The Link between Vocational Training and Higher Education in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany

Abstract

In recent years, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have adopted different strategies to increase permeability between dual vocational training and higher education. Germany relies on the consideration of occupational competencies for higher education admission, while Switzerland and Austria have introduced double-qualification certificates that enable the simultaneous acquisition of a vocational degree and a higher education entrance qualification. Two points may be identified as the motivation for the reform impulse leading to the introduction of double qualifications in Switzerland and Austria. The first is the lack of attractiveness of the dual training system to most qualified young people; the second is the availability of attractive alternatives, such as the general upper secondary school system in Switzerland and the attractive full-time school-based VET options available in Austria. In Germany, the dual training system is already attractive to qualified young people; hence, there is less competition between the dual training system and other educational courses at upper secondary level.