Shaping Occupational Biography and Working Conditions: A Pedagogical Principle in Different VET Systems

Abstract

The “shaping principle” in VET – in contrast to the still widespread “adaptation approach” – strengthens the education dimension, in the sense of fostering personality development, within VET and work processes. Instead of only following the rules, the issue is to “shape” them by participating in decisions about how things could, should, and will be done. Historically, the shaping principle originated in the context of endeavors toward humanization of work during the 1970s, mainly in countries with a strong tradition of workers’ participation. A new idea for “Bildung” arose within VET, related to organization and content of work and later also toward social shaping of technology, that is shaping – by the skilled workers – not only the application or use but also the implementation and even the development of technology. The issue of shaping workers’ own occupational biography subsequently came into the focus, where supporting people in decisions regarding their occupational biography is the task of processes of vocational orientation. This applies both for young people in the context of VET and for adults. The chapter adopts a perspective of international comparison, in this case a European perspective. The dependency of possibilities and opportunities for shaping in “systems of gainful employment/occupation” is described, with reference to five systems, moreover orientations of VET, and the factors promoting and hindering shaping. Accordingly, weak VET structures and strong educational orientations of VET promote shaping the own occupational biography. Weak formal rights of participation hinder shaping working conditions and work, whereas the neo-corporatist system promotes it particularly well.