Enhancing Permeability Between Vocational and Tertiary Education Through Corporate Learning

Abstract

The restructuring of corporate organizational concepts and the digitization of the working world since the 1980s and 1990s were accompanied by a renaissance of learning at work. Corporate learning is becoming increasingly important for companies particularly in terms of employees’ competence development. It is a kind of learning in the process of work, which is connected with non-formal and formal learning both within and outside the company. Additionally, forms of organization of learning combine working and learning while work is taking place in the here and now and apply different models of work-related learning. Digital work expands and intensifies corporate learning by dint of virtual learning components. The competences acquired in corporate learning have to be acknowledged via a permeable education system in terms of credit increments integrated into formal educational programs. Validation procedures facilitate the assessment, valuation, and certification of informal and non-formal learning. Informally and non-formally acquired competences can be compared to other educational areas and programs through their association with educational standards.

Educational standards for vocational education and training comprise the content, learning place, and staff-related standards of the Vocational Training Act (BBiG) introduced in 1969 and their implementation in recognized initial and further education and training regulations. The classification of standards-based vocational competencies in the German Qualifications Framework (DQR) enables their comparison with educational programs and modules implemented in academic, i.e., tertiary education. The DQR functions as a framework for reference and permeability.

A shift in workplace learning and additional demographic, labor market, and higher education policy developments have led to the adoption of two pathways toward permeability between vocational and tertiary education that are recognized nationwide. The ideal solution is to acknowledge and award competence-based vocational education based on educational standards.