THE VOCATIONAL-TRAINING SYSTEM IN GERMANY - INDUSTRIAL BACKGROUND ANDTHE CHALLENGES OF THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

For many decades, its vocational training system was a central strengt h of the German industrial model. However, this system was shaped prof oundly by the industrial society in which it developed. This applies t o both its intermediary regulatory structure and the underlying traini ng and occupational concepts as well as to the patterns of social clos ure legitimated by vocational training. As a result, the transformatio n from an industrial to a knowledge society is confronting the vocatio nal training system with new challenges that may be beyond its powers to adapt: The differentiation and increasing variety of training requi rements make it much more difficult to regulate the system; expanding higher education and the increasing proportion of advanced service act ivities favor school-based training and recruiting strategies; and the close ties between professional qualifications and organizational sta tus hierarchies makes it harder to implement new forms of organization and work. These institutional lock-in effects make it necessary to as k whether the current vocational training system will be able to cope with new patterns of work, organization, and training.