Between Economic Cooperation and Social Policy: Short-Track Dual Training and Inclusiveness in Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland

The provision of dual (firm- and school-based) vocational education and training (VET) to vulnerable groups is an increasingly pertinent issue within collectively governed training systems. In some cases, shorter, theory-reduced, apprenticeships (“short-track” programs) leading to standardized vocational certificates have been introduced for these groups. However, we still know little about how public and private actors in collective governance shape such (potentially) inclusiveness-enhancing programs and institutions. To explore this topic further, we situate our study at the nexus of political economy research on decentralized economic cooperation and social policy research on inclusiveness. The paper focusses on the legal introduction and implementation of short-tracks. We conduct a historical-institutionalist comparison of the three main cases of short-track dual training, namely Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. The paper combines document analysis and semi-structured interviews with representatives of employers, employees, but also national and regional state agencies. While all three countries consolidated their short-tracks in the 1990s during a crisis on the apprenticeship market, we observe significant variation in their institutionalization and governance. In particular, our analysis finds variation in the engagement and cooperation of the different actors at three core governance levels: the sectoral, occupational, and the regional levels. In addition, we observe gradual institutional change in Denmark and Switzerland but more radical policy change in Germany. Our study provides new insights on the positioning, influence, and degrees of support of the different key VET actors in relation to inclusiveness-enhancing skill formation. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of these findings for related social policy field.