Evaluación de la calidad en la Formación Profesional Dual: desarrollo y validación de una herramienta digital basada en EQAVET e ISO 21001

Dual Vocational Education and Training (dual VET) has become an important educational model across Europe, although it is implemented in significantly different ways and remains a minority educational pathway in most countries. Previous research highlights that the capacity of dual VET models to resolve social and economic challenges requires a high degree of involvement and coordination of social partners. This article explores the role played by trade unions and employer organisations in the governance of experimental ‘dual VET systems’ under Southern statist skill formation regimes where social partners play a comparatively less institutionalised role in providing skill formation – namely, Greece, Portugal, and Spain. In doing so, the article draws on a systematic governance approach which distinguishes three governance levels (political-strategic, technical-strategic, technical-operation) and combines desk research (specialised literature, policy documents, institutions’ legal statutes, etc.) and fieldwork (key informant interviews). The article shows that the three countries have each developed some collective responses to ‘dual VET’ and, accordingly, cannot be assessed as strictly or exclusively statist governance models. At the same time, the article illustrates interesting cross-country differences across the three governance levels.

From the incorporation of the Dual Vocational Educational Training (dual VET) in the Spanish educational panorama in 2012, and in the midst of the economic and financial crisis, this dual VET educational scheme has been a political priority of national and regional governments, who see it as a strategy for socioeconomic growth, employability, and youth entrepreneurship framed under an educational sustainability model. Despite the growing number of companies involved in the scheme, this model of educational training has not been free of debate and controversy. This study focuses on the autonomous community of Andalusia with the objective of identifying—using a complementary methodological perspective—the key factors that condition the successful implementation of dual VET in this region based on the experience of three educational centres and the opinions of those educators involved. Some of the weaknesses of dual VET identified in the autonomous community include the ambiguity of regulations, budgetary sustainability, governance models, the relationship between the training offered and industry, the involvement of companies, and the recognition of the teaching staff involved.

Dual vocational education and training (dual VET) is a recent policy aimed at establishing strong connections between the education system and the business sector. It serves to ensure the continuity of training, reduce early school leaving, and actively involve the business sector in the training and qualification of students, known as apprentices. Consequently, this approach has a favourable impact on their successful integration into the labour market upon completion of the dual training program. In this study, we investigate the implementation of dual VET in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, focusing on the higher-level training cycle of early childhood education, which falls under the professional family of sociocultural and community services. Through a thorough analysis of interview accounts involving various stakeholders, we shed light on the outcomes of this policy’s implementation. The findings suggest that this emerging policy may have a positive impact on the employability of young individuals by enabling in-company training, which provides them an opportunity to showcase their vocational skills and to combine practical experience with theoretical knowledge. Work mentors are identified as essential contributors to the success of in-company training, as they help foster the necessary capabilities to ensure that dual VET is perceived as a comprehensive training experience rather than as just work experience.

This study examines the development of global competence within Dual Vocational Education and Training (Dual VET) systems through a comparative analysis of Spain and China’s implementation strategies. As globalization intensifies demand for internationally competent technical professionals, vocational education systems must adapt to cultivate students’ intercultural communicative competency, technical proficiency, collaborative ability, and global awareness. Spain’s Dual VET system, integrated within European Union frameworks since 2012, demonstrates systematic approaches to global competence development through competency-based curricula, multilevel progression structures, multi-stakeholder governance models, and extensive international workplace training opportunities. In contrast, China’s Dual VET implementation, despite over forty years of German model adaptation, remains primarily project-based with limited systematic coverage and government-dominated governance structures. Through comparative analysis across legal frameworks, social partner involvement, curriculum design, and international mobility mechanisms, this research identifies key success factors from Spain’s experience and examines their transferability to China’s context. The findings reveal that effective global competence development requires systematic integration rather than isolated interventions. Strategic recommendations for China include developing competency-based standards, establishing balanced industry-education collaboration councils, and implementing comprehensive international mobility frameworks through regional pilots. This study contributes to international discourse on Dual VET globalization by demonstrating adaptation strategies that preserve institutional integrity while leveraging proven international practices for enhanced global competence development.

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have traditionally provided a large proportion of their workforces with qualifications obtained in the dual vocational training system. However, due to the growing demand for abstract and codified knowledge, all three countries aim at increasing the permeability and individual mobility between the dual training sector and the higher education system. In this chapter we analyse the ways in which Germany, Austria and Switzerland have tried to establish institutional linkages between dual vocational training and higher education. We begin by discussing options for creating such linkages: (1.) upgrading of vocational education and training courses, (2.) introducing dual courses of study, (3.) facilitating attendance of general upper secondary schools for people with vocational qualifications, (4.) enabling the parallel acquisition of a dual vocational training qualification and a higher education entrance qualification, (5.) allowing admission to higher education on the basis of prior dual vocational training qualifications and a certain amount of work experience, and (6.) recognising prior learning as an element in higher education programmes. Our analysis shows that, recently, Germany has relied strongly on the admission to higher education based on vocational training certificates in combination with work experience. Switzerland and Austria are rather pushing the comprehensive introduction of programmes that enable the parallel acquisition of a dual vocational training qualification and a higher education entrance qualification. Finally, we raise questions about the risk of institutional ambiguity and institutional task overload.KeywordsDual vocational trainingHigher educationPermeabilityInstitutional change

Purpose This article explores the perceptions of professionals on the implementation and impact of Dual Vocational Training (Dual VET) in the Spanish education system. Design/methodology/approach The study involves interviews with various professionals in the education and employment sectors and two discussion groups. Findings Results reveal positive views on Dual VET’s ability to enhance employability and reduce the education-to-employment gap. However, challenges like the involvement of small and medium enterprises and the need for continuous curriculum evaluation and adaptation are recognized. Additionally, the study highlights a lack of acknowledgment of antecedent programs to Dual VET, despite their recognition by experts as highly influential in facilitating the school-to-work transition for young individuals. Originality/value The study emphasizes the importance of promoting awareness among stakeholders and emphasizes the role of collaboration between educational institutions and the business sector to ensure Dual VET’s success in Spain.

This thesis adds empirical evidence to the growing literature on dual VET using Switzerland as a case study. The first chapter examines lower-secondary education students’ occupational choices upon entering dual VET. I show that it is possible to provide those students with low-cost personalised information that expands the set of occupations they consider. The second chapter examines whether having done dual VET as a first career step is beneficial for higher education graduates entering the labour market. Our findings indicate that dual VET is beneficial right after graduation. The operating channels are human capital, screening and signalling. The third chapter examines how a reduction in firms’ hiring costs influences firms’ provision of apprenticeship positions. Our findings show that the impact is very small on the number of apprenticeship positions having no effect on the probability of providing apprenticeship positions. The fourth chapter examines whether young people in countries with VET pathways have a smoother transition onto the labour market. We find that mixed education systems that include both general education and VET are best. Depending on the circumstances, dual VET is preferable over school-based VET. Overall, the evidence in this thesis supports strengthening dual VET in a country’s education system.

In Spain, dual vocational training has recently become a fundamental pillar to train the working population. This article focuses on two objectives: to evaluate the quality of two models of dual VET in Spain and to identify their differences in terms of the following dimensions: Teaching Team, Process, Evaluation and Synergies. To achieve these objectives, a quantitative methodology and a cross-sectional design were used to collect data using an ad hoc questionnaire (37 items) developed based on a literature review and the 14 European quality criteria. The sample consisted of 263 educational institutions. Regarding the results for the first objective, Model B implemented EQAVET with higher quality. With regards to the second, researchers observed that all dimensions received a high or very high compliance of 70%. However, discrepancies were primarily found in the training of tutors in training centres, quality certification of dual VET and links, and support and cooperation between training centres and companies. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the factors that lead to higher quality dual VET in schools, based on the manner in which the criteria of the European Framework for Quality and Effective Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET) are implemented.

This paper proposes a new approach to measuring changes in the social status of education programmes, a type of social status that the literature has greatly neglected so far. We focus on the dual Vocational Education and Training (dual VET) system in Switzerland, which has recently received substantial attention across Europe. We argue that, holding everything else constant, a change in the relative ability of students in an education programme, in relation to the cohort, reflects a change in the social status of that programme. Using PISA scores as a proxy for cognitive ability, we apply this approach to test whether growing knowledge of the education system increases the social status of dual VET in Switzerland. Our results, which focus on immigrant students, confirm that the social status of dual VET increases with these students length of stay in Switzerland, thus reflecting their learning process about the Swiss education system.

Dual Vocational Training was introduced in Spain in 2012 with the purpose to reinforce training based on employment requirements and to promote youth employment within the labour market. Since its implementation, there has been continuous growth of the presence of this modality across every Autonomous Community, with Andalusia being one of the latest regions to dualize the Vocational Educational Training (hereinafter VET) educational scheme. From the outset however, this modality has faced a number of obstacles that question its sustainability. Without losing sight of these obstacles, and with the purpose of providing arguments that justify the suitability of this model in Andalusia, this study aims to identify—from the unique perspective of three Andalusian educational institutions—the strengths of this modality and the opportunities that the Andalusian context offers. To this end, we have used the SWOT technique to analyse the opinion of a group of teachers regarding their thoughts on the Andalusian Dual VET system, from both an internal and external perspective. Workforce insertion and the quality of skills gained through training are some of the strengths that characterize this model, with the greatest opportunities derived from the needs of the Andalusian business and productive sectors. Based on the scenarios drawn, we have suggested a number of guidelines to capitalize on some of the identified strengths and take advantage of the opportunities observed.

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) has become a key issue in today's highly dynamic business, technological and economic environment, with a complex diversity of systems within the European Union. This paper aims to study the implementation of dual VET in Spain, focusing on the working conditions of company tutors in the tourism sector of Andalusia and the Canary Islands.Approach: Dual VET has been implemented in different ways, both between the different autonomous regions and professional areas since it was launched in 2012. In order to analyse these differences, interviews with teachers, head teachers, students and company tutors were carried out, between 2020 and 2021, in centres that had implemented dual vocational education training and centres that had not. The educational programme in dual VET implies a closer collaboration between schools and companies, as both are active training areas; the training objectives are shared between the school and the company. In this study, the company tutor is studied in his or her facet as trainer and assessor; but special emphasis is placed on the characteristics of the tourism sector, given its relevance in understanding the educational processes involved. Three dimensions underpin the analysis: the characteristics of the company tutor, the training and assessment processes implemented and the link that both maintain with the dynamics of tourism companies.Findings: In general terms, the initial assumptions put forward are confirmed. Firstly, the educational centre leads the process, taking the initiative yet without having the conditions of governance and negotiation typical of the Germanic countries from which these vocational education training systems originate. Secondly, the main characteristics of the company tutor are heterogeneity and informality. Thirdly, the contents and methodology are conditioned by the characteristics of the tourism sector. And finally, assessment also follows informal and changing procedures, generating tensions between the educational centre and company.Conclusions: These results give rise to some theoretical reflections. If the education system is an institution based on the principle of equality, it is worth asking to what extent dual VET can alter this principle, as the company adapts some of the contents and learning outcomes to its specific needs. In addition, an important differentiating factor that marks the learning dynamics has been detected: the size of the company. The difference in size may also influence the future prospects of trainees joining the workforce after completion of VET studies.

Dual vocational education and training (dual VET) provides students with the opportunity to receive their trainings in real working conditions, whilst also getting paid for their work. The Hungarian system, based on the German model, was (re)introduced in Hungary on 1st September 2012. Present dissertation intends to analyse problems related to the launch of the dual VET. It focuses on identifying connections between the prevalent low level of motivation and poor social conditions of the students of mechanical engineering and vehicle industry professions in particular. This research relies on qualitative research methods throughout the analysis of the abovementioned questions. The connections between low level of motivation and poverty are further influenced by a number of other factors as well, such as the rapidly changing legal environment, prevailing and worsening social problems, as well as by certain internal and external economic elements. The dissertation also reflects on these factors from the perspective of the affected individuals, who participated in the research. Connections between poverty and low motivation are far from being evident; in addition to the financial situation and the family background (the role of which is again not evident) plenty of other factors also play a role. Such factors include the place of living, the age of the students, earlier school performance, the commitment of the teachers, the level of equipment provided by the school and the company. Additionally, the extent to which the teachers and instructors are able to take into account the age-related demands and feelings of the students is also of high importance. At first, the old-new vocational education and training system that is based on the cooperation of the state and private economic actors appears to be a clear success. However, this accomplishment in fact occurs rather as a result of the strong governmental will, than that of the successful implementation of the model. The success of the dual VET system - together with the vehicle production industry that is crucially important for Hungary -, depends on whether efficient solutions for the problems affecting the dual VET (including the low motivation of the students) are found in the near future.

Portugal has been referred as one example of lower levels of integration of social partners in the governance of education and training systems (Sanz de Miguel, 2017). There is lack of research about the effectiveness of the governance of the only program close to the Dual VET concept: the Apprenticeship system. A pilot project of Dual VET ran from 2012 and terminated in 2016 without substantial evaluation. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the role social partners have in the governance of the existing Portuguese Apprenticeship system. We carried out extensive review of the scientific and grey literature about Dual VET for youngsters in Portugal, as well as database queries to official statistical sources. Our research reveals a complex formal role: The employment agency IEFP provides funding for Apprenticeship and negotiates with the main social partners the allocation of the Single Social Tax for its regional centres. Indirectly, many social partners are formally involved in the general VET governance participating in various coordination and monitoring structures of the National System of Qualifications and other regulatory agencies (IEFP and ANQEP). In this article we also discuss possible causes for the failure of the pilot Dual VET, which took effect within the scope of a curricular review of the primary and secondary education.

Spain’s dual vocational training model was designed to promote employability and improve qualification levels among young people. Subsequent regulations have sought to strengthen the links between companies and VET providers, and to increase the work-based learning component. As such, one of the key successes of the programme has been to promote the exchange of knowledge between these labour market partners and educational institutions. This process also benefits employers by delivering training that is suited to their needs (JP Morgan Chase & Co, 2016[6]). Participation in dual vocational training has increased as the quality and programme offer have improved, and young people have become more aware of the advantages of dual education. By 2016, 24 000 students in 10 000 companies were involved in dual education, an increase from 4 292 students and 513 companies in 2012/13. However, dual education still represented only 3% of VET students enrolled in dual training in 2016/17 (Sancha and Gutiérrez, 2019[7]).

Dual vocational education and training systematically combines the learning of apprentices (in vocational schools) or students (in applied universities) with the ‘learning venue’ of the company. The dual vocational education and training exists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and stands for regional competitiveness as well as for job opportunities of young people on the local labour market. Outside of these three countries, the dual system hardly exists, but dual practices are subject of international skill transfer policies. While this transfer is well researched, it is hardly known to what extent (in mirror image) subsidiaries of foreign companies take part in the dual system of German speaking countries. This question was examined, by focussing on subsidiaries of multinational companies in Germany. Theoretically, the contribution relates to research on local knowledge bases and the embeddedness of foreign subsidiaires. The study pursues a qualitative method. The results show that the local training managers have freedom for decision-making and use this in favour of getting involved in dual vocational education and training. However, the effort turns out to be high. Dual activities take place primarily as a strategy for adapting to the institutional environment, not as a way of shaping the environment. The local stakeholders are mostly reactive in this regard. This points to possible future fields of research on local knowledge bases and local embeddedness and, with regard to practice, to the relevance of mutual coordination.