Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show that the quality of learning in German apprenticeships can be increased without raising costs under certain conditions. It starts with a contextual description of apprenticeship in the dual system, showing that this insight is of central importance, since employers in Germany are increasingly…

Maintains that although Germany and England's vocational training systems both grew out of the Industrial Revolution, social and economic characteristics resulted in significantly different systems. England chose a more market driven approach while Germany relied on the authority of the central government. (MJP)

Explores the link between the established tradition of a nation's vocational training system and the specific pattern of state or government involvement in the process of skill formation. Maintains that the German government's participation in quality control and selective admission is limited and offset by other factors. (MJP)