Abstract:

Recent information from the European Commission (EUROSTAT) indicates that around 5.5 million young people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU-28, of whom 3.45 million were in the euro area, placing the youth unemployment rate in 23.3 % in the EU-28 and in 23.7 % in the euro area. These numbers are indeed a matter of great concern and, more than ever, there is an urgent need to recognise the added-value of vocational education and training to combat unemployment and to better respond to the skill needs of the markets.

Dual Training Systems, also known as Vocational Education and Training systems and apprenticeships, in which most of the learning process occurs in the workplace, with the learner being employed by the company, are highly recognised/reliable in some European countries, such as Germany and Austria. In these countries, the labour market has a real and strong influence on educational policies, contributing directly to the identification of the necessary (“real”) skills and to the designing and implementation of the professional curricula. As most of the learning process occurs in-company, businesses (including SMEs) also hold great responsibility in matters of educational reforms.

Hence, the promotion of dual training is an essential goal in the framework of the European cooperation and with DualVET, the partners of this European initiative, are aiming at sensitizing society, Public Authorities and enterprises towards the advantages that vocational education and training systems, such as the Dual System may provide, especially to combat and prevent youth unemployment. Thanks to the implementation of dual systems, some European countries have proved that the adoption of this model does lead to lower unemployment rates and increased efficiency and easiness for VET graduates to find jobs.

The DualVET project (www.dualvet.eu) is a European project funded by the European Commission that aims to transfer successful structures and guidance from countries such as Germany and Austria to Portugal and Spain, for implementing dual VET training practices in companies operating in the automotive and in the tourism sector.

In detail, the results of this project will be:
• A practical guide for companies operating in the tourism and automotive sectors, on how to plan and organise training actions (based on the dual VET concept) and on how to effectively implement and assess its accomplishments;
• A complementary practical guide for company trainers on transversal skills and competences;
• A European network of stakeholders involved in VET systems, in sector companies, chambers of commerce, societal and policy decision makers that will be brought together to discuss the state-of-art of VET systems in their national contexts and its relevance and pertinence for the European economy, in a context of dual training systems.

It is the belief of the partnership that DualVET will assist companies in general, and company trainers in particular to learn how to take full advantage of dual training systems and hence to assist trainees (to become future workers) to be better prepared for the labour market.

Keywords:

Dual Training Systems, Automotive Sector, Tourism Sector, Companies, Training, VET.