Learning factories in vocational schools: Challenges for designing and implementing learning factories at vocational schools

Abstract

Today’s industry is facing many challenges. To successfully face those challenges, the companies have to rely on employees on all hierarchy levels that are able to quickly adapt to unknown situations and complex problems. In recent years, learning factories have been established in universities and industry-owned training facilities as a means to allow training in a realistic manufacturing environment. In Germany, most of the shop-floor workforce is trained in the dual vocational training consisting of learning the foundation of their respected profession at a vocational school while learning the specific job-related tasks and skill at the company where they are employed. The establishment of learning factories at vocational schools presents new challenges for vocational training and education, since the requirements and obstacles are somewhat different than at academic levels. This paper describes the implementation of learning factories at vocational schools and the difficulties that are associated with this form of vocational education. Finally, new concepts and developments to support learning factories in vocational schools are presented.