Project

Country study of Switzerland: Development of national training standards – European comparison of actors, procedures and design

As part of the project entitled “Development of national training standards – European comparison of actors, procedures and design”, the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BiBB) issued a call for tenders for a subproject called “Country Study of Switzerland”. Lorenzo Bonoli (R&D, project manager) and Patricia Notter (CdO) were awarded the contract to take part in a project run by Philipp Ulmer (BiBB) with the help of Marthe Geiben (BiBB) and conduct the “Country Study of Switzerland”.

Rido / Fotolia

In an initial phase, the research project is intended to compare four countries that have a firmly established dual-track approach to vocational education and training: Germany, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland. Then, our attention will be turned to two countries that lack this dual-track approach: Portugal and Slovakia. Specifically, the comparison will cover the level of cooperation between the various actors within the VET system; how VET programmes are developed; what quality control mechanisms are in place; VET funding. This first phase will include country reports for all four of the countries taking part in this study as well as corresponding interviews with key actors within the fourVET systems. Lorenzo Bonoli and Patricia Notter are in charge of the report and the interviews concerning the Swiss VET system.

The second phase of the research project will build from the results of the first phase: a survey will be conducted in Slovakia and Portugal to determine whether a dual-track approach can be introduced in these two countries. The aim is also to gain a clearer understanding of the roles of the various actors involved.