For about twenty years now there has been an increasing discussion in Germany on ‘new learning methods’ in VET. Initial training in companies should follow the didactics of ‘action orientation’ and lead apprentices to the development of holistic ‘action competence’. Previous practices, like they were used in the crafts i.e., do not seem adequate any longer. Within the EU-context of lifelong learning teachers and trainers play a key role. New ways of training for teachers and trainers and further professionalisation are a priority in order to cope with the demands of the knowledge society. The main VET discourse is characterised by stressing the rapidly changing nature of technologies and work processes in the knowledge society, thereby openly challenging the authority of the trainer in his/her particular domain of professional expertise. It primarily relies on acquisition models of pedagogy promoting a “changing role” of the trainer – now primarily functioning as learning facilitator and guide and less as an (allegedly authoritarian) instructor/teacher. This has impacts on the corresponding master-apprentice relation which need further attention. Within the discussion about apprenticeship learning various models can be discerned: - traditional apprenticeships with underwritten strong theories of transmission (Gamble), based on the concept of mastery - constructivist social learning approaches like situated learning, legitimate peripheral participation (Lave/Wenger) with a decentered view of the master as pedagoge - the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition from novice to expert (Dreyfus/Dreyfus) - the concept of workprocess knowledge by Rauner et.al. The paper wants to explore different concepts of apprenticeship learning used and compare them with regard to the function of the trainer and his/her relation to the apprentice.

Desk research: discourse analysis of policy documents, educational material and theoretical models (research literature)

The idea of the 'changing role' of the trainer runs the risk of becoming an empty concept. The main discourse usually relies on dichotomies that are not actually useful for the practice of the people concerned. A thorough reflection about the assumptions underlying the concepts commonly used should help to better integrate traditional ways of doing with new methods. The overview should help to search for an adequate concept of the function of trainers that can inform contemporary debates.