BIBB President Esser: “Balanced VET necessary”

The increasing digitalisation of the world of work places great demands on the qualifications provided for today's skilled workers. Together with stakeholders from business, research and VET practice the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) examines the specific consequences of this for voca-tional education and training. The new issue of the BIBB specialist journal “Vocational Training in Research and Practice – BWP” documents the initial results and findings. “It is particularly in turbulent times such as these that we need balanced vocational education and training which combines the tried and tested with the innovative and which actively but carefully drives forward new developments,” claims BIBB President Friedrich Hubert Esser in his editorial.

The BIBB addressed the consequences of digitalisation at an early stage and using research projects has provided impetus for the continued development of the dual system. “It was very important for us to work out whether and how Frey and Osborne’s polarisation theory also applies to us in Germany,” explains Esser. In their theory, the two English researchers make the assumption that occupations with a high proportion of routine elements are replaceable. They suggest that this replaceability applies less to occupations with high-level and low-level qualification requirements but mainly to those occupations in the intermediate qualification range. “However this theory does not appear to apply to Germany in this way,” observes the BIBB President.

The BIBB analyses show that digital technologies are certainly making work more complex. However, in the process, it is mainly employees’ social and creative intelligence which is gaining in importance. This is also indicated by the results of the BIBB preliminary examination of the dual IT occupations and the BIBB cooperation project with VW. Both studies show that the need for restructuring certainly exists in some occupations, but that even now it is already possible to keep pace with technological developments by making changes at the level of company-based organisation of education and training.

However, vocational schools must also play their role in this as key partners in the dual system. A strategy paper presented by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) enti-tled “Education and training in the digital world” highlights perspectives in relation to this which BIBB Pres-dent Esser discusses with current KMK President, Susanne Eisenmann. In addition to the latest technological equipment and organisation, both are agreed that the initial and advanced education and training of teaching personnel is of key importance when dealing with the new technological demands in schools and in training. The example of the Aalen Technical School shows that vocational schools are already making progress towards this. A learning factory has been set up here which introduces pupils to 4.0 technologies in a practical way.

The current BWP issue also provides further interesting insights into numerous initiatives and examples from practice. These include, for example, Social Augmented Learning in the printing industry, the commu-nication of digital innovations in automotive training and the issue of how small and medium- sized companies or inter-company vocation training centres (ICVECs) might be supported in the design of their initial and continuing education and training in Economy 4.0.

The editorial of the new issue of the BIBB specialist journal “Vocational Training in Research and Practice – BWP”, issue 2/2017 is available free at charge at https://www.bibb.de/en/61148.php.

The full BWP issue with selected articles translated into English can be found here: https://www.bibb.de/veroeffentlichungen/en/bwp/show/8306 bestellt oder heruntergeladen werden.

Specimen copy requested if printed.