DC dVET @ first completely virtual GIZ Thementag 2020

Permeability and flexibility of education systems play a central role in the attractiveness of dual VET. At this year’s GIZ Thementag, the DC dVET Secretariat co-organized a workshop on “How can education systems become more permeable and flexible?” together with the Competence Centre.

In her introduction, Prof. Dr. Ursula Renold from the Chair of Education Systems at ETH Zurich gave a general overview of the topic with a focus on permeability. She explained that education systems should offer (further) education opportunities for ALL people throughout their lives. However, this is not yet the case in many countries, as there is a lack of further education opportunities at tertiary level, especially in VET. In addition, the permeability between vocational and academic education is often not possible or very complicated. However, she sees the digital transformation, which has been further accelerated by the Corona pandemic, as a key driver of enhanced permeability for many national education systems.

Kim Bauer, Program Component Manager of GIZ in Jordan, completed Prof. U. Renold’s general overview with insights into the work of the project «Labour Market-Oriented Vocational Education, Higher Education and Training – MOVE-HET» and its efforts to make the Jordanian education system more permeable. Among other things, the project is working on improving vertical permeability (=improved transition to tertiary VET). The aim is both to improve the qualification levels of young people and to strengthen the reputation and attractiveness of vocational training in Jordan. An important complementary component is the strengthening of vocational guidance. This enables young people to be adequately informed about the options available in VET and to identify the most suitable occupations and training courses for each individual. Challenges in the project relate in particular to the involvement of the private sector and the cooperation of the various relevant actors – especially the private sector, the ministries involved and universities – on the topic of permeability.

After an open discussion with all workshop participants, the following key points of the workshop were identified as a summary:

For those of you interested in the topic of permeability in dual VET, a.o., the following publication provides further information.