Session Information
02 SES 11 A, Higher and Adult Education II: Transitions
Paper Session
Contribution
The relationship between higher vocational certificates and higher education certificates – in particular with regard to their usability on the job market –has been discussed in the course of the higher education structural reform and in the context of the equivalence of higher education and vocational qualifications as stipulated in Qualifications Frameworks. Competition between higher vocational education and training certificates and bachelor's and master's degrees can occur in the employment system in particular when there are similarities with regard to the demands on the activities to be performed. At the same time, complementary qualification profiles can be observed where companies tend to differentiate into different tasks and areas of work accordingly. Surveys have shown that there are differences between the industry sectors and that the company-internal personnel structure and the training activity of the companies influence the competitive relationships.
The paper presents the concept and the conclusions of a project (duration I/2016 – II/2019) carried out at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Germany. The project aims to trace typical qualification sequences and career paths in selected industry sectors (commerce, banking, logistics, tourism) and identify competition situations with academic education (bachelor's and master's degrees). The industrie sectors have been selected as career paths are traditionally open to vocational qualified employees. The usability on the job market (for example, employment status, position, income) of selected qualifications is evaluated from the companies and the individuals perspective. The theoretical background is formed by the signaling and screening approaches as well as the segmentation theory.
The main conclusion is the development of qualification profiles for vocational education and training which are perceived by companies and by individuals as an attractive and equivalent alternative to academic education.
Method
Within the project a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is used. For the examination of contents of corresponding vocational and academic qualifications a document analysis of the respective curricula was conducted under consideration of the classifications in the GQF. With this we want to assess the actual comparability of vocational and academic trainings preparing for occupational positions linked to the same level of the GQF. The examination of recruitment strategies of enterprises and the criteria relevant to them is realized by means of case studies and a company survey covering more than 800 companies. Finally a follow-up survey to the 2018 BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey of the Working Population on Qualification and Working Conditions in Germany will be carried out. This is expected to deliver insights into the usability of vocational and academic qualifications on the job market from the individual point of view. Therefore the project covers both perspectives on the value of different qualifications.
Expected Outcomes
The results of the curricular analysis in the selected sectors show target group-specific differences between vocational education regulations and selected sector-specific Bachelor / Master programmes. However, a growing number of practice-oriented and specialized bachelor's and master's programs make areas of divisiveness visible. The results of the company surveys show no general departure of companies from vocational education and training, which continues to play an important role in the recruitment of middle managers. Only a small share of the companies surveyed listed academic degrees as a prerequisite for obtaining middle management positions. But there are significant differences according to company size and industry. Large companies, in particular, are pursuing a multi-pronged strategy with differentiated entry and training models. Small and medium-sized companies rely primarily on internal recruitment channels, on vocational education and training and on dual study programs. First results show segmented areas of application in which vocationally qualified persons are more likely to hold operational management positions and academically qualified persons with formal qualifications at a comparable DQR level are more likely to hold strategic leadership positions like in project management, human resource management or controlling. It is important to clarify in the further course of the project how the current overlapping areas are due to generation-specific differences in the educational trajectories, and whether certain positions and areas of activity, which previously could be achieved by professional means, are occupied almost exclusively by academically qualified people in the next generation. The follow-up survey to the 2018 BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey of the Working Population on Qualification and Working Conditions in Germany is currently still being conducted, so that no results are yet available.
References
BAETHGE, MARTIN u.a.: Zur neuen Konstellation zwischen Hochschulbildung und Berufsausbildung. HIS: Forum Hochschule 3, Hannover 2014. - URL: http://www.dzhw.eu/pdf/pub_fh/fh-201403.pdf BOTT, PETER; HELMRICH, ROBERT; REYMERS, MAGRET; SCHÖNGEN, KLAUS: Auswirkungen der neuen gestuften Studiengänge auf die Abschlüsse in der beruflichen Aus- und Fortbildung. In: Abschlussbericht Bonn 2012. - URL: https://www2.bibb.de/bibbtools/tools/fodb/data/documents/pdf/eb_23202.pdf ELSHOLZ, UWE; NEU, ARIANE; JAICH, ROMAN: Stellenwert und Zukunft beruflicher Aus- und Fortbildungsprofile. Veränderungen in Folge der Akademisierung aus Unternehmenssicht. In: BWP, 2017 (2017) 5, S. 28-31 EULER, DIETER Gleichartig, aber nicht gleichwertig? – Überlegungen zu einer Neubestimmung des Verhältnisses zwischen Berufs- und Hochschulbildung In: MÜNK, DIETER; WALTER, MARCEL (Hrsg.): Lebenslanges Lernen im sozialstrukturellen Wandel. Ambivalenzen der Gestaltung von Berufsbiografien in der Moderne. Wiesbaden 2017, S. 39-61 SEVERING, ECKART; TEICHLER, ULRICH (Hrsg.): Akademisierung in der Berufswelt? Bielefeld 2013. SPENCE, MICHAEL: Job Market Signaling. In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87 (1973) 3, S. 355-374. STIGLITZ, JOSEPH E.: The Theory of "Screening", Education and the Distribution of Income. . In: American Economic Review, 65 (1975), S. 283-300.
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