Review - Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research

differentiated further. For example, for the professional and pedagogical
aptitude, the regulations mainly focus on general principles (such as
legal conditions, involved persons and organisations), regulations for the
planning of the training (such as the suitability of the training
organisations, the collaboration with the vocational school for the
theoretical phases within the dual system, etc.), the involvement during
the recruiting phases for the trainees (including recruiting criteria,
training contract, etc.), training on the job (such as practical support,
controlling of learning success, etc.), assistance during the learning
process (including cooperation with external organisations, considering
cultural differences, etc.), training within a group (such as short
presentations, training of team learning, etc.) and completing training
(including preparing for examinations, generating certificates, etc.)
Quality
assurance
approach
There is not one dominant quality assurance approach in the initial training system.
As described above, there are different bodies, training regulations and test processes
that ensure quality.
In the Germany’s VET system many approaches are applied. In cases when the
Federal Employment Agency is financing VET courses, the providers need to be
approved and they need to apply a systematic instrument for quality assurance and
quality development according to AZWV §8, Abs. 4.
According to a national representative study 78 (2005) conducted by the Federal
Institute for Vocational Education and Training, almost all providers of further
education (98 per cent) 79 assure their quality in the one or other way. The most
widely used quality assurance approach among providers in further education is selfevaluation
(84 per cent), quality and approval seals (46 per cent), certificate of ISO
9000ff (39 per cent), regional quality system (39 per cent), AZWV: approval of the
federal employment agency (37 per cent), participation in competitions (26 per cent),
EFQM (16 per cent), LQW (16 per cent) and others (12 per cent). Self-evaluation
can be everything ranging from detailed quality assurance systems that are tailormade
for specific circumstances of one provider to infrequently occurring surveys.
Those quality assurance approaches that are more standardised and include external
validation are less frequently applied. Interestingly, providers often combine two (82
per cent), three (60 per cent) and sometimes even four (40 per cent) approaches.
The concepts of quality assurance have regular intervals in which the quality is reassured.
These intervals have to be followed by the training organisations otherwise
the quality seal is taken away from them.
The following concepts are the most frequently used standardised quality
approaches:
ISO 9000ff. (International Organisation for Standardisation 80 )
This approach is a collection of standards for quality management systems.
This system was originally developed for the manufacturing industries and from the
early 1990s was transferred to other branches. It is now also regarded as a valuable
quality assurance certificate for VET providers.
78 www.bibb.de/en/11920.htm
79 Source of all the data provided in this paragraph: A. Krewerth/H. Kuwan: Weiterbildungsanbieter im
"Qualitätslabyrinth" - Zur Situation der Anbieter und den Wirkungen von Weiterbildungstests. In:
Berufsbildung in Wissenschaft und Praxis, Jahrgang 35 (2006), Heft 6, S. 28 - 33
80 www.iso.org/iso/about/international_standardization_and_education.htm
Comparisons of international quality assurance systems in vocational education and training Page 86 of 115