One of the series of German vocational education | Germany's "dual system" vocational education and the types of schools that carry out vocational education

Source:? German Handicraft Guild HWK Vocational Education Platform?

When it comes to vocational education in Germany, many people will talk about "dual system", but in fact, "dual system" is not the whole of vocational education in Germany: according to statistics, in 20 17, the number of students receiving "dual system" vocational education in Germany was 490,267, and as many as 225,590 students received so-called full-time vocational school education.

The "duality" of "duality" mainly means that learners' learning takes place in both enterprises and schools; At the same time, learners are both students at school and employees employed by enterprises. They sign education contracts provided by trade associations with enterprises and register with trade associations, so they can choose "training occupation" to study.

"Dual system" has a history of more than 100 years in Germany. It is rooted in German society, and the strong sense of responsibility from all walks of life in Germany shows the important characteristics of "dual system". Judging from the process of "dual system", with the development of technology, the business owners of manual workshops take the initiative to find the government and ask the government to set up schools to impart knowledge to students and improve product quality. At the beginning, only handicraft-related practitioners were in the "dual system" training mode, and later industrial and economic and trade majors also joined in. On the other hand, some occupations are not suitable for training in the dual system, such as health care and service-related occupations. At present, among the 328 "training occupations" in Germany, it has been listed whether the training of their professional qualifications belongs to the "dual system".

According to different occupations, the training time of "dual system" is between 2 years and 3.5 years. Training can also be completed on a part-time basis. In addition to the proof of compulsory full-time education, there is no need for other learning requirements before participating in the double training. Apprentices receive training allowances from their employers, that is, they receive wages during their apprenticeship. After the expiration of the apprenticeship, you should take the examination of trade associations and obtain relevant certificates to prove that you have the professional ability recognized by the state.

Types of Vocational Education Schools in Germany

Schools that carry out vocational education in Germany are generally called "XXX Vocational School Center", and there are several "schools" under it, which are somewhat similar to different classes in domestic vocational schools. Specifically, the "vocational school center" mainly includes the following "schools".

First, vocational schools. Specially cooperate with enterprises to cultivate "dual system" talents and obtain professional qualification certificates from industry associations (IHK or HWK).

Second, vocational schools. This kind of school specially offers majors that are not suitable for "dual system" talent training. Of course, students in vocational schools also need to go to enterprises for internships, but their time in enterprises is very short, and they are only students in schools. In addition, under special circumstances, if enterprises are unwilling to carry out "dual system" cooperation in the case of economic crisis or poor operating conditions of related enterprises, they will set up "vocational specialized schools" to replace the "dual system" of "vocational schools" for talent training, which embodies the public welfare nature of public education. Vocational school students graduated with the national vocational qualification certificate. It should be noted that vocational education schools in Germany do not issue diplomas, but only obtain relevant vocational qualification certificates.

Third, vocational liberal arts middle schools. Vocational liberal arts middle schools provide channels and opportunities for students studying on the track of vocational education to enter general higher education. Students who graduated from vocational liberal arts middle schools are welcome to enter general higher education in universities. They already have professional backgrounds.

Fourth, professional colleges. When students graduate (grade 1 1- 12), they need to continue their studies at school for 1-2 years before they can apply for a bachelor's degree or above.

Fifth, professional schools. Students work 1-2 years after graduation. According to the development needs of enterprises or individuals, you can become a trainer by studying in a professional school for two years and obtaining the corresponding undergraduate diploma (equivalent to undergraduate graduation). Such schools charge fees, which are borne by enterprises or individuals.

Sixth, the basic year of vocational education. The "basic year of vocational education" and the seventh "preparation year of vocational education" can be regarded as the transitional system of vocational education. Students want to receive dual education in an enterprise, but if there are no vacancies in the enterprise in that year, they can enter a vocational school for one year, and then receive dual education after the second year of dual education. This year, learning-oriented enterprises have decided that the dual-system learning time can be reduced by one year. In other words, students are not sure whether they like or suit a certain direction of a profession. They can also enter the "Basic Year of Vocational Education" for one year, and then determine the direction. Another possibility is that enterprises are unwilling to accept students with learning disabilities, and they can study for one year in the "basic year of vocational education" to lay the foundation. This fund is paid by the government.

Seventh, the year of preparation for vocational education. After graduating from high school, if students' grades are not good, they must enter the "preparatory year of vocational education" to study a simple occupation, so that they can go to society or receive formal vocational education, which has the nature of compulsory education.

It should be noted that there is no distinction between "secondary vocational education" and "higher vocational education" in Germany, and vocational education only aims at cultivating vocational qualifications (consistent with the concept of lean production management), and only meets the requirements of middle school graduation grade when entering school. In Germany, China's so-called "vocational education at undergraduate level" is classified into the higher education system, and its higher education includes: research universities (mainly training masters and doctors, but few undergraduates), universities of applied science and technology (mainly providing undergraduates and masters to train innovative engineers) and vocational colleges (undergraduate level, mainly training domain engineers).