Previous research on the so called “educational expansion” has focused primarily on the expansion of general and higher education from the 1960s onwards. This development is associated with an increase in skilled workers and greater equality of opportunity in access to higher education (Hadjar & Becker 2006; Criblez 2001). Our (historical) perception of this “educational expansion” is thus based relatively one-sidedly on the development of the general education part of the education system. While an “expansive phase” of vocational education and training (VET) has been identified in the sense of an institutional differentiation also from the 1960s onwards (see, Gonon & Hägi 2019; Lundgreen & Schneunemann 2008), this raises the question of the role of VET in the overall picture of educational expansion, which is particularly important for education systems that have historically made a strong distinction between general and vocational education, as is the case of Germany, Switzerland and others.

From a sociological perspective, the focus on VET lies in its possible “distraction effect” from higher education through the relative importance of VET in an overall education system context (Becker & Zangger 2013, p. 428). VET is therefore not described as an enabling factor for general educational expansion, but rather as a limiting or even a hindering one. This recognises that VET and general education have influenced each other in their development ­– through mutual competition for high-achieving students, through system differentiation-induced growth, and through the expansion of higher professional education (Criblez 2002).

In our presentation, we argue that “educational expansion” was preceded by an expansion of VET, which created the conditions for the expansion of general education. We elaborate on this by focusing on the case of Switzerland, where a comprehensive dual VET system has been established within the period under study. Using quantitative data from the Swiss federal government's apprenticeship contract statistics, which have been systematically produced since the late interwar period, this presentation focuses on the role of the expansion of dual VET since the 1940s. This development of VET has hardly been taken into account so far.

The data allow a description of the growth of VET in a differentiated manner, especially in terms of reginal, sectoral and gender-specific variations. In particular, we look at the development of participation in VET as well as the growth and composition of the supply of apprenticeship occupations. Within the framework of this development, not only the foundations for the establishment of a strong VET system in Switzerland, but also the adaptability and changeability of VET in a context of a shortage of skilled workers are reflected in this study.

Research question:

How can the educational expansion be described as a consequence of the establishment and consolidation of a VET system?

By using this approach, we will show, that the VET system in Switzerland has initially developed as a reaction to social, economic, or technical challenges since the 1930s. Because of this development, not only the foundations for the establishment of a strong VET system in Switzerland were laid, which is characterized by a systemic adaptability in a context of a shortage of skilled workers until today. It also made the development of general education possible in the first place, which is still equated with educational expansion today.

This study evaluates the apprenticeship contract statistics of the Federal Office for Industry, Trade and Labour (FOITL) for the period between 1935 and 1969. The production of such apprenticeship contract statistics already represents a significant step towards system formation in VET. The production of data requires a certain degree of institutionalization – and at the same time this data supports further system formation. Therefore, this paper takes a look at the conditions of origin, the production and use of these data. These data were previously only partially accessible and in variously aggregated form via the FOITL's annual statistical reports. The data set used for the following analysis is based on a comprehensive inventory and reconstruction of the original statistical data collection forms for the period 1935 to 1969. The data is available in full each year for the following characteristics: (1) number of candidates taking final apprenticeship examinations, (2) number of certificates of competence issued, (3) number of newly concluded apprenticeship contracts, (3b) distribution of these apprenticeship contracts in relation to prospective apprenticeship leavers over the next four years and (4) total number of apprenticeship contracts. With stratification options according to training occupation, gender, occupational group or economic sector, canton and training form, detailed trends in dual VET can be shown and various questions answered. In addition to describing changes in the production of such data, growth processes in the education system can be traced in particular on the basis of changes in the relative participation of certain groups in certain segments of the education system. By calculating relative attendance or participation rates, demographic trends can be differentiated from the relative growth of individual school types (Köhler 1984). We first focus on the development of participation in dual VET throughout Switzerland and then look at economic sector differentiations. Particular attention is paid to gender-specific growth trends. This allows a description of the growth of VET in a differentiated manner.

As a first, general result from analysing the statistical data provided, it can be stated that VET has experienced a real boom since the very enactment of the first Federal VET Act in the early 1930s due to a coherent training regulation policy. While many apprenticeships were initially still based on cantonal law, a shift towards federally regulated apprenticeships as the dominant form can be observed. Since the 1940s, an increasing proportion of school-leavers were enrolled in initial VET programmes. The FOITL thus already calculated apprenticeship attendance rates during this period based on estimates of the Federal Statistical Office for the 15-17 age group. Reconstructing these estimates over the entire period under study reveals an overall increase in the enrolment of school-leavers in VET, adjusted for demographic factors, from 30% in 1940 to over 50% in 1969. While the strongest increase relative to population growth in the corresponding age group occurred in the 1940s, the 1950s and 1960s were still characterised by slighter but more steady growth. For boys, the overall growth occurred earlier and at a higher level than for girls, for whom the growth rate levelled off at the beginning of the 1960s. We can further show that the growth occurred not only in absolute numbers, but also in quality, that is the duration of the apprenticeship: Among girls, the three-year apprenticeship replaced the two-year apprenticeship as the dominant form of VET programme in the mid-1950s. This thus indicates that dual education determined a large part of the pathways into post-compulsory education already before the expansion of higher general education, thus setting the stage for higher education's often-described strong growth from the 1960s onwards.

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