Abstract Despite its success in smoothing the transition from education to the labour market, the German system of apprenticeship training is often criticised as inflexible. Yet, under specific conditions, many apprentices can shorten the standard training duration by up to one year, either by agreeing a shorter duration when signing the contract or by obtaining early admission to the final examination. Empirically, little is known about how frequently these options are used and what economic consequences they have. Using the Vocational Training Statistics for 2008 to 2023, we show that, on average, 21% of newly signed apprenticeship contracts were shortened by at least six months, while 7.3% of the graduates of an apprenticeship used the option of preponed final exams. We then combine these descriptive results with simulations based on unique cost-benefit data on apprenticeship training. The simulations suggest sizeable monetary gains for both firms and apprentices: depending on the scenario, firms can reduce training costs by up to about EUR 9,000, whereas apprentices can gain up to about EUR 25,700 through earlier access to skilled-worker wages. These results indicate that institutionalised options to shorten training duration constitute an important and often overlooked source of flexibility in the German apprenticeship training system.
Abstract Perceived risk of experiencing NEET status (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) reflects young people’s sense of uncertainty regarding their future transition from education to work. This exploratory study examined two educational transitions among vocational students: successful entry into the desired field of study within vocational education and students’ perceived NEET risk regarding their future education-to-work transition. The study used nationally collected cross-sectional survey data from 2024, comprising 7,910 Finnish vocational students aged 15–29 years (45% women). Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with entering the desired field of study, and hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the associations of structural background characteristics, experiences related to entry into VET, and current educational experiences with perceived NEET risk. Adequate guidance before entering vocational education was associated with a greater likelihood of entering the desired field of study. Entry into the desired field of study and positive educational experiences during vocational education—including school belonging, support during studies, teaching quality, and satisfaction with learning resources—were independently associated with lower perceived NEET risk. By contrast, the association of pre-entry guidance did not remain after current educational experiences were taken into account. Students with low parental education and those reporting a perceived minority background were less likely to enter their desired field of study and reported higher perceived NEET risk. The findings highlight the importance of both successful entry into vocational education and positive educational experiences during vocational studies for students’ expectations concerning their future transition from education to work.
Video-based reflection can help learners recognize procedural errors and develop prevention strategies. 360° video-based virtual reality (360°VR) is increasingly used for error analysis, especially in tertiary education, because it can depict authentic professional situations with a high degree of physical realism. However, little is known about whether analyzing one’s own errors differs from analyzing a peer’s errors in 360°VR and about how vocational learners respond to this task. Using a two-condition between-groups design, this pilot study compared two approaches to error analysis in 360°VR: healthcare assistant apprentices analyzed either their own venipuncture procedure (SELF; n = 16) or a peer’s procedure (PEER; n = 17). Outcomes included error-analysis performance, sense of presence, epistemic emotions, motivation, and perceived cognitive demand. Between-group differences were analyzed using Mann–Whitney U tests. SELF participants reported a higher sense of presence and perceived usefulness, but also greater anxiety. Although SELF participants rated the error-analysis task as easier than PEER participants did, performance did not differ detectably and was low in both conditions, suggesting that the task may have been difficult for apprentices. The substantially greater effort required to produce individualized SELF recordings was therefore not matched by any detectable gain in error-analysis performance. Future research should examine whether differences between SELF and PEER observation in 360°VR vary with expertise, guidance, and error salience.
Abstract Background In their daily working lives, teachers are confronted with numerous job demands, including conflicts with individual colleagues or the school management, learners with high heterogeneity or a lack of motivation, and technical issues. Dealing with these job demands can have varied effects, such as increased burnout rates, decreased well-being, and less job satisfaction. Especially in vocational education, the personal effects of teachers’ job demands remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the effects of teachers’ job demands on their mental health and how the available resources might influence this relationship. Methods The job demands–resources model was used to better understand the relationships between teachers’ job demands and their mental health as well as the role of teachers’ resources. This study draws on a dataset of N = 1470 vocational education teachers in [state], Germany. Cross-sectional data were collected using an online questionnaire in which the participating teachers answered questions about their perceptions of their job demands, their private and job resources, and the mental health-related outcomes of well-being, job satisfaction, and burnout. A regression and moderation analysis was employed to analyze the relationship between perceived job demands and the three mental health-related outcomes, as well as how the resources influenced this relationship. Results The results show that task scope and complexity are the most prevailing demands. Furthermore, the perception of job demands was negatively related to teachers’ well-being and job satisfaction and positively related to burnout. Regarding the resources, resilience was identified as the only resource moderating the impact of job demands on burnout significantly, which indicates that higher resilience and is associated with lower burnout despite the presence of job demands. Conclusion Teacher resilience was found beneficial for teachers to handle the demands they face at work. Policymakers should generally aim to reduce job demands for teachers, especially regarding task scope and complexity. Our data suggests that teachers might increase their resistance to job demands by strengthening their resilience. Resilience interventions during teacher training could be a way of supporting them.
Abstract Transitions from school to apprenticeship represent a critical stage in vocational education and training (VET), yet little is known about how vocational teachers prepare students for this shift. Drawing on focus groups and individual interviews with 37 teachers across three vocational programmes in Norwegian upper secondary VET, this study examines pedagogical approaches to apprenticeship preparation and how they are shaped by expectations of working life, vocational field characteristics and school context. We identified four recurrent approaches: classroom simulations of workplace settings, experience-based storytelling, mock interviews and biographical self-work, and facilitated reflection and discussion. Across programmes, teachers foregrounded domain-general competencies, such as punctuality, reliability, communication and cooperation, while embedding these in field-specific tasks and interactions. In Norway’s 2 + 2 model, this emphasis may appear counterintuitive, given that two years of school-based VET precede apprenticeship. The findings show how employer expectations are translated into situated teaching practices and underscore both the importance of school-based preparation and the need to scrutinise the prominence of behavioural regulation.
