Various developments and so-called megatrends are influencing the world of work in Europe and therefore vocational education and training (VET). Examples of these transformations include technological innovations, the use of artificial intelligence, the shortage of skilled workers in certain industries and professions, demographic shifts, the increasing heterogeneity of society and the rise in mental illness among young people. As a result, the conditions and requirements in the world of work are changing and apprentices, host companies and VET itself are under pressure to change too. Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic intensify these changes and the associated challenges. Consequently, apprentices are confronted with higher demands, e.g. with regard to the acquisition of transversal competencies (Barabasch & Fischer, 2023; International Labour Organization [ILO], 2021). Host companies are supposed to take these changing demands into account in VET. So, they are expected to develop and implement innovative, future-oriented and attractive teaching-learning arrangements that meet these changing requirements, e.g. by also addressing the strengthening of transversal competencies (Deutscher et al., 2024; Raemy et al., 2023). The relevance of transversal competencies in VET is hardly questioned in the current discourse on this topic. According to this, transversal competencies have the potential to ensure the (future) ability of apprentices to act, even against the backdrop of complex challenges and rapidly changing conditions in their professional and private lives (Barabasch & Fischer, 2023; García-Álvarez et al., 2022; ILO, 2021; Scharnhorst & Kaiser, 2018; Ziegler, 2022).

Despite the absence of a universally accepted definition for transversal competencies, there is a consensus that they are competencies that "lie across subject areas or contexts" (Scharnhorst & Kaiser, 2018, p. 5). Once developed, these competencies help individuals to cope with situations of uncertainty and disruption in both their private and professional lives (ILO, 2021; Scharnhorst & Kaiser, 2018). Although there are different categorisations and lists, the literature usually includes personal, social and methodological competencies among the transversal competencies (Veiga, 2022).

However, there is less consensus in the literature regarding the question of how transversal competencies can be effectively and efficiently strengthened as part of VET (Brassler & Dettmers, 2017). One problem identified is the challenge of differentiating transversal competencies from job-specific competencies, which makes it difficult to strengthen them (Scharnhorst & Kaiser, 2018). For this reason, concepts for strengthening transversal competencies are often linked to job- and situation-specific competencies, which makes it difficult for apprentices to transfer them to other contexts. In addition, existing approaches tend to focus on single transversal competencies, such as critical thinking (Freidorfer & Kraus, 2023) and develop teaching-learning arrangements to strengthen only these. This leads to a range of pedagogical and didactic approaches, some of which are difficult to combine. The development of a comprehensive and coherent didactic concept for strengthening transversal competencies that takes into account the specific characteristics of these competencies and integrates them into different teaching-learning arrangements, therefore represents a major challenge.

With the help of such a coherent didactic approach to strengthen transversal competencies, it can be ensured that the development of these competencies can be optimised at the various learning locations of VET (host company, VET school). To this end, it would be important to identify conditions for success for strengthening transversal competencies that are not limited to single competencies and single learning locations. The aim of this presentation is to identify these factors. Specifically, we pursue the following research question: Which conditions for success in a teaching-learning arrangement contribute to strengthening the development of transversal competencies of apprentices?

In order to derive such conditions for success, a corresponding project at a VET school was evaluated. The project aims to strengthen transversal competencies as part of a special programme. This takes place as part of an additional year of VET abroad, in which selected apprentices (business administration) are allowed to participate. The speciality of this programme is the autonomy granted to the apprentices in setting and pursuing individual goals. The programme is complemented by the strengthening of a diverse repertoire of transversal and job-specific competencies. As part of the evaluation of the project, data was collected from apprentices from three different year groups between 2020/2021 and 2022/2023. The data collected is mainly qualitative. It comprised both participant observations and group interviews with a total of 30 apprentices and four individual interviews with VET school teachers and VET trainers. In this presentation we will focus on the interviews. The interviews were conducted by different members of the evaluation team using interview guidelines that were created in advance based on the objectives of the evaluation and the above-mentioned research question. In order to ensure a high degree of consistency in the conduct of the interviews, the interview guidelines were discussed with the interviewers in advance to identify potential questions or misunderstandings (Punch & Oancea, 2014). All interviews were recorded and transcribed according to the rules of Dresing and Pehl (2018). The entire interview material was then coded using MaxQDA software. The team evaluated the responses concerning the conditions for success in strengthening transversal competencies using qualitative content analysis. The development of the categories and the coding process were executed in two steps. On the one hand, codes were generated directly from the objectives of the evaluation (deductive codes). On the other hand, statements that were not originally expected but were relevant to the research question also had to be included (inductive codes). To ensure the consistency and validity of the coding process, a coding guide was created. This contained a description of the different codes and indicated when a statement should be coded (Kuckartz, 2018; Mayring, 2015). Furthermore, some interviews were coded by two different people. The coded segments were then compared, and different interpretations were discussed. The guidelines for further coding were jointly defined (Lamnek, 2005). In the coming weeks, Kappa (Brennan & Prediger, 1981) will be evaluated as a measure of inter-coder reliability and reported in the presentation.

In essence, the identified conditions for success can be classified into two different categories: (1) person-related and (2) programme-related conditions for success. The person-related conditions for success reveal factors on the part of the apprentices, e.g. learning prerequisites such as high level of motivation to learn or positive attitudes towards their own further development. Additionally, there were also indications that the behaviour and attitudes of the responsible VET school teachers and VET trainers also determine the development of transversal competencies of apprentices. The programme-related conditions for success include formal and organisational conditions of the programme, such as the high degree of freedom granted to apprentices in defining their goals, regular reflection events, a small group size, adequate space and time resources. There is also evidence that the content focus of the programme is decisive for the development of transversal competencies. For example, it is beneficial for the development of transversal competencies if the apprentices have to deal with personal challenges or find cooperative solutions to complex tasks. In the presentation, the results will be reported in more detail and illustrated with quotes from the interviews. The results of the study indicate various conditions for success in strengthening transversal competencies that are not tied to specific professions, learning locations, single transversal or job-specific competencies. This provides a solid basis for future research and the development of pedagogical approaches to strengthen these competencies. However, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of the chosen research approach, which does not make it possible to establish a causal relationship between the conditions for success and the strengthening of transversal competencies. Rather, it describes conditions that have identified within the scope of a specific project. The extent to which these conditions can be transferred to other contexts remains to be clarified by further research.

Barabasch, A., & Fischer, S. (2023). Die Förderung von transversalen Kompetenzen in der Berufsbildung. bwp@Spezial, (20), 1–5. Brassler, M. & Dettmers, J. (2017). How to Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence—Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 11(2). Brennan, R. L., & Prediger, D. J. (1981). Coefficient kappa: Some uses, misuses, and alternatives. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 41(3), 687–699. Deutscher, V., Abele, S., Festner, D., Findeisen, S., Goller, M., Harteis, C., Rausch, A., & Seifried, J. (2024). Duale Ausbildungsqualität: Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit dem Forschungsstand vor dem Hintergrund neuer Bedarfe und Möglichkeiten. bwp@Profil, (10), 1–51. Dresing, T., & Pehl, T. (2018). Praxisbuch Interview, Transkription & Analyse. Anleitungen und Regelsysteme für qualitativ Forschende. Marburg. Freidorfer, L., & Kraus, K. (2023). Kritisches Denken und Problemlösen als transversale Kompetenzen mit berufsübergreifenden Anteilen und berufsspezifischen Interpretationen: Einblicke in die betriebliche Berufsbildung in Hotellerie und Informatik in der Schweiz. bwp@Spezial, (20), 1–29. García-Álvarez, J., Vázquez-Rodríguez, A., Quiroga-Carrillo, A., & Priegue Caamaño, D. (2022). Transversal Competencies for Employability in University Graduates: A Systematic Review from the Employers’ Perspective. Education Sciences, 12(3), 204. International Labour Organization [ILO] (2021). Global framework on core skills for life and work in the 21st century. ILO. Kuckartz, U. (2018). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Methoden, Praxis, Computerunterstützung. Beltz Juventa. Lamnek, S. (2005). Qualitative Sozialforschung: Lehrbuch. Beltz. Mayring, P. (2015). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. Beltz. Punch, K. F., & Oancea, A. E. (2014). Introduction to research methods in education. Sage. Raemy, P., Barabasch, A., Keller, A., & Walker, G. (2023). Nachhaltige Lernkultur in einer sich schnell verändernden Arbeitswelt. In I. Pfeiffer & H. Weber (Eds.), Zum Konzept der Nachhaltigkeit in Arbeit, Beruf und Bildung – Stand in Forschung und Praxis (pp. 71–88). Barbara Budrich. Scharnhorst, U., & Kaiser, H. (2018). Transversale Kompetenzen: Bericht im Auftrag des Staatssekretariats für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation SBFI im Rahmen des Projekts «Berufsbildung 2030 –Vision und Strategische Leitlinien». Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation. Veiga, S. (2022). Developing Transversal Competencies in the Sociodramatic Space: Narrative of a Curricular Experience in Higher Education. Education Sciences, 12(2), 125. Ziegler, M. (2022). Transversale Kompetenzen als berufliche Anforderungen – Literaturübersicht, aktuelle Debatten und Herausforderungen. Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.