The Success of Apprenticeships

16German Dual Training through Apprenticeships: An Exportable Model?

16.1. Introduction

This chapter recalls the characteristics and specifics of the German apprenticeship model. It presents eight conditions and criteria that the work environment should fulfill to make this model work. We use examples from empirical studies carried out in the United States, Mexico and China to illustrate the actions that large German companies are taking in their foreign subsidiaries to transfer their model to other national environments.

The German dual vocational training system, which can be considered one of the pillars of the German human resources management model, has often been described in France as a successful model to be emulated. In terms of professional integration, the German vocational training system is a success that has few equivalents in Europe. However, this model seems difficult to export as it exists in a different national context and only seems to be able to function in a specific institutional and cultural environment. Recent studies focus on the conditions necessary for the successful transfer of the German apprenticeship model to other countries, particularly to subsidiaries of German multinationals. Empirical studies have been conducted in China, the United States and Mexico by collaborators of the ITB (Institut für Technik und Bildung) of the University of Bremen and other German researchers. First, we will present the contemporary characteristics and challenges ...