Abstract
We distinguish between social and liberal collective skill formation systems and demonstrate that the German VET system is a social system with a strong (parity) role for trade unions in its governance. In contrast, unions play a considerably weaker role in the more liberal Swiss system, which privileges employers’ interests. We show that the different position of unions in VET systems has the expected consequences on a range of indicators. We further examine why unions are less important in Switzerland and show how, after the First World War, differences in the institutional environment and power resources of the union movements set Germany and Switzerland on different paths, which are still visible today.
Highlights
Collective skill formation systems have attracted considerable attention in the literature on coordinated capitalism (Thelen, 2014)
To compare these two cases, we draw on the comprehensive database of the Organisationen der Arbeitswelt (OdA, Organizations of the World of Work) which are responsible for initial vocational education and training (VET) in Switzerland, and we demonstrate that unions play a considerably weaker role in the Swiss system
We examine the important role of unions in the German VET system, by first establishing where union representatives are located within its multilevel structure
Summary
Collective skill formation systems have attracted considerable attention in the literature on coordinated capitalism (Thelen, 2014). Cantons play an important role in implementing VET at the regional level, providing school-based training, organizing examinations, vocational counselling and monitoring firms’ training activities.
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