1. Analysing the conceptual background of the WLP project

1.1. Starting point: opening the German predecessor concepts for European cooperation

In European cooperation projects it is unusual to relate the key concepts to their national and culturally specific origins. More often the European cooperation projects work with an understanding that they have already reached the level of trans-national and European concept development when they start their work.

In the case of the WLP project the project was based very clearly on the experience of prior German pilot projects and on tools and instruments that had been used in the projects. However, the project was not based on the simplistic assumption that the German-based working concepts could be transplanted to other countries as such. Instead, the working hypothesis was that the project can use common tools for preparatory analyses and thus avoid a speculative debate on cultural differences that could slow down the transition from preparatory analyses to fieldwork and piloting. In this respect it is appropriate to provide insights into the German predecessor projects and to explore the role of key concepts, developmental tools and related pedagogic ideas.

1.2. Analysis on the German predecessor activities

As direct or indirect predecessor activities it is possible indicate three German pilot projects (“Modellversuche”), that have focused on the development of workplace learning, regional partnership cooperation and new occupational profiles. Some of these pilot projects have addressed directly the issue of regional partnerships and regional cooperation whereas others have put the main emphasis on the development of new occupational profiles (and related working and learning tasks). In the light of the above the German pilot projects to be presented as the predecessor activities are the following ones:

1. The pilot project GOLO („Gestaltungsorientierte Berufsausbildung im Lernortverbund von Klein- und Mittebetrieben und Berufsschule im Bereich gewerblich-technischer Berufsbildung (Metall und Elektro) in der Region Wilhelmshaven“) was implemented in the Wilhelmshaven region in 1994-1999. The aim of the piloting was to increase the enrolment to the dual system of VET and strengthen the cooperation of learning venues.
2. The pilot project GAB („Geschäfts- und Arbeitsprozessbezogene dual-kooperative Ausbildung in Ausgewählten Industrieberufen mit optionalen Fachhochschulreife“) was implemented on all German production sites of the Volkswagen company in 1999-2003. The aim of the project was to develop new vocational training profiles that were linked to integrative working and learning tasks.
3. The pilot project GAPA (“Geschäfts- und Arbeitsprozessbezogene Ausbildung”) was implemented in the Federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia in 2000-2004. The aim of this project was to disseminate the said innovation concepts in a set of pilot regions.

In this context it is not possible to present detailed analyses of the above mentioned predecessor activities. Instead, it is more appropriate to consider what kind of themes the said pilot projects brought forward regarding the development of workplace learning and partnership-based cooperation. A brief summary of the cases is given in the table 1.

Table 1: Starting points and working issues in the German pilot activities

Main characteristics of pilot activities

Different generations of pilot activities Starting points for the cross-over between VET provisions and work organisations Working issues related to the shaping of workplace learning and partnership-cooperation GOLO (Shaping-oriented regional VET partnership project based on collaboration with SMEs?)

Regional pilot project that linked the school-related pilot activities to partnership-creation and collaboration with a number of small and medium enterprises in the region Joint shaping of a technology centre as means to transform VET colleges into a modern service providers; shaping of VET curricula and working & learning assignments as parallel area of cooperation

GAB (Work process- oriented renewal of vocational curricula in the VET provisions linked to a major industrial partner) Industry-centred pilot project that linked the school-related pilot activities to renewal of the competence profiles in the VET provisions offered in all training sites of a major industrial enterprise Aggregation and modernisation of vocational profiles as means to make industrial work more attractive for young people; shaping of VET curricula and working & learning assignments as key area of cooperation GAPA (Work process-oriented & partnership-based development of VET provisions in six pilot regions) Multi-regional pilot project that promoted the partnership-related working concept of the GOLO project and the shaping approach of both prior projects in six pilot regions. Creation of VET partnerships and joint shaping of working & learning assignments in the branches that were target areas in the GAB project ‘regional multiplier-project supported by the industrial branch association)

1.3. Analysis of the key characteristics, developmental tools and related pedagogic ideas

Regarding the perspective of European cooperation it is worthwhile to note the following key characteristics of the theme ‘workplace learning partnerships’ in the said pilot projects:

1. Dual system of apprenticeship: The pilot projects link the theme ‘workplace learning’ to the context of initial VET and to the related regulative framework in Germany.
2. Broadening the cooperation of learning sites: One of the main features of the said pilot projects has been the opening of the traditional cooperation between one training provider (VET college) and one partner enterprise for partnerships that involve several enterprises (as providers of workplace learning opportunities).
3. Use of specific tools for analysing the learning potentials of workplaces: As a means to optimise the use of workplaces as training sites the projects used workshops and specific tools (which latterly were named as the Learning Potential Analysis). The workshops and the analyses paved the way for finding suitable cooperation arrangements and rotation sequences.
4. Rethinking vocational training profiles: The two latter pilot projects were explicitly linked to a reform agenda that was developing more integrated vocational training profiles. In this context the analysis of characteristic working tasks was linked to a nation-wide effort to develop new training profiles.
5. Piloting with local curriculum implementation: The projects were introducing new concepts that pave the way for collaborative leaching-learning arrangements and new patterns of combining training periods. In this respect the pilot projects paved the way for later reform concepts that institutionalised such use of learning spaces.

1.4. Reflective commentary

Viewed from the perspective of the German pre-history the WLP project provided a working context for the europeanisation of the theme ‘workplace learning partnerships’ and for related European research & development dialogue. In this context it is essential to raise the following questions:

1. How can country-specific piloting concepts from German be presented as inputs to European cooperation? How can these inputs be reinterpreted and refocused in the light of the problems (and interests) of project partners from other education and training cultures?
2. To what extent (and in what way) can different elements of such piloting concepts be incorporated into the work of a European project? How can they be related to the national activities in other countries?
3. To what extent (and in what way) can the European project design be kept sufficiently open for inputs from other participating countries? How can the joint work process support strategic knowledge enrichment in all participating countries?