In the course of internationalisation, changes in the economy, society, education and technology are leading to new conditions for vocational education and training (VET) as a result of trend-driven novelties (Störmann, 2025). International vocational education and training research therefore focuses, among other things, on adapting VET on the basis of changing requirements and innovations in work, life and society, on international VET cooperation between different countries and numerous actors, including the transfer of VET between different systems (see, for example, Gessler, 2019; Pilz, 2017). International vocational training research thus focuses on issues related to the interaction of international influences, trend-driven innovations and transfer-related cooperation. The German vocational training system is regarded internationally as particularly successful, meaning that various funding initiatives at national and international level offer German vocational training providers a multitude of opportunities in international markets. Consisting of a wide variety of actors in the context of origin and target of the transferred VET programme, joint projects are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research on the German side for the implementation and the establishment of cooperation and network structures. This contribution focuses on international VET transfer and the role of international actors in vocational training, addressing the subject of transfer, the resulting innovations and processes, and the networks that are being formed. In other words: "Innovations are made by people, so it seems only consistent that their contribution is placed at the centre of the analysis" (Gessler, 2019, p. 270; translated by the author).

Therefore, the main research question is as follows: How do German and international vocational training stakeholders transfer vocational training in an international context? To answer this question, the focus is placed on the subject of international transfer activities in the form of four empirical approaches.

First, the complexity of vocational training services in international contexts is addressed in order to examine what types of VET services are transferred (Meyne, 2022). This study uses the complexity assessment model by Blockus (2010), which focuses on the input, potential and output of services. This model is adapted for the framework of international vocational training services and expanded to include a new complexity dimension with three associated complexity characteristics (Meyne, 2022). As these services are transferred in the form of innovative business models, they are subsequently addressed in terms of their degree of innovation (Meyne & Kühn, 2023). The theoretical basis is formed by the business model approach according to Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) and the business model innovation scale according to Taran et al. (2015).

Furthermore, the mapping of network structures of international VET  actors is pursued using social network analysis (SNA), which addresses social capital for capturing personal networks (Meyne & Siemer, 2025). In terms of theoretical references, previous work by Bourdieu (1983) on the concept of social capital and key works on network research e.g. by Granovetter (1973) are drawn upon. This addresses the analysis of the social capital of international vocational training cooperations in terms of network development and its sustainability in an international consortium.

Finally, the focus shifts to adaptation processes in transfer when vocational training services are transferred between different contexts (Meyne & Peters, 2022). In addition to other theoretical approaches, the policy transfer framework developed by Dolowitz and Marsh (2000) and the transfer levels identified by Gessler (2017) form the basic theoretical framework for understanding the transfer concepts of key players and identifying adaptation processes in vocational training transfer in the form of predominant transfer types in this study.

This contribution will present four empirical approaches, which deal with the subjects, innovations and networks of international VET transfer in order to draw common implications for research and practice. In the course of this, the aforementioned overarching research question can be split into four sub-questions: 1. What complexity can be found in the transferred services of internationally active vocational education and training actors and how can it be assessed? (Meyne, 2022) 2. Which business models are transferred in the context of international VET services and what is their innovative character? (Meyne & Kühn, 2023) 3. Which actors are involved in the innovation transfer of international network formation and how are network formation processes structured? (Meyne & Siemer, 2025) 4. How does the transfer process of VET services between the origin and target contexts take place in terms of transfer understandings and types? (Meyne & Peters, 2022) The empirical basis of this contribution is formed by four international studies: The first study deals with the complexity of VET services in international contexts, whereby the complexity assessment model according to Blokus (2010) is empirically applied and validated on the basis of nine projects from a German funding line for the promotion of international VET transfer by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). In a further contribution, qualitative expert interviews and documents from selected projects under the aforementioned funding line are analysed in a longitudinal study in order assess the extent of innovations in VET services in the form of transferred business models. For this purpose, a total of 18 project consortia consisting of a wide variety of stakeholder constellations are analysed (Meyne & Kühn, 2023). Social networks continue to be recorded in terms of generated social capital in international VET cooperation in the form of international networking activities in an Erasmus+ project (Meyne & Siemer, 2025). Data collection is carried out using a fully standardised questionnaire and qualitative expert interviews (N=10) with a semi-standardised guide, followed by the creation of ego-centred network maps. In order to generate findings on how transfer processes take place between different countries, a further study was conducted on the adaptation processes to new target context of VET transfer. Data was collected using guided expert interviews with six selected vocational training providers, with an associated analysis of project-related documents (Meyne & Peters, 2022).

The results of the four studies confirm that there is a wide range of potential for shaping VET services, with innovative solutions to challenges in vocational practice being identified and implemented. In addition to actively shaping the transferred business model, environmental factors and their integration into existing systems and structures in the target context must be taken into account (Meyne, 2025). Trend-specific innovations can lead to rapid technological developments, which must be incorporated and continuously shaped in VET due to existing interdependencies between work, technology and education (Meyne, 2025). The results underscore the importance of the interplay between the transferred value proposition and the associated transfer goals for shaping the complexity of VET services (Meyne, 2022). Furthermore, innovation processes continue to be shaped by a diverse range of actors who play different roles in networks. The necessity of resources, interest and commitment on the part of the actors involved in international network building can also be emphasised, so that the involvement of different actors in the origin and target countries is essential and, in addition to the transferred content innovation, contributes significantly to the success of the project (Meyne, 2025). Finally, the increasing complexity of transfer processes must be pointed out in terms of how adaption to the target context takes place, whereby transfer processes are not linear and are characterised by a certain degree of dynamism and flexibility. With regard to the implementation of innovative projects focussed on VET transfer, it is therefore particularly important to align the project e.g. with a constantly changing world, the shortage of skilled workers and the qualification requirements of the target context (Meyne, 2025). Starting points for future research arise in particular with regard to the analysis of processes of transfer failure and the underlying motivations of international actors in VET transfer.

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