"The obsession with academia has subsided" - and now is especially the time when non-academic training needs strengthening. This is the view of educational theorist Julian Nida-Rümelin. Individual cooperative arrangements between vocational schools and universities already exist, but experts are calling for uniform regulation.
Philosophy professor Julian Nida-Rümelin is convinced that Germany has a very successful model; it's just that everybody refuses to accept this. He explained that, for a long time, the OECD demanded that Germany send more students to universities. Nida-Rümelin remains convinced that this was the wrong way to go. Views are slowly changing, he points out, and therefore non-academic education and training needs to be strengthened and given equal status alongside university provision.
"The obsession with academia has subsided. Many more parents are saying to themselves, hang on a second, there are other options here."
The Munich-based educational theorist is calling for a vocational schools' pact - for vocational schools, colleges delivering vocational education and training (VET), and for vocational education and training - and regards this as essential. He envisions a pact similar to the Higher Education Pact of 12 years ago which saw huge strides forwards in funding levels and the future viability of science and research. However, this was at the expense of vocational education and training.
"There are quotes from prominent educational researchers in Germany saying there was no future in this. Now people are saying, be careful, hang on a second, this is a real gem which we need to preserve - hence my plea for a pact - federal government, federal states, but also Chambers of Crafts and Trades, Chambers of Industry and Commerce, unions and companies - let's have a pact to promote vocational education and training in all its different forms."
For him this is not about stopping young people entering higher education, going to universities, or preventing them from studying:
"I'm not concerned with protecting universities. On the contrary, we need greater mobility and less of a link between a young person's background and their educational qualifications. It is misguided to believe that we can achieve this by constantly lowering the performance requirements. It has been empirically proven that this is the wrong approach."
Engineering diploma comparable to bachelor's degree
In general terms, Siegfried Hummelsberger, Head of the Munich Technical College of Mechanical Engineering, Metal Construction Technology, Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, regards the move by Julian Nida-Rümelin very positively. However, Hummelsberger believes that "Nida-Rümelin primarily has his sights on universities". He is referring here to the slightly dubious way in which vocational schools are regarded today in the public eye. He points out that vocational schools are not the factory outlet for universities, but instead the backbone of small and medium-sized companies in Germany. In his office there are five trophies lined up next one another from the last two years. National awards for Engineering Newcomer 2017, first and second place 2018 and first place in the all-time list:
"There is a so-called best ever list which we have come top of for the last two years and the prizes are for final engineering papers. These can be seen as equivalent to a bachelor's thesis, just with much greater practical relevance."
Cooperation between vocational schools and universities
Hummelsberger, who is also a training advisor with the Bavarian Association of Vocational School Teachers (Verein bayerischer Berufsschullehrer, VLB) reflects for a moment and adds that fundamentally Nida-Rümelin is right. Vocational schools should be given equal status alongside universities. Hummelsberger explains that cooperative arrangements are already in place, it's just that the public is unaware of this.
"For example, we collaborate with the Institute of Internal Combustion Engines. Our students have been going there and doing placements in the engine test bench department."
His college also delivers advanced teacher training at Munich Technical University, and his experts in the area of digitalisation, smart factory and Industry 4.0 have close links to universities in Bavaria, as well as in Wales. One of his graduates is currently completing a PhD in Liverpool. In addition to reducing the time in training and in vocational schools to two years, individual subjects have been split up according to students' prior learning. This means "that students with the upper secondary school leaving certificate can be released from certain subjects and then follow a so-called plus programme". This means that they don't have to complete standard tuition in German for example, and instead can do public speaking courses, business courses or take advantage of similar courses.
Head of Technical College Hummelsberger: "Equal status alongside universities"
The neighbouring vocational school for production technology is a partner college of the Technical University. If its graduates go to the universities they could achieve a bachelor's degree in eighteen months using recognition arrangements. However, the academic achievements of degree dropouts are also recognised at the vocational schools:
"Particularly in the basic subjects. In the case of a mechanical engineer for example - engineering mechanics, materials science, etc. A detailed comparison needs to be made: It can be credited or not depending on whether the content is approximately similar. However this situation is quite problematic for us. The autonomy of universities means that we have to negotiate what can be credited and how much can be credited in detail with each individual university. Unfortunately there's no one-size-fits-all solution here."
The Bavarian Ministry of Education and Cultural affairs welcomes all forms of vocational training but sees no need for action to be taken. There is currently a pact for VET 4.0, explains Bavaria's new Education Minister Michael Piazolo, from the Free Voters party. However this relates only to digitalisation. The minister emphasizes that there is also no shortage in terms of teaching resources and he explains that the coalition government of CSU and Free Voters is well positioned in this respect. In his time as opposition politician, he had repeatedly criticized the shortage of teachers in Bavaria.