OECD report praises German vocational education

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Germany is still lagging behind other member countries in academics statistics. Furthermore, the majority of students still tend to come from an academic family background. But the Paris-based organisation is full of praise for the country's vocational education system.

Past OECD reports have been criticised by German politicians for not taking the country's vocational education system into account in its assessments. In particular, they have stressed that the content of many higher education degree programmes offered in other countries are taught in Germany’s vocational education system.

This time, the organisation explicitly states that Germany's high vocational education standards could be one of the reasons for a lower tendency for students to enrol in higher education programmes than in other OECD countries.

"Germany is educating itself more than ever before. And this is the best insurance against unemployment and a lack of skilled labour," says Education and Research Minister Johanna Wanka. "Our education system is also so successful because young people are offered two alternatives of equal value: higher and vocational education."