Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Skill Formation
- 1 Skill Formation: Interdisciplinary and Cross-National Perspectives
- PART ONE CROSS-NATIONAL DIVERSITY IN SKILL FORMATION REGIMES: ORIGINS, CHANGES, AND INSTITUTIONAL VARIATION
- PART TWO THE ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY OF SKILL FORMATION: ACCESS, INVESTMENTS, AND RETURNS TO TRAINING
- 4 Why Does the German Apprenticeship System Work?
- 5 What Do We Know About Training at Work?
- 6 Qualifications and the Returns to Training Across the Life Course
- 7 Lack of Training: Employment Opportunities for Low-Skilled Persons from a Sociological and Microeconomic Perspective
- PART THREE INDIVIDUALS' ACQUISITION OF SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES: LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND MEASUREMENTS OF SKILLS
- Index
- References
4 - Why Does the German Apprenticeship System Work?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Skill Formation
- 1 Skill Formation: Interdisciplinary and Cross-National Perspectives
- PART ONE CROSS-NATIONAL DIVERSITY IN SKILL FORMATION REGIMES: ORIGINS, CHANGES, AND INSTITUTIONAL VARIATION
- PART TWO THE ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY OF SKILL FORMATION: ACCESS, INVESTMENTS, AND RETURNS TO TRAINING
- 4 Why Does the German Apprenticeship System Work?
- 5 What Do We Know About Training at Work?
- 6 Qualifications and the Returns to Training Across the Life Course
- 7 Lack of Training: Employment Opportunities for Low-Skilled Persons from a Sociological and Microeconomic Perspective
- PART THREE INDIVIDUALS' ACQUISITION OF SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES: LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND MEASUREMENTS OF SKILLS
- Index
- References
Summary
Competitiveness and performance of national economies is inherently linked to the productivity of their workforces. Some of this productivity is created by full-time primary, secondary, and postsecondary education. A significant part is built up later when workers participate in the workforce. With strong complementarities between technology and skills, training and education is now being considered as a key factor in global competitiveness. Industrialized countries seek to improve, and are willing to substantially invest in, their education and training institutions.
Only recently, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment study has led to critical scrutiny of primary and secondary education systems in those countries that achieved relatively low scores, and triggered a wave of research and reform suggestions (see, e.g., Fertig & Schmidt, 2002; Fertig, 2003). At least equally important are postsecondary education schemes. Although primary and secondary education provides skills that are largely general and provide mostly academic knowledge, postsecondary schemes are tailored toward specialization, and often toward provision of skills that are specific to the needs and requirements of particular labor markets.
There are large differences between postsecondary education systems across industrialized countries. For instance, in the Anglo-Saxon countries, postsecondary education is usually state provided, through universities, colleges, and vocational schools. There is some concern about the emphasis on the academic bias of this system, with school-based vocational training schemes and specialized colleges not being able to provide workers with the “hands-on” skills the labor market requires.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Skill FormationInterdisciplinary and Cross-National Perspectives, pp. 85 - 108Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
References
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