Five Training Models. Training Occasional Paper No. 9.

Three centuries ago only religious schools and apprenticeship controlled by the guilds existed to provide training. Regular academic schools originated in religions that needed a well-educated clergy, and these schools offered the model for the universal basic and secondary schools that exist today in nearly all countries. The European guilds gave structure and substance to learning through the opportunity to study with a master. Apprenticeship has survived the centuries. At its most sophisticated, it has become very complex and structured, as in the German dual system. Three types of training have roots in the regular schools: arts and crafts schools, vocational and technical schools, and comprehensive high schools. Although France offers many other forms of skill training, the typical French system provides for the simultaneous delivery of skills and the regular school curricula. A system that has greatly influenced other countries is the U.S. comprehensive high school. Its main characteristic is to keep all students together until the end of the secondary level. Three systems are descendants of the apprenticeship tradition: the dual system from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland; enterprise-based training centers in Latin American countries; and the Japanese system in which vocational training is offered by large corporations. These systems cannot simply be transplanted from one society to another. They must be adapted to local conditions. In addition, their shortcomings in the country of origin tend to be exaggerated. (Contains 19 references.) (YLB)