„Mission impossible“? Aufbau dualer Berufsausbildung in England und Irland

To many observers the diffusion of the model of dual training appears to be an appropriate step towards curtailing youth unemployment in Europe. In this article, we discuss to what extent attempts to promote dual vocational training structures have been successful in countries that do not have a well-established tradition of social partnership. Based on two case studies on England and Ireland, we show that developing dual apprenticeship institutions is possible, but that national political interests, particularly of governing parties, are central to this process. In England during the 1980s, the conservative Thatcher governments lastingly weakened the influence of trade unions on training. As a result, the subsequent attempts to develop a dual system of vocational training failed. In contrast, the case of Ireland shows that establishing such structures in a liberal economy is possible. Here coalition governments pursued a social partnership approach based on cooperation between employers and trade unions, which thus facilitated the basis for cooperation in the dual system of vocational training.