The German Dual Apprenticeship System: An Analysis of Its Evolution and Present Challenges.

The evolution of Germany's dual apprenticeship system and the challenges now facing it were reviewed. The following topics were considered: (1) the progression from craft guilds to vocational training; (2) the history of Germany's dual apprenticeship system from its organization in the 1970s; (4) apprenticeship in the dual system; (3) Germany's education system; (5) regulation of vocational training; (6) financing and the cost of training; (7) adjusting skills to new requirements; (8) regulation of the apprenticeship placement system; (9) continuing vocational training in Germany; (10) new challenges for today's dual system; (11) apprenticeship in Germany's Eastern Lander; (12) apprenticeship as a strategy for fighting youth unemployment; (13) Quebec's apprenticeship system; (14) an overview of apprenticeship in Canada; and (15) a comparison of the German model of apprenticeship to models in other countries. The success of Germany's dual apprenticeship system was attributed to the fact that it does not compete against itself by attempting to solve the problems of adjusting to changes in the labor market by creating branches that are parallel to system's existing branches and thereby undermining the value of the existing system or creating "upward competition through higher-level training programs." (Contains 12 tables/graphs, 33 endnotes, and 36 references.) (MN)