Dual Vocational Training (Dual VT) is an educational modality that combines students training in two differentiated institutions. A theoretical-practical activity is carried out in educational centres and a productive-didactic training is carried out in companies. In this model, students acquire a set of competencies, both personal and professional, enabling them to reach a level of development in a job that will be useful to them in the process of career development and incorporation into active life (Hoeckel & Schwartz, 2010; Graf et al., 2014; Vega, 2005; Araya, 2008).
From this type of approach, the acquisition of professional skills is carried out in a real context, where productive work is linked to the learning acquired in the educational center (Delautre, 2014; Schmidt & Foster, 1997).
In the design and development of the training programmes which develop the structure established in Dual Vocational Training, several agents are involved: those responsible for the coordination of work experience in secondary schools and training coordinators in companies, institutions and organisations where work experience placements are carried out in alternation; company tutors, academic tutors in schools and students.
Dual Vocational Training has some different nuances in relation to traditional practices since, companies can adapt the academic curriculum to their training needs and also, they become institutions that provide training content with value and curricular recognition. Dual Vocational Training has a long tradition in countries such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, Holland and Switzerland, where between 40% and 70% of young people choose this training way (Euler, 2013), contributing to the increase of the highest levels of youth employment in Europe (Wolter & Mühlemann, 2015).
The path of Dual Vocational Training in Spain, so far, has been short but intense. The first pilot projects were carried out in 2011, some aspects of dual vocational training were regulated in 2012 (Real Decreto 1529/2012), and between 2013 and 2014 the number of young people enrolled in this type of vocational training is doubled (Wolter & Mühlemann, 2015).
In Spain, there is a significant separation and disconnection between the Educational System and the labour market, which makes the transitions between one to the other very difficult for people who want to join the world of work. To minimize this gap, greater coordination between the education system and the labor market is necessary, promoting from school, high school and university the acquisition and development of skills that facilitate insertion into the labor market. In short, a decided bet must be made for an education that combines training periods in educational centers and in companies (Echeverría, 2016).
Dual Vocational Training in Asturias, where this study is being carried out, is an initial experience that emerged in 2012, so research on it is essential to know its development and future prospects.
This work presents the results obtained, through a case study, on the development of Dual Vocational Training in an educational centre in Asturias (Spain) in collaboration with a multinational company in the agri-food sector that welcomes students on work experience. The main objective has been to know the development of the Dual FP modality from the point of view of the company. The reporting agents are the students and the company tutors.