Implications of demographic change for vocational education and training in the EU: European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)

This report presents short-, medium- and longterm projections (with focus on the period up to 2030) of the future number of vocational education and training students and graduates, aged 15-24, in the 27 Member States of the European Union. The analysis is based on Eurostat population projections and, assuming unchanged participation and graduation rates, provides insight into the impact of pure demographic trends. The analysis reveals a falling number of young people in vocational education and training for several population scenarios. In the ‘baseline scenario’, the number of vocational education and training students at secondary, post-secondary and tertiary level decreases by more than two million between 2005 and 2030, with particularly significant decline at upper secondary level. The number of vocational education and training graduates is expected to decrease by 600 000 in the same period. The report looks at the implications of these developments on vocational education and training teachers and trainers, explores to what extent contraction of training systems capacity is likely to take place and discusses consequences for the labour market. Lastly, different policy options to address identified challenges are proposed.

Ausbildung und Einkommen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Bibliothek Weltwirtschaft Kiel C123,763 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

The socio-political significance of changes to the vocational education system in Germany

This paper explores the effects on social inequality in Germany of ongoing changes to the employment system and, thus, vocational education. Results based on an examination of the literature indicate that students from increasingly middleclass backgrounds with higher levels of general, rather than vocational, educational attainment are winning the competition for ever-fewer apprenticeships. Progress for women in education is accompanied by relative declines in men’s performance on high school exit examinations and does not translate into success in the employment system. Employers are abandoning the corporate-state organization of vocational education. The paper concludes that school degrees are increasingly important for later career opportunities. As a result, the educational system is increasingly stratified, contributing to social inequality in Germany