In Germany, approximately 11 per cent of skilled workers with dual vocational education and training are engaged in higher-grade work which usually also requires a higher-grade qualification.
For example, they might be trained management assistants for retail services working as a branch manager, or motor vehicle mechatronics technicians employed as production managers. These skilled workers have advanced in their careers even without having the formal higher-grade qualification, and are therefore earning a higher income than those individuals with dual vocational education and training who are employed in line with their qualification. This is the finding of a current analysis from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) entitled "Career advancement through higher grade employment - a comparison of men and women with dual vocational education and training."
The BIBB analysis shows that men (13 per cent) make this step up in their career more frequently than women (7 per cent) and that specific training occupations offer a particularly high likelihood of career advancement. These include IT, scientific, commercial and corporate service occupations such as information technology specialist, management assistant in wholesale and retail services, industrial and bank clerks, as well as production occupations in the areas of mechatronics, energy and electronics.
The vast majority of the individuals working at a higher grade feel able to cope with the requirements placed on them which would suggest, in the view of the BIBB experts, that they largely possess the necessary specialist knowledge and skills enabling them to perform the duties required of them in the job. The analysis also emphasizes that dual vocational education and training does not represent a dead-end in terms of career. Even without the professional higher-level qualification, individuals with vocational education and training are not entirely excluded from higher-grade employment normally attained by means of upgrading training, for example as a master craftsman or specialist.
BIBB President Friedrich Hubert Esser believes that, due to the digital transformation, tomorrow's world of work will be characterized by new activities and different competencies. "This transformation may increase the trend towards performing higher-grade activities because the vocational skills demanded in the labour market are changing faster than the qualification structure of the labour supply. The findings show that those with vocational qualifications are also able to perform higher-grade activities and are already adaptable in the working world today when it comes to meeting these requirements."
The BIBB analysis is based on data from the 2018 Labour Force Survey. The representative sample of around 20,000 employees surveyed in Germany is conducted by BIBB and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA). The analysis only includes employees whose highest qualification is dual vocational education and training.