discussion papers
IIM/LMP 8 6 - 1 6
Further Training and Labour Market Policy A Study on the S i t u a t i o n i n the Federal Republic of Germany*
F r i e d e r i k e Maier
October 1986
ISSN Nr. 0722 - 673X
* Revised version of a paper presented at the European Community Symposium EDUCATION/TRAINING AND LABOUR MARKET POLICY,
28 - 30 A p r i l 1986, Nordwijkerhout, The Netherlands
T r a n s l a t i o n : M.A. David A n t a l , B e r l i n
IIMV
Arbei tsmarktpoli t i k I IM
Labour Market Policy Wi ssenschaftszentrum B e r l i n
Forschungsschwerpunkt
A r b e i t s m a r k t p o l i t i k (IIMV) Research Unit
Labour Market P o l i c y (UM) Wissenschaftszentrum B e r l i n P l a t z der L u f t b r ü c k e 1 - 3 1000 B e r l i n 42
Telefon (030) 6904 - 1
CONTENTS
page 1. The Yocational Education and Training System... 3 2. The System of Further Training in the .
Federal Republic of Germany... 5 The Legal Framework... 5 Variety of Training Programmes
and Institutions... 8 Professional Qualification of the
Participants in Further Training... 9
Support for Further Training under
the Emp1oyment Promotion Act... 13 The Increasing Control of the Labour
Authorities over the Varieties of Further Training... 17
3. Continued Development of Further Training... 23 The Growing Importance of Further Training... 23 Market and Governmental Control over
the Range of Measures... 26 Public Control over Qualification Policy... 28
Literature Cl.. . . • . . . • . . . • . . • • . . . • . . . • . • . . . 34
SUMMARY
Further training of adults has recently attracted an increasing amount of attention in both public educational policy and labour market policy. Changes in job structures and work content are placing new demands on the vocational qualifications of the work force. Prolonged mass unemployment increases the risks confronting underqualified workers on the labour market and entails the danger of dequalification for well-qualified unemployed workers as well. Against this back- ground, further training is intended to help stabilize employment relationships and to offer unemployed persans the opportunity to acquire or expand on their vocational skills. Within this framework, further training that is publi'cly funded and organized focuses on unemployed persans or on workers threatened by unemployment, whereas further trai ni ng that i s organi zed and/or funded by compani es i s confined to a few more highly qualified groups of workers. However, wi thi n the compani es there are norma lly no programmes of further training designed especially for the labour market1s high-risk groups.
The development of policy on further training in the Federal Republic of Germany is used to illustrate how, intimes of persistent mass unemployment, activities for further training have become polarized.
The integration of publicly organized further training into the employment system has not progressed very far, and the range of trai ni ng bei ng affered i s based on vague assumpti ons about future qualification needs. There is little, if any, coordination between public and private further training. To end this polarization, there is a need for greater public assistance for in-company further trai ni ng, for a further deve 1 opment of i nstruments wi th whi eh to promote further training for all groups of the workforce, for a broader range of training to choose from, and for improved individual access to the system of further training. Such reforms in the system of further trai ni ng are essenti a 1 i f i t i s to make a meani ngful contribution to dealing with technological change and to protecting and improving of the opportunities for all working people to participate actively in the work process.
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG
Das Thema 11berufliche Weiterbildung von Erwachsenen11 wird in jüngster Zeit verstärkt von der öffentlichen Bildungs- und Arbeitsmarktpolitik aufgegriffen. Veränderungen in den Arbeitsplatzstrukturen und Arbeits- .inhalten bringen neue Anforderungen an die berufliche Qualifikation
der Erwerbspersonen mit sich. Lang andauernde Massenarbeitslosigkeit verschärft die Arbeitsmarktrisiken gering qualifizierter Arbeitnehmer und birgt auch bei gut qualifizierten Arbeitslosen die Gefahr der Oe- qualifizierung in sich. Vor diesem Hintergrund soll berufliche Weiter- bi 1 dung präventiv zur Stabi 1 i si erung von Beschäftigungsverhältnissen bei tragen und zugl ei eh Arbeits 1 osen die Chance einer Erhaltung oder Erweiterung beruflicher Kenntnisse bieten. Öffentlich'finanzierte und organisierte Weiterbildungspolitik konzentriert sich dabei auf Arbeitslose oder von der Arbeitslosigkeit bedrohte Arbeitnehmer~
\
betrieblich organisierte und/oder finanzierte Weiterbildung ist dage- gen auf wenige höher qualifizierte Arbeitnehmergruppen beschränkt. FUr die Beschäftigungsgruppen mit hohem Arbeitsmarktrisiko existieren dagegen kaum gezielte Weiterbildungsangebote.
Am Beispiel der Entwicklung der beruflichen Weiterbildungspolitik in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland wird gezeigt, wie sich unter den Bedin- gungen anhaltender Massenarbeitslosigkeit eine Polarisierung der Wei- terbildungsaktivitäten ergeben hat~ wobei die Integration der öffent- lich betriebenen Weiterbildung in das Beschäftigungssystem relativ schwach ist und die angebotenen Ausbi 1 dungen auf vagen Annahmen Uber den zukUnftigen Qualifikationsbedarf beruhen. Öffentliche und betrieb- liche Weiterbildung sind kaum verzahnt. Zur Aufhebung dieser Polari- sierung bedarf es einer verstärkten öffentlichen Einflußnahme auf die betriebliche Weiterbildung, einer Weiterentwicklung der Förderinstru- mente und Weiterbildungsangebote sowie verbesserter individueller Zugangsmöglichkeiten zum Weiterbildungssystem. Solche Reformen im System der beruflichen Weiterbildung sind eine wesentliche Vorausset- zung dafUr, daß die Weiterbildung einen aktiven Beitrag zur Bewälti- gung des techni sehen Wande 1 s und zur Wahrung und Verbesserung der Chancen aller Arbeitnehmer auf eine aktive Teilnahme am Arbeitsprozeß leisten kann.
2
1. The Yocational Education and Training System
To understand the deve1opment of the further training system in the Federa 1 Repub 1i c of Germany it i s necessary to gi ve a short descri p- tion of the vocational education and training system as a whole.
The Federal Repub1ic of Germany•s vocational training system is gener- a11y divided into three central sub-systems:
- the on-the-job vocationa1 training firm - the part-time vocational school
- the full-time vocational school.
The combination of on-the-job .training with part-time vocational schoo1 is known as the so called 11dual system". Near1y 60 percent of all school-leavers are educated under the 11dual system". This is the term used to describe a combination of theory and practice in voca- tional education and training in two separate places of 1earning with differing legal and organizational systems. Practica1 training takes place in in-company training under the guidance of an instructor, and the·theoretical part in a part-time vocational school, generally attended once a week.
Training within the firm is standardized and controlled for the whole of the Federal Republic by the law for vocational training (BBiG). On the other hand, vocationa1 schools are governed by regulations of the individual federal states (Bundesländer). The basis of the training relationship is governed by contract between the trainee and the firm doing the training for one of the occupations officially recognized und er the 1 aw. The number of recogni zed occupati ans can vary as the list is revised from time to time. There are currently over 450 recog- nized 11training occupations" under this law.
For every "training occupation11 regulations for training exist. These regulations provide a general training plan as well as criteria for the examinations which control minimum acceptable standards. The
expressi on "recogni zed occupati on11 requi ring formal trai ni ng suggests a 1 arge amount of uniformity, which in reality is' not the case. The quality and length of vocational training varies greatly among the individual occupations, most occupations require vocational training for 3 to 3 1/2 years. However, there are a large number of occupations requiring only 2 years of vocational training.
Companies which train are bound to uphold the general training plan.
The high level of standardization is for establishing an overall standard for what a trained skilled worker shou1d know and be able to do. The ski 11 ed worker+s;- -cr-aft-sman-•-s-, .-or-assi-stant-•-s··-certificate- therefore has a significant meaning in the system of employment. Any employer affering jobs cannot only be sure of a minimum of qualifica- tion, but also that .the new employee will have gained some work- experience during a longish period, and can for this reason be imme- diately employed on productive work.
Whereas the dual system leads to an overall recognized certificate, the continuing vocational education and training, i.e. the continua- tion or resumption of organized learning after completion of an initial phase of training or/and after a vocational activity, is largely unregulated. The vocational continuing training nevertheless is based on the dual system and in certain occupations further train- ing is affered that leads to master certifiGates or other certificates which allow to start your own business. Traditionally continuing trainingwas a training period for job-advancement.
Actually, the simultaneaus appearance of increasing unemployment, decreasing number of firms capable affering on-the-job training within the dual system and the entrance of the high birth rate years into the labour market in the mid 701S did uncover some of the dual system•s internal problems and shortcomings (see Braun 1986; Casey 1986). An analysis of the distribution of occupations among newly completed training (apprenticeship) contract shows clearly that at least a part of the basic training now being carried out will not lead to employ- ment in the occupations studied.
4
Continuing education and training will gain importance during the next ten years. This is necessary because of the unequal distribution of training mentioned before and because the need to intensify continuing training in companies to adapt to new technologies is increased. This new type of continuing education and training is not necessarily the same as the further training leading to master certificates or other certificates as it was traditionally.
2. The System of Further Training in the Federal Republic of Gennany
Unlike the system for initial vocational training, which for sixty percent of a single age-group in the Federal Republic of Germany still takes place in what is known as the dual system, continued vocational training is recognized as the fourth, though not formalized, step in the system of educati an and trai ni ng. Whereas the competenci es and responsi bi 1 i ti es for the types and content of trai ni ng in the dua 1 system are regulated in detail and although the intensive cooperation between employers, chambers, unions, and the federal and state govern- ments permits general certification of completed training in the occupational fields, the types and content of training, the completion of training, and certification in the area of further training are largely unregulated.
The Legal Framewerk
The Employment Promotion Act (AFG) and the Vocational Training Act (BBiG)outline various categories of further traintng that are tied to differing standardized courses of training.
- The term further training (berufliche Fortbildung) is understood to mean courses of further training that serve professional advancement (such ~s that from skilled worker to qualified foreman) and that aim to prepare the participant for an examination. Passing this examina- tion is normally linked. with a certificate that also signifies general acknowledgement of the qualification in recognized advanced
vocations (such asthat of engineer, master, and clerk). In most courses of training leading to advancement, however, the participant acquires qualifications for a specific sector or firm. Such train- ing usually builds upon a completed course of vocational training and upon several years of work experience in the relevant field. It often continues over an extended period of time ·(up to two years).
- Adaptive training is counted as further training, too. This type of training primarily involves expanding an the existing expertiss of the parti ci pants so that they can deal wi th new types of demands that have developed in their job. Most af the courses are relatively brief (three to four months) and do not lead to certified completion of continued training. Such adaptive further training usually builds upon vocational training that has been completed or upon appropriate experience in the relevant field.
Preparation to complete vocational training is also considered to be further training if it expands on appropriate experience in the field.
Vocational retraining (Umschulung) is understood to be a vocational training measure whose objective is to facilitate the transition to a new vocationa1 activity. Retraining can serve the learning specific activities (in which case it is differentiated from further training by the fact that a new field is involved) or, after a two or three-year course of trai ni ng, it can 1 ead to compl eti on of training in a trade or occupation recognized in the dual system.
Only in the latter case does it conclude with a ge~erally recognized certificate.
- The third large group of measures recognized by the labour authori- ties as further training consists of on-the-job adaptation (innerbe- triebliche Einarbeitung). On-the-job adaptation involves· measures to qualify employees who, after assuming a new job, are unable to
6
perform at thei r peak 1 eve 1 s ri ght from the start. The trai ni ng, which is often on1y brief, is conducted by firms and is tai1ored to the specific requirements of the firm and the job.
For regu1 atory purposes, there are two reasons for 1 ega 1 defi ni ti ans of further training. One is to describe the types of further training for which the individual worker is entit1ed pub1ic support under the Employment Promotion Act if the personal criteria are also met. The other is to faci1itate the standardization of further training, anchoring the types of further training in the Vocational Training Act. This can be initiated either by the chambers, which can establish cri teri a and procedures for the exami nati ons admi nistered in further training for individual occupational fields, or by the Federal Ministry for Education and Science, which can issue legal directives affecting courses and certifications of further training. The intended goal of standardization is to unify the content and quality of further training across firms and to achieve general recognition of certifica- tion as proof of qualification. Within the field of education and trai ni ng, the controversy over greater standardi zati on of further trai ni ng has been sparked by two different viewpoi nts. Business i s pressing to minimize the number of rigid, unitary regulations so as not to threaten the fl exi b il ity of further trai ni ng. The uni ans, on the other hand, are of the opinion that only generally recognized training certificates ensure the independence and mobility of workers and provide them access to broad, generally useful opportunities for qualification.
Thus far, however, nati onally standardi zed certifi cates of further training exist in only few fie1ds. As part of · further training to facilitate professional advancement, almost a11 courses of study leading to the qualification of certified foremen or masters were regulated nationally. The area having to do with the training of master craftsmen is largely standardized by statutes of the Chamber of Crafts and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Other courses of further training that do not lead to the master•s certificate still exist only in six occupationa1 fields (see Sauter 1980; Berufsbil-
dungsbericht 1984). By contrast, adaptive courses and retraining not leading to a recognized training certificate are not standardized. The only courses of further training in which the design of the curriculum, the instructional methods, and the training and occupa- tional experience of the instructors are subject to a rather formal review by the labour authorities are those whose·participants are to be financed by the labour authorities. The authorities base their decisions primarily an criteria provided by the chambers and the providers of further training.
Variety of Training Programmes and Institutions
The ent i re sphere of further trai ni ng i s marked by a vari ety of facilities and in$titutions affering and conducting further training.
The bodies providing such training are companies, chambers, employers' associations, churches, unions, and commercial enterprises speciali- zing in further training. Just as there is a variety of bodies providing further training, there is also a broad range of objectives, methods, programmes, and instructional styles. Because the structure of further training has never been standardized, this pluralism has resulted an its own over the years from the initiative of social groups and institutions (like individual firms). As a reflection of the country's pluralistic society, this pluralism in the realm of education and training is regarded positively an the whole, but it also entails serious problems, both regionally and in terms of subject matter, for the overvi ew and combi nati on of vari aus trai ni ng compo- nents and for the worker's access to further training.
The most important bodies providing further training are the firms. Of the approximately 4 million West German citizens who took part in further training in 1982 (about 12 percent of the population between 19 and 64 years of age), almost half (47 percent) were trained in a firm. Trade .associations and other organizations were distant a second place with 11 percent, trailed by academies and scientific institu- tions (8 percent), private institutes and schools (7 pe,rcent), and chambers ( 5 percent). The rest of the parti ci pants are trai ned by
8
schools for adult education, churches, guilds, or unions. Just under 50 percent of the parti ci pants attended courses or underwent on-the- job trai ni ng for at 1 east one month. Only ab out 10 percent parti ci- pated in programmes of further training lasting langer than one year
(see Berufsbildungsbericht 1984, pp. 98-99).
The amount of further training provided directly in the company increases as the level of standardization decreases (see Figure 1 ).
The vast majority of activities involved with further training are thus not subject to pub1ic regu1ation and are not organized by pub1ic organizations or argans such as the chambers.
Professional Qualification of the Participants in Further Training
Comparing the involvement of various groups in further training over time, one notices a polarization. Whereas participation in further training has increased in genera1 (3.2 million persans in 1979 and 4.0 million in 1982), the increase has not been equally distributed across all groups in the popu1ation. Participation among those groups that were a1ready highly invo1ved in further training has risen at an above-average rate. In 1982, 36 percent of a11 West German citizens holding a university degree participated in further training; among West German citizens who have not comp1eted vocationa1 training, the rate was 2 percent (Berufsbildungsbericht 1984, p. 100). As the 1evel of qualification rises, so does participation in further training.
Basic vocationa1 training and a specific, highly va1ued function in the company are still a decisive prerequisite for participation in further trai ni ng, 1 but there are a 1 so other factors - of a soci o- economic and sector-specific nature - that inf1uence it. In an analysis of the period from 1974 through 1979, Hofbauer (1981) showed the underrepresented groups to be
The question of whether public programmes and support benefits succeed in integrating these peop1e better is exp1ored in a 1ater section of this paper.
_.
0
Inside the
I
company I
I
I
I~utside the I I lcompany I I I I I I
'
28 %
72%
g
(4% of the parti ci pants)
fiGURE 1
PROVIDERS OF VARIOUS TYPES OF FURTHER TRAINING IN 1979
30 %
70 %
g for professional advancement { 11% of all parti cipants)
48 %
52 %
(62% of all participants)
::;;;iJRCE: Infratest Sozialforschung 1980a
76 %
24 %
training J I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
(24% of all partici- pants)
- warnen,
- working peop1e over 55 years of age,
- working peop1e without a genera1 secondary-school education,
- semiski11ed and unski11ed workers, farmers, and self-emp1oyed persans without vocationa1 training,
- persans employed in certain sectors of the (agriculture, forestry, the crafts, retai1 trade, business),
national economy and the restaurant - persans working in businesses with fewer than nine employees,
- part-time employees, and
- working people with low incomes.
Because there are not comprehensive data an the participant structure of further trai~ing conducted within the firm, one must rely an i ndi vidua 1 case studi es or nonrepresentative i nvesti gati ans, a 11 of which, however, come to similar results. One survey, which was conducted from 1979 through 1983 and which covered 1.8 mi1lion emp1oy- ees in three-hundred compani es ( a sample in whi eh 1 arge firms were overrepresented), revealed that although 47 percent of the labour force were white-collar workers and 53 percent blue-collar, the former accounted for two-thirds of the hours spent in further training.
Mathematically, the extent of further training came to 7.7 hours per white-collar worker and only 3.5 hours per blue-collar worker. In firms with fewer than five-hundred employees, the number of hours spent in further training for each white-co11ar worker was four times higher than that for each blue-coll ar worker (see Winter & Tholen 1983).
A different investigation dating from 1975 based an a representative selection of manufacturing and extractive industries and the tertiary sector (agricu1ture and the public sector were not included) came to the conclusion that further training activities were concentrated on 1arge firms and support for further training within the company was concentrated primari1y on executives and engineers and clerks.
Specia1ists, not to mention semiski11ed and unski11ed 1abour, scarcely come into question for further training within the company (Maase et a 1. 1978).
West-German firms 1984 spent 10 billions DM for the further training of their emp1oyees, but on1y 2 percent of this expenditure were invested in the further training of un- or semiskilled workers, whereas 16 percent were spent for executi ves and 43 percent for technical engineers (Handelsblatt, August 8/9, 1986).
Up-to-date information about the qualification structure of employees who participated in further training within the tompany is provided in the "Eva 1 uati on research on the Federa 1 Government • s Labour Market Programme for Regions with Special Emp1oyment Problems". 2 Through wage subsidies paid for the duration of the further training (but covering no more th an 90 percent of gras s wages), support was provi ded for certified occupational retraining, further training 1eading to recog- nized completion and other types of on-the-job adaptation whose camp 1 eti on i s not prescri bed. Over 85 percent of a 11 parti ci pants supported enrolled in a course for "other types of on-the-job adapta- ti an. 11 Most of them were conducted to address the needs of the particular company (89 percent of the participants being trained at the workplace). Over half of all the courses 1asted 1ess than six months. Within the framewerk of this programme, which attracted a great deal of public attention because of its experimental character, unskilled and semiskilled emp1oyees were integrated to a far greater degree. They accounted for over ha 1 f of the persans tak i ng part in
"measures for other types of on-the-job adaptation". The programmewas less successful at bringing in warnen, emp1oyees over 45 years of age, and employees of foreign nationa1ity. Support of further training provided within the firm focused on employees who had been with the firm for a rel atively lang time. Over 66 percent of the persans 2 The results of this programmei through which the federa1 government
12
provided one-time, 1arge-scale public funding for in-company further training, are extensively documented in Scharpf et al. (1982;
Infratest Sozialforschung (1980b), Sauter (1982), Mendius et al.
(1983), Bosch et a1. (1984), and other publications~
subsidized had been emp1oyed with the company langer than five years (see Mendius et a1.~ 1983, p. 206). Public funding'of further training provided within the firm was thus used primarily for the company•s regular work force.
This programme is an exception because, under the·Emp1oyment Promotion Act, strict limits are put on the public funding of further training conducted within a company. The pub1ic1y financed further training conducted in accordance with the act thus constitutes on1y a small part of a11 the activities associated with further training. In 1982, for example, 200,000 persans participated in further training funded by the 1 abour authoriti es. In other words, only 5 percent of a 11 persans taki ng part in further trai ni ng are supported through the Employment Promotion Act.
Support for Further Training under the Employment Promotion Act
Since the Employment Promotion Act was passed in 1969, support for further training has been an integral part of government labour market policy. The revenues from contributions (emp1oyer and employee each pay one-ha1f of the premiums for unemployment insurance) are redirec- ted by the labour authorities to support persans participating in vocational training measures designed to help ensure 11that neither unemployment and underqualified work nor a labour shortage occurs or continues, that the occupational mobility of working people is secured and improved, and that disadvantageaus consequences that could arise for working people as a resu1t of techno1ogica1 deve1opments or changes in the configuration of industries are prevented, offset, or e1iminated11 (paragraph 2 of the Employment Promotion Act).
Workers who wish to participate in retraining, adaptive courses, or training that promotes professional advancement and who meet the persona 1 cri teri a are supported by the 1 abour authori ti es wi th a mai ntenance a 11 owance and the reimbursement of instructi ona 1 fees.
On-the-job adaptation can be financed by a wage subsidy paid to the emp1oyer. The 1abour authorities do not fund further training that is
primarily in the interest of the firm in which the worker is employed, for under 1 abour market po 1 i cy aspects the support may not be ti ed closely to a specific qualification tailored to an individual company.
Public funding of further training has changed considerably since 1969, a fact that is due primari1y to fiscal constraints and to changing goals. Until 1974 the main emphasis of funding was on train- ing that promoted profession.al advancement and on occupational mobil- ity. Workers without vocational training and unemployed persans accounted for only a small part of the budget.
Almost 80 percent of all further training involved training to promote professional advancement and was concentrated primarily in the train- ing as master craftsman and engineering. The personal criteria that had to be met by a person who wanted to have the trai ni ng costs reimbursed or who was to draw a mai ntenance all owance for full-time training were correspondingly generaus (see Tab1e 1 ).
In response to rising unemployment, the main focus has shifted since 1974 from funding vocational advancement to the guarding against · and ending unemployment. Budgetary consolidation since 1975, which has affected labour market policy, has led both to a reduction of mainte- nance a 11 owances and to ever more restri cti ve regul ati ons governi ng the personal criteria for qualifying for support. The' first decisive changes came in 1975 and 1976 and resulted in a 50 percent cutback in the number of participants. The concentration of funding on the unem- pl oyed came to mean that empl oyed persans taki ng part in further education or retraining had to pay more of the costs themselves. Until 1984, an increasing number of unemployed persans participated in measures of further training despite lower maintenance allowances (which are only slight1y higher than unemployment benefits). In 1984, 66 percent of the 350,000 participants who entered further training had been registered as unemployed before beginning. Initially, it was possible to increase the number of participants who had not completed
14
T A B L E
OVERVIEW OF REGULATIONS GOVERNING FURTHER TRAINING IN THE EMPLDYMENT PROMOTION ACT
Further Education and Retraining On-the-job Adaptation
Legal Ba- Persens Entitled to I Prerequisites for Mainte- sis in Support (§ 42) I nance Allowance (§ 44, § 46)
Force I
Since I
I
I Employmentl All persons who have I Maintenance allowance for I Promotion I had or who desire em- I full-time and part-time meas- 1 Act of I ployment subject to I ures (if 1/3 of the work I 1969 I social security tax I hours are affected), Personal
I I I criteria for eligibility: All
I I I persons who qualify for
I I I support
I I I
Budgetary - Employee with com- I Maintenance allowance only Act of pleted vocational I for full-time measures, sub- 1976 training if subse· I divided into
quently employed at I a) necessary measures if par- I least 3 years I ticipant unemployed, about 1- Employees with in· I to lose his job, or with I complete vocational I incomplete vocational I training if employed I training
I at least 6 years I b) suitable measures (all I Activity as house· I other participants) I wife counted as em- I Personal criteria for eligi- I ployment I bility: Employed at least 2 I I I of last 3 years at a job sub·l I I ject to social security tax I I I or Obligation to work for 3 I
I I years after completion of I
I I measure if participant must I
I I work for personal reasons andl I I if measure is "necessary" I
I I I
4th Amend•l Recognized as occupa- I I
ment of I tions: I I
Ernploymentl - Housewife activity I I
Promotion I · Periods of incom- I I
Act, 1978 I plete vocational I I
I training I I
I • Participation in vo-1 I
I cational preparationi I
I Unemployed with com- I I
I plete vocational I I
I tr~ining can also be I I
I supported if the per· I . I
I son has worked less I I
I than 3 years. Unem- I I
I ployed with incomplete: I
I vocational training I I
I must have worked 3 I I
I years I I
I I I
I
~unt of Mainte-1 nance A 11 owance I
(§ 44) I
I I
Approx. 95 'X' of I net wages I I I I I I
I a) 80 % of net I
wages I
b) 58 % of net I
wages I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
Duration of Wage I
Subsidy I
I I I
1 year (recom~
mended) Condition:
Permanent Job
Max. 1 year I
Condition: I
Emp1oyee must havel already worked 1 1 year; on-the·job I training must 1astl 1onger than 4 I weeks (activity asl housewife counts I as employment) I I I
I I I I I I I I
Condition: I
Employee must havel worked 6 months I
(incomplete voca- I tional training I and participation I in vocational pre-1 paration count as I occupational acti·l
vity). I
I I I I I I I I I
Aalount of 1 Wage Subsidyl
I I I Max. 60 % of net wages
Max. 60 % of wages
Sth Amend·l Occupational activity : Maintenance allowance in· I High·demand occu·l Max. 1 year I Max. 80 ~
ment of I no longer necessary ifl creased for training for I pations: I I of wages Employmentl- unemployed person isl "high·demand" occupations. I 80 ~ net of wagesl I
Promotion I to be reintegrated 1 Personal criteria for eligi- I I I
Act, 1979 1 into his field; ! bility: 3-year qualifying pe-1 I I
1 - person about to lose riod extended for time spent I I I
I his job can be em- · caring for children I I I
I ployed; (max. 3 years per child) I I I
1 - applicant with in· employment abroad I I I
I complete vocational (max. 2 years) I I I
I training can acquire I I I
I professional quali· I I I
I fication I I I
_ _ __,_I _____ ---'---'-~---'1 _________ 1 - - - - -
TABcE (continued)
Further Education and Retraining Legal Ba-
sis in Force Since
I Persons Entitled to I Support (§ 42) I I
I I Emp 1 oyment I I Promotion I I Consolida·l I tion Act I I of 1982 I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
Supplemenal
tary I
Bucget I Act, 1984 I I I I I I I I I
I
7th Amend·l ment of I Emp1oyment\
Promotion : Act, 1986 I I I I I I I
I
16
Prerequisites for Mainte- I ~unt of Hainte-l nance A 11 owance ( § 44, § 46 l I nance All owance I
I (§ «l I
I I
I I
Reduction of .aintenance I a) • 75 1 for 1
allowance for: I participants 1
I a) necessary measures I wit~ child I I b) suitable measures funded I • 68 % for I on1y as a loan I participants I c) maintenance a11owance for I without child I unemployed persons with I
I complete vocationa1 train-1 b) 58 1 as loan I ing is based on 75 % of I
I earnable income I
1 Personal criteria for eligi- I
I bility: I
1 • Period for child care ex• I I tended to 4 years· I I - Persens paying no contribu·l I tion no 1onger receive I 1 maintenance a11owance, onlyl I reimbursement of tuition I
I fees I
I I
I Reduction of •aintenance I a)
I allowance for: I
I a) necessary measures I I b) 1oans for "suitable" meas-1 1 ures become "nonob1igatoryl I payments" ( no 1 onger any I
I legal claim) I
I c) Maintenance allowance aft-1 1 er vocational training 1 I based only on 50 % of I
1 earnable income I
I I
- 70 % for participants with child
· 63 % for participants without chil d
lncrease in maintenance I a) - 73 %
a11owance for: I
a) necessary measures 1 b) - 65 : b) participant again eligiblel
for loans for suitable 1 c) maintenance allowance aft-1
er vocational training 1 based on 7S % of earnable 1
income I
Maintenance a11owance paid 1 through 31 Oecem~er 1989 for 1 part-time measures as we11 I
if applicant I
- is under 25 years old and I if measure is necessary I (part-time employment must I be between 12 and 25 hoursll - resumes gainful employment
but cannot handle full- time measure.
Applicants who do not fulfill qualifying period but who are eligible for unemployment aid now receive maintenance a11owance matehing their un·
ployment aid.
On-the-job Adaptation Duration of Wa~
Subsfdy
Conditi on:
Person must be un-I employed or about 1 to lose job I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
Mlount of I Wage Subsidyl I I I
Max. 1 year; I Max. 70 ~
no Support if I of wages on-the-job train- I
ing conducted with/
s·ame employer I
Through
I I I I I I I
31 Oecember 1989 Subsidy for on-the-job train·
ing also when I temporary contractl
expires I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
vocational training to 33.5 percent of all participants in further training. In 1984, however, they again accounted for only 25.5 percent
(see Table 2).
The orientation of public funding to unemployed persans or employed persans who are threatened wi th the 1 oss of their ·jobs has changed the structure of measures for further training as well. If further train- ing to promote professional advancement received most of the public funding until the mid-1970s, the focus of funding has now shifted to adaptive courses. (In 1984 only 35 percent of the parti ci pants took part in further training to promote professional advancement; · in 1970 it was still 80 percent). The reorientation of funding had a number of consequences for the system of further training, specifically for the control and planning of the curriculum and the design of the courses involved.
The Increasing Control of the Labour Authorities over the Varieties of Further Training
The labour authorities do not usually organize or provide further training themselves. In the final analysis they are the source of funding for the participants and, within certain limits, for institu- tions that develop courses for further training. The vast majority of the persans receivi ng support for their further trai ni ng are trai ned in the many institutions run by the chambers for industry and trade, the employers' associations, the unions, the churches, and commercial estab 1 i shments that provi de further trai ni ng. The desi gn, i nstruc- tional methods, and other aspects of the courses affered are reviewed by the labour authorities; for measures that they recognize, the fees can be reimbursed or a maintenance allowance paid.
Essentially, this arrangement amounts to control based on the
"voucher-system". Interested persans who are entitled to participate recei ve subsi dy vouchers from the 1 abour authori ti es and enter the further-trai ni ng market as i ndependent customers. They are free to select whichever offer they wish, as lang as the courses are "recog-
o:>
TABLE 2
NEW PARTICIPANTS IN FURTHER TRAINING IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (SELECTED YEARS)
--- -- I I I -- T
I Year I Further I Retraining I On-the-Job I Total I Percentage I Percentage I
I I Education I I Adaptation I i of Total I of Total I
I I I I I I Preciously I Vocational I
I I I I l I Unemployed I Training I
I (1) I (2) I (3) I (1-3) I I I I
I I I I I I I I
1 1970 I 117,167 I 23,420 I 29,582 I 170,166 · I 11.3 I 20.1 I
I 1974 I 185,873 I 36,560 I lü, 164 I 232,597 I 16.2 I 17.8 I
1 1975 I 216,407 I 36,575 I 17,871 I 270,853 -1 31.1 I 23.6 I
- I 1976 I 117,351 I 19,061 I 15,115 l 151,527 I 32.9 I 25.3 I
I 1977 I 100,509 I 20,048 I 15,369 I 135,926 I 39.1 I 24.4 I
I 1980 I 176,467 I 37,927 I 32,581 I 246,975 I 43.3 I 31.2 I
1 1982 I 211,928 I 42,103 I 11,469 l 265,527 I 55.0 l 33.5 I
I 1983 I 243,752 l 42,322 I 20,127 I 306,201 I 64.3 I 28.0 I
I 1984 I 290,746 I 43,057 I 19,337 I 353,140 I 66.0 I 25.5 I
I 1985 I 336,520 I 45, 111 I 27,693 I 409,324 I 65.7 I I
I I i I I I I I
SOURCE: Federal Employment Service, Funding of Vocational Training, various years.
nized11 by the labour authorities. Like market failures, the problems and weaknesses of the voucher approach can have a number of reasonso It is difficult for the customers to gain an overview of the supply on the market and to judge the qua 1 ity and the content of the courses o The supply depends on the . regional distribution of the bodies providing further training, the main focus of the ~ubject matter dealt with, and the expectations of the providers as to the demand and the
amorti zati on of thei r i nvestm.ents o
Until the mid-1970s the voucher-system seemed to be sufficient1y consistent with the interests of the 1abour authorities and would-be participants. The financia1 support for peop1e who were oriented to further training and accustomed to education and who cou1d expect to advance professiona11y after successful1y comp1eting such training was based on the assumption that each individual was expected to examine the courses for hirnself or herselfo Already at that time, however, regional problems with the availability of certain courses became evident, and there was a general lack of further-training courses for technical and industrial occupatians (see Garlichs & Maier 1982).
Warkers and unemp 1 ayed persans wha were not accustomed to educati on had the narrowest range of choiceo When the task af the labour author- ities changed in the mid-1970s, it started "cantracting out" complete courses af study in individual occupations and far target groupso The labaur autharities would 11buy11 an entire course of study, and the body providing the courses cammitted itself to conducting it at the expense and request of the labour authoritieso Taday such contracting is almest the rule rather than the exception (see Weitzel 1984; Sauter et a 1. 1984) 0 Present studi es show th at 50 percent of a 11 persans participating in further training are taking courses that have been contracted out, with the labaur autharities caunse1ing the partici- pants to take a particular course and then "assigning" them to it. (To what degree ane can speak af free choice in this regard is not at i ssue here.)
In principle, the labour authorities can contract out any type of further training. In reality, however, they play a role only for vocational retraining and adaptive training. In these areas, the labour authorities have deve1oped many new courses:
Information and motivation courses (lasting from four to six weeks) Training companies and workshops intended to allow vocational skills to be maintained and adapted in a setting that simulates actual conditions on the job (lasting an average of six months)
- In-company trai ni ng i ntended to all ow the parti ci pants to acqui re practical experience in companies (without becoming company employ- ees).
Most of the contracted courses deal with manufacturing and administra- tive occupations.
The planning, initiation, and content of the contracted courses are in the hands of the labour authorities, who face a number of new problems in the development and implementation of these courses:
- The very planning of the courses - including the quantitative aspects - is difficult because there is little useful statistical or official information about the regional labour or training market, the result being that planning is mainly based on the experience of the staff of the local employment office. They are genera11y ori ented to the avai 1 ab 1 e trai ni ng capacity of thei r 1 oca 1 institutions, to the existing range of courses, and to the potential number o! part i ci pants. I ncreases or reduct i ons in the number of courses contracted out and the intensity or selectivity of the search for participants depends mainly on the financial situation.
If the region 1acks certain futther-training courses for which there are people with an interest and local companies with a need, the 1 abour authori ti es are often unab 1 e to offer more than medi um-term assistance in setting up new providers.
20
- Courses are diffi cult to desi gn because curri cul a exi st for only a sma 11 number of the trai ni ng measures. As a resu 1 t, the 1 oca 1 providers of further training, which often compete with one another, offer courses wi th comp 1 etely di ssimi 1 ar · subject matters and dura- ti ons to achi eve the same trai ni ng objecti ves. The 1 abour authori- ties have neither the staff nor the professional expertise to judge the costs and quality of the various courses offered. They are burdened with the difficult task of developing binding standards for the content of heretofore nonstandardi zed courses so that their usefulness for the labour marekt can be gauged to some extent.
- Because the practical relevance of the courses affered by most institutions providing further training is not as central for them as low drop-out rates, the labour authorities are also tending to become responsible for adapting course content to the new qualifica- tions either required or generally recognized by companies. In contracting out courses, the labour authorities must thus build up new curricular elements and/or they have to include phases of prac- tical training in local companies. There is a problern to find institutions on the local level that fulfill different criteria at the same time: Institutions sponsored by employers•_ associations and chambers generally offer further training of a practical nature, but these courses are not designed for the unemployed or for unskilled and semiskilled workers. Other bodies providing further training are often less practically oriented, but do offer special courses for certain target groups.
The labour authorities receive relatively little support from local business when designing measures. Although the decision-making structure of every employment office involves employers, unions, and public bodies, employment office•s policies on further training are not a subject of discussion. When the support for further training shifted to the unemployed, the interest of employers in this area decreased, the result being that their personnel management is not closely coordinated with public policy on further training.
-An additional problem, particularly in rural areas, is either the absence of bodies to provide further training or so few of them that many courses cannot be conducted for 1 ack of capacity. The 1 abour authorities must thus motivate responsible bodies to expand their capacity or must bring in new ones. As far as institutio~s providing further training are concerned, however,
conducting contracted courses are ambivalent.
tion schedules contracted courses · to meet
the consequences of If a training institu- at the same time as courses that the participant can freely choose, it attracts a new circle of participants through the contracted courses. Because the 1 abour authorities recruit the participants and assume the costs, the risl< is lower than that for free-choice courses. At the same time, however, the i nstituti on .becomes more dependent upon pub 11 c subsidies, and the negative impact of cutbacks in this area is felt immediately (see Sauter et al. 1984).
Case studies in selected employment-office districts (see Maier, F., forthcomi ng) have revea 1 ed that the resul ts of the i ncrease in con- tracted courses are ambi va 1 ent. Because contracted courses are con- trolled and implemented by local employment offices (as provided for in 1 ega 1 regu 1 at i ons and gui de 1 i nes for conduct i ng the courses, of course), supraregional qual ity standards hardly have a chance to develop. The scope and nature of the courses evidently depend on other factors such as the existence of bodies providing further training in the r:egion and the relationship between labour authorities and local businesses. Regional differences in the qualification structure of the unemployed and the demand for labour are reflected in different degrees of emphasis placed on individual occupational fields, but the implementation of "modern" and new curricular elements is rather ad hoc and undirected. Commercial bodies providing further training, which sometimes have branches throughout the Federal Republic of Germany, often offer their services to the labour authorities at reasonable prices and, although they are unfamiliar with the busines- ses in the particular region, some of them are awarded contracts sole- ly on cost considerations. Costs also partly explain why many employ- ment offices try to motivate companies to conduct contracted courses,
22
but the main reason is to mesh publicly conducted courses with actual practice within companies. Interest in further training organized as much as possible araund the company, combined with the hope that participants would then be able to find a new job more quickly, often takes priority over quality contro1. 3
3. Continued Development of Further Training Over the last fifteen years,
Federal Reupublic of Germany.
organized, initiated, and/or part of the trai ni ng system.
further trai ni ng has changed in the In quantitative terms, further training financed by the company is an important It is open mainly to highly qualified specialists and executives, it focuses on a company's regular work force, and it helps stabilize company hierarchies. Publicly financed further trai ni ng conducted pri mari ly outside the company has come to focus on the unemployed or on employees who stand to lose their jobs.
This process of polarization seems to be a serious matter because the linkage between the development of company qualifications and further trai ni ng courses outside the company Iias been weakened and because further training oriented to long-term development of qualification is tending to be neglected in favour of short-term measures to update and adapt skills.
The Growing Importance of Further Training
By the end of the l960s, educational economists of national and inter- national institutions were already stressing of growing need for further trai ni ng. At that time the OECD deve 1 oped the concept of
"recurrent education". National institutions like the German labour authorities began to promote further training ·as a new part of their 3 This hope is supported by evaluations which show that the percentage of previously unemployed participants, who found a job after the training course, is higher for courses within companies than for courses conducted by training institutions (the figures for adaptive training show that 64 percent (in-company) and 51 percent (training institutions) found a job, the figures for retraining are 66 percent and 56 percent, see IAB, 1985}.
·' I
