This Paper aims to present the Swiss VET system and its developmental dynamics and to integrate it into the international theory debate on the institutional form of VET. This latter objective is especially relevant because the Swiss VET system is little known internationally. Internationally, the Swiss VET system is considered a Dual System based on the apprenticeship model. Characteristics of such a system are the two places of learning, i.e., the school and the firm, and the joint control and regulation by the social partners, i.e., economy and state. From this perspective, Switzerland is frequently seen as a variant of the German model of VET, which is internationally considered to be exemplary and a role model with regard to reforms, mainly due to such performance figures as low youth unemployment rate, higher degree of integration of youths into both vocational and general education, facilitated school to work transition, and generally high level of professional qualification of skilled workers. While this paper will partly confirm this commonly held view, some aspects of it will be scrutinized, resulting in the presentation of a more differentiated view. Furthermore, development perspectives of the Swiss VET system will be discussed, based on the understanding of the Swiss system as dependent on corporate actors and rooted in long established traditions. Swiss VET system is a flexible system which is still capable of integrating a majority of youths in VET and which thereby contributes significantly to social integration. Flexibility in VET systems is tied to an institutional logic, which in turn depends on nationally and locally grown structures (Nijhof/Heikkinen 2002: 11). A major factor adding to the flexibility of the system is its rootedness in the various cantonal educational and economic systems, since the large number of different cantonal systems brings about an equally large number of regulatory and institutional variants and a consequent "network-like constellation of actors" (Mayntz/Scharpf 1995: 63). THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SWISS VET SYSTEM AND RELEVANT ACTORS ON THE NATIONAL AND CANTONAL LEVEL The perspective outlined above will now be applied to the Swiss VET system. The fact that there are some considerable differences between the national varieties of dual VET systems is rarely acknowledged in the debate on VET models. Moreover, there are differences not only between the national models, but we can also find variation within the individual systems, in particular with regard to their development (cf. Hasfeld 1996). The Swiss VET system is thus not just a small scale version of the German system (cf. Bierhoff/Prais 1997; Borkowsky/Gonon 1998), and even within Switzerland there are considerable institutional differences between the cantons. The differences between the language regions play a major role in this regard. For example, unlike in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, in the French-speaking part apprenticeship workshops and school-based vocational education are much more common than the apprenticeship model. Similarly, the Italian-speaking part is characterised by a greater importance of general education compared to vocational education (cf. Wettstein/Lauterbach 2002). This paper aims to explain the dynamics and flexibility of the Swiss VET system on the basis of its internal diversity, and to reconstruct these peculiarities of the Swiss system with reference to decisions, volitions and measures of central actors in the field of VET. The regulation patterns depend on institutions and actor constellations. The development and advancement of institutional patterns are explicable by contingent historical events and consequential event chains; similarly, these patterns can be made visible by an analysis of the options chosen by VET actors in situational interactions (Schimank 2004). Such actions and decisions are path-dependent in that they reinforce established structures and marginalise alternative courses of action. Having said that, path-dependencies do not amount to predetermination, and changes in the established courses of action are possible, for example, there is certainly scope for reforms in the context of interdependent actor constellations (Beyer 2005; for VET, cf. Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia 2005). Institutional change is consequently an indication and the result of the actors' practices following from their concrete options for action. In the actors' micro-political dealings, they negotiate their perception of problems against established norms, reciprocal expectations and power constellations. In order to understand the formation and development of the Swiss VET system, the legislation and institutional reorganisation on the level of regions, cantons and the Federation need to be taken into account. In path-dependent theories, a system's point of origin is obviously of great importance. In the context of VET in Switzerland, such a point of origin can indeed be identified on the national level: it arises from the first legal documents and the actions taken with respect to the earliest decisions on the support of vocational educational establishments and on the regulation concerning the training of master craftsmen. The development of VET systems can be described along the perspective of systems development, in particular as the integration and differentiation of the different concerns of the involved actors.The development and future perspectives of VET in Switzerland can be portrayed using such an actor-centred perspective over three periods. From this historical perspective, shifts of power and influence between the various actors and reassessments of the institutional arrangements become obvious. The role of the cantons has been strengthened by the stronger connection of VET to the educational system; the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology has also gained in influence, while the Federation of Swiss Trade Unions has lost some of its predominance. In the Swiss educational system, the domain of VET is the only one which - due to its initial economic-political motives - is controlled by the Federation, yet is nevertheless based on a distinct self-organisation of its actors. While the legislation of the educational system and the curricula of vocational schools are a federal matter, the presence of apprenticeships and the institutional diversity differ according to cantonal traditions, cultural background and industrial sector (cf. Amos/Rastoldo 2002; Mägli 1989). These differences furthermore depend on the readiness of firms to take on apprentices and on the degree of acceptance of the general education system, in particular the Matura schools, by young people and their parents. 1. Flexibility and the ability to reform depend on institutional diversity and on the actors' ability to organize themselves. A reason for the high degree of flexibility of the Swiss VET system can be found in the leeway given to the relevant actors to implement a range of solutions specially adapted to the local circumstances. 2. The actors in the Swiss VET system stand up for the significance and importance of VET and act consensually across cantonal borders. Successful implementations of measures in the area of VET are communicated beyond the respective canton and are indeed reproduced in different contexts.