Germany's "dual system" secondary education and "dual system" higher education are the support for its industrial development, and also the key for Germany's century-old family businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises to become "hidden champions". On the one hand, Germany's "dual system" education trains high-skilled talents according to the specialized needs of industries and enterprises, and enhances employees' loyalty to the enterprise; on the other hand, enterprises and schools share educational responsibilities, and enterprises have the dominant power. The "dual system" education guarantees the employment rate and is one of the important means for Germany to deal with income inequality. For many years, German manufacturing workers' earnings were among the highest among OECD countries. In 2020, the added value of German manufacturing labor remuneration will be as high as 18%, much higher than the UK's 11% and the US's 9.5%.
The Historical Tradition of German Vocational Education
In the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire had empty titles, and Germany was not really a unified country. The various vassal states compete fiercely in military, cultural and economic fields. The narrow market has prompted the establishment of guilds in urban handicrafts and commerce. While restricting disorderly competition, guilds also have the functions of quality supervision and maintenance of industry reputation. Young people need to be apprentices first, after a long period of training and strict assessment, before they can become independent craftsmen.
Dual University of Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttem, Germany
Since the mid-18th century, heavy industries such as chemical industry and steel in Germany have risen rapidly, becoming a "late" industrial country. In 1871, the Kingdom of Prussia unified the principalities under the leadership of Bismarck and established the "German Empire". After the unification, the industry "mentoring system" gradually developed into a vocational and technical school, and a social security system was also established. In 1906, a vocational training school was established in Munich. In 1938, during the period of the Third Reich, the German Compulsory Education Law stipulated that vocational and technical education was compulsory education, but it was mainly funded by the state. After World War II, Germany underwent post-war reconstruction in the 1950s and post-war reflection in the 1960s, and the industry rapidly upgraded, which prompted the further development of vocational education in Germany. During this period, the highly acclaimed German "dual system" education system took shape, and in 1969 the joint responsibilities and rights of enterprises and schools in vocational education were stipulated in the form of the Vocational Education Act. Although German vocational education was affected by the expansion of higher education in the 1970s, with the problems of insufficient teachers and declining student quality brought about by the expansion of higher education, in 1976, Germany established "preparing for various occupations and imparting necessary professional knowledge" , skills and methods” educational goals.
In the 1980s, two types of education were formed in Germany: one is a comprehensive university that focuses on research and does not directly provide professional jobs required for employment; the other is a university of applied technology whose main purpose is to obtain professional jobs. , "dual system" higher education and "dual system" secondary education. Among them, the "dual system" education is directly linked to the needs of enterprises, and schools and enterprises cooperate closely. Through the "dual system" system, the application-oriented theoretical learning and enterprise practice are alternated. A large proportion can stay in the company. For this reason, the employment rate of students educated in the "dual system" is generally higher than that of students in comprehensive universities.
The operation mode of "dual system" education
Germany has established a "dual system" education covering almost all economic, management and engineering technology sectors, which not only cultivates a large number of professional and technical talents for Germany and improves the employment rate of talents, but also plays an important role in narrowing the income gap of workers and maintaining social stability. to a positive effect. German companies and schools share the responsibility for "dual system" education, while companies play the main role.
Germany's "dual system" education is a complex systematic project, the essence of which is that enterprises and schools jointly cultivate talents and conduct vocational training for one of the more than 300 types of work recognized by the state. Germany's "dual system" education requires the participation of four parties, namely enterprises, vocational schools or applied universities, industry associations and students. Enterprises play a decisive role in recruiting students, implementing training programs, paying students’ wages, and retaining personnel; schools are responsible for applied teaching and theoretical courses; industry associations are responsible for reviewing relevant parties’ training qualifications, training programs, supervising the training process and organizing exams Wait.
Enterprises need to set aside annual budgets for "dual system" training positions. While training students according to the needs of enterprises and industries, schools receive funding from enterprises, federal states or the federal government. Students participating in "dual system" secondary education and "dual system" higher education first need to provide application materials including German language proficiency, and after passing the interview with the company, sign a tripartite agreement with the company and the school. The "dual system" secondary education and "dual system" higher education generally last for 3 years. The company pays the monthly salary, social security and Christmas money for the students in the theoretical study stage of the school, and provides benefits such as paid vacation.
Schools participating in the "dual system" education and enterprises jointly formulate student training programs. Schools provide theoretical and applied courses, and various departments of enterprises provide students with internship opportunities. Among them, "dual system" secondary education generally consists of two or three days of theoretical study in school per week, two or three days of practice in enterprises or factories, and generally staying in enterprises after graduation. The "dual system" higher education generally consists of one semester of theoretical study in school, and one semester of rotational internships in various departments of the enterprise, alternately for three years, and the learning task is relatively intense, and finally a bachelor's degree is obtained. The graduation thesis writing of "dual system" higher education is also guided by the needs of enterprises, and is completed under the joint guidance of school and enterprise tutors.
Baden-Württemberg, Germany has the largest number of "hidden champion" companies in Germany, mastering high-precision technology, and is also a demonstration area of German vocational higher education. Schools and enterprises are closely related. The Baden-Württem State "Dual System" University (DHBM) is the first higher education institution in Germany to combine vocational education and academic research, achieving a close integration of theory and practice. At present, DHBW has about 30,000 students in school and has joint training with more than 9,000 enterprises. Its university headquarters is located in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. 9 campuses are distributed in different parts of the state according to corporate clusters. Each campus offers German and internationally recognized undergraduate study programs in the fields of business, mechanical engineering and social work.
The HR pool of Germany's "hidden champions"
The wages of German blue-collar workers are higher among OECD countries, thanks to Germany's high-quality and sophisticated industrial manufacturing and social market economic system that guarantees orderly competition. In particular, German small and medium-sized enterprises and century-old family enterprises are in the world's leading positions in the manufacturing of many precision instruments and mechanical parts. They have mastered proprietary technical know-how and become suppliers that are difficult to replace in the global manufacturing industry. They are known as "hidden champions" . Most German SMEs and family businesses are located in German rural areas. They not only drive the balanced development of German regions, urban and rural areas and cities, but also are an important pillar to ensure Germany's international competitiveness.
The century-old foundation of many "hidden champion" enterprises in Germany lies in the possession of professional and technical personnel, which helps enterprises and professionals to build mutual trust and has a low rate of brain drain. Whether it is "dual system" secondary education or "dual system" higher education, students generally stay in the enterprise after passing the school assessment and enterprise practice. Relying on the "dual system" education system, German enterprises regard social and vocational education as their own responsibility, focus on cultivating technical talents that meet the needs of enterprises and industries, and create "tailor-made" exclusive talents for business management, marketing and R&D technology departments. . Because they have worked in the company since their student days, they have improved the familiarity and trust of professionals with the company, and the "dual system" education has become an important factor in ensuring the German employment rate and employees' loyalty to the company.
In addition, education through the "dual system" is also an important opportunity for advancement in German companies. The mode of vocational continuing education provided by German companies is as follows: the company reserves jobs for employees and supports them to carry out a two-year "dual system" postgraduate course. The learning cost is borne by the company, and the scientific research results are held by the company. promotion or transfer.
The main force of "dual system" education
Germany's "dual system" education is a very typical vocational training system dominated by the human resource needs of enterprises. The key to its success lies in whether the enterprise fully participates and whether the enterprise plays the core role of training and financial support in vocational training.
First of all, the enterprise has the right to decide the admission and management of students, and is responsible for the salary and welfare of the students. Students entering the "dual system" training must pass an interview with the company and sign a tripartite agreement with the company and the school. Their identity is first as an employee of the company, and then as a student. If there are cases of absenteeism, absenteeism or failure to pass the examination, the human resources department of the enterprise is responsible for dealing with it. This is different from the mode of admission and management of students by vocational colleges in our country.
Dual University Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Second, within the framework of the federal unified vocational training syllabus, enterprises have the autonomy to cultivate talents. Based on the training syllabus, the enterprise formulates a training plan with enterprise characteristics and supplements the training content to meet the business needs of the enterprise. The purpose is to cultivate students who are more familiar with the enterprise process and have the actual ability to complete the relevant work. In addition, enterprises have the right to choose training places. In addition to rotating jobs and learning in schools, they can also entrust cross-enterprise training centers and overseas branches of enterprises to undertake part of the training tasks.
Third, the enterprise mentor qualification certification. Relevant German laws stipulate that personnel who implement corporate training must meet the professional quality requirements and pass the qualification certification of corporate mentors from industry associations. The main tasks of corporate mentors include formulating and implementing corporate training plans, and are responsible for the quality of student training.
It can be seen that the main role of enterprises in vocational education is the key to the success of Germany's "dual system", and the teaching guidance of enterprise tutors and schools is the training dish for professionals. Similarly, vocational education also provides professionals with craftsmanship spirit for the intergenerational inheritance of century-old German family companies and the "hidden champions" in the field of precision parts. The two complement and closely depend on each other.
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