The close connections between industry and academe, in which students simultaneously train and study, are gaining ground in the United States. Inspired by Germany's model, states are encouraging community colleges and manufacturers to work together on training programs. This offers a possible solution to a problem that continues to vex the United…

The German education system has recently come under fire with the publication of various international studies on student performance (OECD 2000; 2003). And in the first national "Education Report" (Bildungsbericht) published in October 2003 (Avenarius et al. 2003), the German ministers of education point out serious deficiencies in the…

This report updates 1979 studies of European practice in catering training and education. Section 1 provides background. Section 2 describes the structure of West German federal and state government and their respective responsibilities for vocational education and training, including the dual system of apprentice training and the role played in…

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the individual states have exclusive responsibility for publicly run education, which includes vocational schools. Responsibility for vocational training on the job rests exclusively with the federal government. The roots of vocational training are in medieval apprenticeship training and religious and industrial…

The economic upswing in Central and Eastern Europe can be achieved only with a skilled work force. In view of the traditional exemplary reputation of its dual system of vocational training, attention is being directed toward Germany. The dual system differs from that of other countries in that not only the state determines which qualifications may…