Traditionally, the road to good jobs for young persons in West Germany has been the "dual system" of vocational education and training (VET), similar to apprenticeships in the United States, but practiced on a much wider scale. A large percentage of West German youth usually enter such programs after high school in order to prepare for…

One focus of a year-long study of West German apprenticeship was the conditions that are most supportive of learning on the job. The study design incorporated two distinctions that the Germans consider critical: manual versus white-collar occupations and size of training firm. Two occupations were studied--auto mechanic and…

This is a report on the work of the ERFA-industry, an informal association in the Federal Republic of Germany for the exchange of information on language laboratory teaching in commerce and industry. Learning conditions in schools are contrasted to those in industrial courses, as are learning objectives and teaching materials and methods. The use…

A longitudinal study is being conducted to assess the occupational activities and aspirations of young people trained in West Germany's "dual system" of apprenticeship and part-time jobs. Baseline data were gathered from 21,000 students, and approximately 10,000 of them were contacted one and one-half years later. The sample population…

The present form of vocational education in the Federal Republic of Germany with its origins in trades and crafts of the Middle Ages has existed since the 1920s. Only in 1969, however, did comprehensive legislation declare company vocational training within the sphere of state responsibility, give unions participation rights in determining…