In our times, the reputation of schools is highly dependent upon the success of its learners in getting into the professional world. Schools have to do all they can, not only to give a basic training to their students but also to provide them with all the necessary tools to succeed in starting their careers in the job world.

However, professional training in schools is necessarily more theoretical than practical, also if they are equipped with laboratories and machines to exercise technical and manual skills. In the end this lacks always the reality of a company, the time constraints, the team work, the overarching principle of creating added value, the company’s internal social dynamics, hierarchy, the orientation to the client’s needs, etc. So professional training in schools is strongly limited in opening up the best chances to their pupils to find a job at the end of their school career.

As education and training in many countries is always seen as a task of schools, we often forget about the importance of work-based learning (WBL), inside of companies and including all the aspects above that can only be learned in this way. This has increased in the last years (2000-today) a distorted use of internships, to add to the theoretical education also practical working experiences. We already talk about the “Generation Internship”.

With the German “Dual System” in professional training this approach is totally turned around: After 9-10 years of basic school education, but also later on after University or Technical High School studies, a young person can first of all search for an apprenticeship contract with a company. If he or she succeeds in signing such a contract (and currently – in 2015-18 – German companies offer more of such contracts than what is the demand of young learners), they start their 2,5-3 years apprenticeship in a company with a certified professional trainer (or crafts Master), for 3-4 days a week. In the remaining time they follow dedicated lessons at professional schools, ready to support the work-based learning in companies in their region.

Givem this setting, apprentices feel less as a learner far from the real world, but are brought to feel as members of a “community of specialists”, be it craftsmen, industrial workers or qualified employees in the services sector.

The ERASMUS+ project “European Dual System (EU-DualS)” wants to test if this system can be applied to other VET training systems in Europe.

The EU-DualS partners ADEGI, BVMW, CONFAPI, European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME and F-BB believe that this approach will create a bridge between professional schools and the job market, giving students a first-hand experience of the work environment.

By joining this program, schools can benefit by seeing their pupils starting their path to become successful professionals, as they learn not only the technical skills but the mind-set of specialised workers in a specific sector, and “socialise” with the real world of work and economy.

If you want to know more about the benefits of EU-DualS for schools, look at the video below: