Dual Apprenticeships in Spain – Catalonia: The Firms’ Perspective

Abstract

This article analyzes the motives for firms providing apprenticeship training in Catalonia and the reasons why other firms do not provide such training. In light of the recent introduction of dual apprenticeships in the formal education system in Spain, a country with a traditionally school-based vocational education and training (VET) system, Catalonia constitutes a relevant case for analyzing firms’ training motives in newly established training systems. We analyzed the statements of about 800 Spanish companies in Catalonia who participated in the study. These included both companies that provide training and those that do not. The results show that companies perceive dual training more as an activity to ensure the supply of skilled workers in the future and less as a means to profit from the apprentices’ productivity. Large firms are especially able to better integrate initial training in their continuous training process and to make use of positive synergies. The reasons for the absence of training have more to do with a lack of knowledge about the dual apprenticeship program than with a fear of losing investments in human capital. The results of this article provide relevant contributions to the discussion about the implementation of dual apprenticeship systems in countries with a different framework of conditions as opposed to those countries with established dual apprenticeship systems. Moreover, they provide relevant insights for the development of policies to foster firms’ provision of dual apprenticeships.