The International Quality Competition and Its Implications for Vocational Education and Training

Abstract

The scientific and political discussion about the transformation of the industrial society is characterized by the thesis of the tertiarization of the economic sectors and the replacement of the industrial by the knowledge society. A guiding principle derived from this scenario is to introduce modularized certification systems for the qualification of skilled workers in the intermediary sector. The European Union has thus introduced the formula: “Qualification independent of place and time.” This creed had just as negative effects on the quality of vocational education and training as the so-called “college-for-all” policy.