of

switzerland,” OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training

(paris: oecd publishing, 2013), <http://dx.doi.org/

10.1787/9789264062665-en>.





(paris: oecd publishing, 2013), <http://dx.doi.org/

10.1787/9789264062665-en>.



60 Felix rauner, Steuerung der beruflichen Bildung im internationalen

Vergleich (gütersloh: bertelsmann stiftung, 2009).

61 oecd, “learning for jobs,” OECD Review of Vocational Education

and Training in Switzerland (paris: oecd publishing, 2010).





(paris: oecd publishing, 2013), <http://dx.doi.org/1

0.1787/9789264062665-en>.

64 cedeFop, “uk – Vet in europe,” Refernet Country Report


65 cedeFop, “apprenticeship-type schemes and structured work-based

learning programmes in united kingdom,” Refernet (luxembourg:

publications office, 2014).



publications office, 2014).; uk government 2015).



68 uk government, “apprenticeships policy,” standard note, 20 march

2015.

69 ibid.; uk government, “apprenticeships statistics,” standard note, 25

march 2015.


(luxembourg: publications office, 2013); ilo and world bank, Towards

a model apprenticeship framework. A comparative Analysis of national

apprenticeship systems (geneva: international labour office, 2013).

71 cedeFop, “Vocational education and training at higher qualification

levels,” Research Paper no. 15 (luxembourg: publications office, 2011)

and cedeFop, “policy handbook - access to and participation in contin-

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<http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/Files/6125_en.pdf>.

72 cedeFop, “Vocational education and training at higher qualification

levels,” Research Paper no. 15 (luxembourg: publications office, 2011)

and cedeFop, “germany – Vet in europe,” Refernet Country Report


73 Felix rauner, Steuerung der beruflichen Bildung im internationalen

Vergleich (gütersloh: bertelsmann stiftung, 2009); eidgenössisches

department für wirtschaft, bildung und Forschung, “berufsbildung in der

schweiz,” 2014.

74 university of warwick, “Vet in europe, country report uk,” Review of

Apprenticeships Research (institute for employability research, 2013).



publications office, 2014).

76 Volker rein, “short cycle Qualifikationen. stellenwert im bildungs-

und beschäftigungssystem in den usa und der eu,”

Rahmenbedingungen, Qualifikationsgestaltung, Durchlässigkeit no. 158

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77 bmbF et al.,The German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong

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period 2011-2020,” 7 december 2010.

81 cedeFop, “trends in Vet policy in europe 2010-12: progress

towards the bruges communiqué,” CEDEFOP Working Paper no.16

(luxembourg: publications office, 2012), <http://www.cedefop.

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83 robert halpern, The Means to Grow Up. Reinventing Apprenticeship

as a Developmental Support in Adolescence (new york: routledge,

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84 paul Fain, “student and shipbuilder,” Inside Higher Ed., 6 april 2015,

<https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/06/old-dominion-us-

new-shipbuilding-apprenticeships-come-bachelors-degree>.

85 robert lerman, “expanding apprenticeship in the united states:

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Located in Washington, D.C., the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies is an independent, non-profit public policy organization that worksin Germany and the United States to address current and emerging policy challenges. Founded in 1983, the Institute is affiliated with The Johns HopkinsUniversity. The Institute is governed by its own Board of Trustees, which includes prominent German and American leaders from the business, policy, andacademic communities.

Building Knowledge, Insights, and Networks for the Future

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